Pjanic in his best years for Lyon and Roma came as a RCM who helped control possession with De Rossi in front of the defense. I wonder if the next coach will use him that way. That 2017 team was so well balanced in the 4-2-3-1. Dybala behind Higuaín. Mandzukic and Cuadrado covering the flanks and joining the attack. Dani Alves playing as a RB but also a midfielder with Pjanic and Khedira. Alves was basically Juve's playmaker where at times would make close to 100 passes and took a lot of pressure off of Pjanic in this regard. It's too bad Allegri switched to a 3-4-3 in the final. That Juve's glaring weakness was a lack of depth which is why he wanted Cuadrado on the bench to introduce him later on. Then the issue with only using Marchisio sparingly coming off of his ACL injury.
Barzagli was a great player but his last competitive outing was last year, Max deserves a win as much or more. This looks more like a team that was relegated rather than the champions
There's skill, there's luck and then there's Divine intervention. You decide which one to credit today
Gli applausi e le lacrime non saranno mai abbastanza ❤⚪⚫ #GrazieBarza pic.twitter.com/mBnCnrktOv— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) May 19, 2019
Another example of the issues with starting Dybala and Ronaldo together without a #9 that is strong in the air and with their back to goal. Neither Dybala or Ronaldo can or want to stay close the opposing center backs so they each drift around. At a few points in the first half Emre Can was moving into the CF position since it was completely vacant. Atalanta just pressed Juve very high for the first part of the game because they knew that Juve couldn't go long. Everything was so crowded in Juve's own end when they were trying to pass short out of the back. Dybala tried to help Juve by coming deep to provide an outlet, but he just doesn't do this that well when the center is so congested. Everything changed once Mandzukic came on. It's really too bad he was hurt and lost form at the most important part of the season. Unbelievable spirit and player. He should absolutely remain at Juve, but they can't rely on him to stay healthy at this point in his career. I'm not sure who they sign to replace him as a consistent starter.
Unbelievable manager. The way he is leaving does right by him and his legacy. Fans and the club won't remember him as the coach that hung on too long and instead as an absolute winner who now has emotional ties to the club. This current version of Juve is just not compatible with his style. With that said, given the good terms he is leaving the club on, perhaps he will make a return in the future at a more opportune time for him. Whoever comes in next will likely not come close to accomplishing what he did. It will be insanely difficult to do so.
Making a change was the correct move but lets start with fixing the defense which has slipped from the usual Juventus standard. A 1-0 lead not once but twice should have been good enough. Probably would be under Mourinho though I'm not holding breathe. Agnelli already has problems with the Ultras. He needs to win them back. Only Guardiola or Conte will help him there. Maybe Pochettino but anybody else the fans are going to be livid.