Well, well, well. It appears that the melodrama surrounding Juventus wasn’t limited to the Stadio Olimpico turf on Wednesday night.
Juve fell to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia final amid yet another controversial Derby d’Italia, and the loss is believed to have sparked tension between members of the Bianconeri hierarchy.
Wednesday’s defeat means that the club will endure their first trophyless season since 2010/11, and it’s fair to say that Pavel Nedved wasn’t best too pleased about the outcome.
Is a rift brewing between members of the Juventus hierarchy?
Posto che uno è il proprietario e l'altro un dipendente, seppure di lusso, ho la sensazione che ogni tanto #Nedved si dimentichi che dentro gli errori commessi dalla #Juventus in questi ultimi anni c'è stato anche lui. Ed è l'unico della dirigenza a non essere stato salutato pic.twitter.com/rbeZFYyLY5
— Giovanni Capuano (@capuanogio) May 13, 2022
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Fabiana Delle Valle (via @JuveFC), vice-president Nedved ‘attacked’ the attitude of the players on Wednesday night and is said to have criticised Max Allegri’s tactical choices.
The Bianconeri did somewhat capitulate in extra-time as an Ivan Perisic brace won it for the Nerazzurri, and Nedved is certainly right to call out Allegri’s in-game management. The cautious Juve boss showed his hand far too early after his side raced into a 2-1 lead at the start of the second half.
With 23 minutes remaining, Allegri opted to shut up shop and cede all control to Inter. Leonardo Bonucci replaced Federico Bernardeschi as Juve shifted to a back five, and while it was a poor penalty call that handed Inter a route back into the contest, such moments are more likely when you persistently invite pressure.
Nedved is believed to have engaged in a heated discussion with president Andrea Agnelli over Wednesday night’s events, but Delle Valle writes that the Czech’s outburst has been simmering for some time.
She adds that Nedved has never been a huge fan of Allegri, and it was he – along with the now-departed Fabio Paratici – who wanted him to leave back in 2019. Agnelli, though, is an Allegri-sympathiser, which has sparked tension between the two hierarchical members.
However, given Nedved’s fiery nature, you can imagine that such outbursts are pretty regular occurrences, especially this season. Whether the reported recent dispute is anything more than a ‘heat of the moment’ episode or a sign of greater dysfunction at the club remains to be seen.