Under the global glare of soccer fans, it was a labored FIFA Club World Cup campaign for Juventus that must surely have disappointed so many of their fans. The club are laughing all the way to the bank after hitting the jackpot with €32 million (US$37.5m) netted from the tournament.
With lame exits in the knockout stages for Manchester City and Real Madrid, two teams that completely outplayed the Bianconeri, it really brings home how poor the current Juve squad is.
Igor Tudor has a tough task ahead, with a small transfer kitty and only one confirmed summer signing so far. The club does have until 1 September to either sell players to raise money for new signings, or resort to taking in outcasts on loan.
Tudor was determined to be promoted from interim head coach to the permanent role. He played hard ball after netting fourth place in Serie A, courtesy of a tricky trip to Venezia, which secured Champions League soccer.
Behind the scenes the club were courting Antonio Conte, but without a guaranteed hefty budget the former Juve boss was happy to stay put at Napoli.
Club opted for second-choice Tudor
Other managerial candidates fell by the wayside, and eventually the cut-price option was a decision that Tudor would be installed to tackle the Club World Cup and the next two Serie A seasons.
With so many loanees at the club, Tudor insisted that he had the influential duo of FC Porto winger Francisco Conceicao and Paris Saint-Germain striker Kolo Muani return for the Club World Cup.
Tudor, like his predecessor Thiago Motta, tends to stick to his favorites that pushes out the fringe players. His squad included loanees, Juventus Next Gen players and even some that could not possibly play because they were injured.
Great selection if it was a bonding exercise, but it didn’t seem that way. There were noses put out of joint by Tudor’s decisions on who started, and who he failed to give minutes to during the tournament.
Center forward Dusan Vlahovic appeared to have fallen out with team-mate Kenan Yildiz, who was the shining star for the Bianconeri on the big stage.
Vlahovic was frequently seen scolding the 20-year-old Turkish talent, who earns only a fraction of many of his team-mates, in the hefty defeat to Manchester City.
Problems continue for Vlahovic
Serbia international Vlahovic was simply a benchwarmer in the next match, against Real Madrid, but he was also having a standoff with the club about his future.
He doesn’t particularly want to move to the Saudi Pro League or Turkish Super Lig, and he won’t accept a new contract offering a vastly reduced salary.
Vlahovic’s dream switch is to the Premier League. He turned down Arsenal to join Juve in 2022, and is harboring the opportunity to ply his trade in the English top tier.
Although at the Club World Cup he didn’t get much of a chance to shine, two substitute appearances and one full match was all he had. He did score twice, once from the penalty spot.
Al-Ain FC and Wydad AC were meant to be cannon fodder for Juve in their first two group games, with both duly dispatched. These were confidence-boosting triumphs ahead of the Manchester City showdown.
All change for City slickers
Tudor opted to omit attackers Samuel Mbangula and Timothy Weah from the squad that faced City, and left many of his big guns on the bench. City boss Pep Guardiola also rested key players.
It ended up being a drubbing for Tudor, who threw on his pivotal players to no avail, as the Bianconeri were shown up to be battered 5-2.
City arrived having experienced a tricky season to finish without any silverware, a rare feat. They pulped sorry-looking Juve.
This highlighted a significant gap in quality between the teams across all positions, except between the sticks as City target Michele Di Gregorio excelled despite constantly conceding.
Man City stunned by Inzaghi
City hadn’t hit top gear in their group games, and failed to do so when they were toppled 4-3 in extra time by Simone Inzaghi’s Al-Hilal FC in the last 16.
The fact that defending champions City stuttered throughout the competition, but thrashed Tudor’s troops, is a major concern for Juventus and their supporters.
It was widely dismissed as a blip by Juve, but they simply didn’t turn. Keeper Ederson gifted them one goal, and the other strike was a dubious late spot-kick.
Spanish giants Real were a tough cookie to face in the last 16, laden with superstars and experiencing the new managerial bounce of having Xabi Alonso at the helm.
Di Gregorio was the savior
Juventus, for the second match on the bounce, were outwitted and Di Gregorio’s goalmouth was peppered with relentless scoring efforts. He pulled off a staggering 10 saves to keep the final score to 1-0.
No-nonsense Tudor refused to throw on fresh attackers, when they were clearly required to try and rescue the tie, as he seemingly preferred to come away with a respectable result.
On paper a one goal deficit looks impressive. The stats, and for anyone witnessing the one-sided contest, told a completely different story.
Real totally outclassed Juventus, but like Al-Ain FC and Wydad AC, didn’t punish the Italian side like they should. Manchester City’s finishing was far superior to Real.
Real made to look ordinary
And Real came a cropper in their semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, soundly beaten 4-0 and left in tatters. This display reiterated how much work Tudor has ahead of him to get anywhere near as good as Real.
The gulf in class between Juventus and the two teams that battered them, out-of-sorts Manchester City and Real, is huge.
Juve fans are eagerly waiting for changes after the Club World Cup, with much anticipation regarding new signings and whether any Next Gen players can raise their games.
The club will wish to avoid the same sort of struggles as last season. To achieve that they cannot keep luring misfits, and will need Tudor to be less rigid with his tactical approach otherwise the coach journey will come to a sudden halt like it did with the doomed Project Motta.