It’s time for Juventus to move on from manager Max Allegri

Max Allegri’s second season running Juventus has been poor and it is now time to move on from him.

Tactically, Allegri looks out of place. In his first stint as Juve’s manager, Allegri benefited from one of the strongest backlines in world football. This talented defense of Leonardo Bonnucci, Giorgio Chiellini, and Andrea Barzagli allowed the team to be rock solid in defense which allowed for Allegri’s defend-first style of play to thrive. The current makeup of this team, however, is not as strong defensively and the game has evolved into more of an attacking game than a defensive one.

He has also not been able to get the best out of his players. Consistenly throughout the season, Juventus has struggled to score goals, despite having talented forwards on the squad. Sure, there have been a number of injuries that have plagued the squad. Yet, Juve’s roster should be more than capable of putting together quality shots that turn into goals regardless of the injuries.

The roster construction is also odd. Over the last two years, Juventus has pushed to bring back players who were previously sent away or are on the older side of the game. They brought back Paul Pogba and Moise Kean, two players who featured often during Allegri’s first time as manager. They also brought in Leandro Paredes, Angel Di Maria, and Aridkuck Milik, two of which are certainly valuable to the team but neither are long term players for this roster.

After a 2-0 loss to Monza on Sunday, Juventus dropped into 13th place. Most of that is not Allegri’s fault.

Juve was handed a 15-point deduction following a judge’s ruling on Juve. Of course, that’s not Allegri’s fault. Yet he bears some responsibility for the overall weak play throughout the season.

Juve’s chances of European football hinge on winning the Coppa Italia. The way that this team is playing compounded with Allegri’s weak management make it feel unlikely they stand a chance against the top clubs vying for the trophy.