Juventus boss Max Allegri is under immense pressure at the Allianz Stadium after a poor start to the season, with ex-Juve star Marco Tardelli claiming the Club no longer trusts the manager.
The Bionconeri currently sit 8th in the Serie A standings, 10 points behind league-leaders Napoli. Furthermore, Juventus face an uphill battle to qualify for the next round of the UEFA Champions League, sitting 4 points off the qualification spots with 3 group stage games remaining.
The Old Lady haven’t lifted the Serie A title since 2020, the final title in a 9-season winning streak dating back to 2011. Allegri was responsible for guiding Juventus to five of those titles during his first spell at the club.
However, the Italian manager seems to have lost his magic touch as the Bionconeri don’t look like they’ll be competing for a league title in the near future, finishing 16 points off current Serie A champions AC Milan last season.
Ex – Juventus star Marco Tardelli claims the Club no longer trusts Allegri, and that they’re experiencing a bad moment.
“There are moments and Juve are doing badly in this one. Above all, there’s a silence from the club that I don’t like. They are not calm, the coach is not calm. I think the club no longer trust in Allegri,” said Tardelli to Corriere dello Sport.
However, Tardelli doesn’t expect Allegri to be sacked, stating that the Italian manager is ‘protected’ amid reports suggesting Juventus would have to fork out a massive fee in compensation fees to part ways with the coach.
“No, he’s a little more protected, let’s say,” said Tardelli.
“I knew it would be difficult, but I like Allegri because he is sanguine, he’s someone who looks after his own. Unfortunately this year and also last year he went wrong .
“The problem is in the players’ heads. It’s probably Allegri’s fault too, but they’re not convinced and don’t follow what the coach says. This is probably the problem.”
Juventus travel to Israel to face Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Despite Tardelli’s thoughts, the fixture is a must-win for the Bionconeri if Allegri is certain to remain in the dugout. The gap between them and Napoli has effectively ruled them out of the title race, so the Italian will be largely judged on what he accomplishes in Europe.
Allegri has warned his team that they ‘must do more’ and need to avoid making the same mistakes that have cost them throughout the season.
“It’s going to be a tough game, they showed good things here and played well against PSG. We must be careful, we can’t commit the same mistakes again,” said Allegri during his pre-match press conference.
“We need to play as a unit, the game against Milan was similar to the one against Benfica, where we could have scored the second goal.
“We must improve and be more solid, which is the easiest and most obvious thing to do.
“Right now, we must do something more. Details make the difference, even just one centimetre. We need attention and passion.”
The Old Lady head into the UCL fixture off the back of a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan at the weekend. Allegri urged his team to bounce back against Maccabi Haifa amid mounting pressure from the media and fans.
“We have a chance to return to the pitch immediately,” said the Juventus boss.
“The previous two victories were misleading and we need reality and practical things. It’s a path that we must take. There are strong teams, but we can’t make certain errors, we must avoid the repeated mistakes we’ve made since the start of the season.
“We must be aware of the importance of tomorrow’s match, fight on every ball, and do simple things.
“We need heart and passion, it’s a part of a path after many years of victories. We put in all our love and the passion that Juventus deserve, but we must do more and more, regain self-esteem and return to the previous standards.”
After Tuesday’s UCL clash, Juventus head to the The Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino to take on Torino FC in the Turin Derby. The Bionconeri will be desperate to take all 3 points against their local rivals in a bid to close the ground on the top 4.