Igor Tudor tasted his first defeat since his return to the dugout for Juve, outmanoeuvred by the tactical genius of Parma manager Cristian Chivu.
Both sides were ready for a closely-fought tussle, desperately trying to pick up points at different ends of the Serie A table.
Juventus were aiming to bounce back into fourth place with victory inside the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Wednesday, and leapfrog over Bologna, while Parma were fighting to maintain their top-flight status.
Yet Tudor’s plans went pear-shaped, and his squad again lacked any hunger for goals. Scoring has been an immense problem for most of the season, with Juve only finding the back of the net four times in Tudor’s four games at the helm.
Mateo Pellegrino’s first-half stoppage time goal proved enough to burst Tudor’s bubble, and send the home supporters into a frenzy.
Vlahovic injury
After the turnaround the visitors appeared deflated, especially as this season’s top scorer Dusan Vlahovic was subbed due to a thigh injury.
The arrival of Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz, who started on the bench following an impact injury during training last week, initially sprang lackluster Juve to much-needed life.
Chivu, who before being handed the reins at Parma in late February had only been Inter Milan youth team coach for various ages, kept to his tried and tested tactics.
The Parma players stuck to his principles. Soak up pressure, block shots around the penalty area, aim to win the ball in midfield and counterattack at every opportunity.
Parma bossed the game in every department except possession to frustrate Tudor and his out-of-sorts players. Chivu’s tactics were exactly the same as those that earned creditable draws against table-topping Inter Milan and high-flying Fiorentina.
Ange-Yoan Bonny, the 21-year-old forward who has attracted attention from AC Milan and Napoli, had a magnificent match and should be added to the ever-growing Juventus summer wishlist after outshining forwards Kolo Muani and Vlahovic.
Panic button
With Juve’s lack of creativity in the middle of the pitch, and virtually no service to attackers, under pressure sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has pressed the panic button. He is eagerly scouring Europe for at least one top class striker to join the Turin titans during the next transfer window.
Yet failure by Tudor to earn Champions League soccer has huge implications. This includes the inability to attract proven forwards, and for the 47-year-old to extend his contract for another season.
Many of the attacking names in the mix to sign for Juventus are waiting to learn of the club’s fate in their fight for Europe’s leading club competition, as well as the name of the permanent head coach next term.
Disappointed Tudor fumed in the post-match press conference: “Today we lacked a bit of everything, we were not very dangerous. We have to accept the result and move on.
“We were not clinical upfront. We have to fight upfront and try to score goals, to be more concrete.”
Five alive
Tudor has five more Serie A matches remaining. Rock bottom Monza are the visitors to the Allianz Stadium for Sunday’s showdown, before Juve visit Champions League-chasing Bologna and Lazio in back-to-back matches next month.
Juventus are sandwiched between fourth-placed Bologna, who lie a point above the Bianconeri, and Lazio who trail in sixth because of their inferior goal difference.
With big name managers being touted to take over Juve in the summer, although Atalanta’s long-serving Gian Piero Gasperini appears to be among the favorites, a future successful head coach seems to be Chivu.
The 44-year-old Romanian has excelled at Parma. He was a renowned Serie A defender with AS Roma and Inter Milan before he hung up his boots at the end of the 2013/14 campaign.
He returned to Inter to coach the U14 side for the 2018/19 season, working his way up to the Primavera (U19s) before leaving for his first shot at senior management.
The former Romania captain has made a massive impact since his arrival at last season’s Serie B champions Parma, who looked doomed in 18th place.
Momentum maintained
It was a gamble that paid dividends, with a remarkable 2-0 triumph over boisterous Bologna in his opening match. Five goals and only one defeat in his opening four matches proved that Parma are no longer relegation fodder.
Chivu has maintained the momentum with five draws on the spin before outwitting Tudor. He recently frustrated Fiorentina and Inter Milan with stalemates. Yet his team and tactics were always superior to anything that Juventus could offer.
With Giuntoli having poached Thiago Motta from Bologna, with the three-year Project Motta crashing after nine months, he simply cannot risk another failure by bringing in an emerging manager like Chivu.
A safe pair of hands are urgently required at a club that expects glory like Juventus fans and hierarchy constantly demand. Italy’s best supported team has Tudor merely to steer the sinking ship to safety after the disaster of Motta’s reign.
Without the promise of Champions League at Juve, it is going to be tricky to tempt an elite head coach if the purse strings are tightened.
Managerial changes
There appears to be a managerial Italian top tier merry-go-round coming up in the summer, with vacancies to be filled at AS Roma and Juventus.
Other teams such as AC Milan, Atalanta and Napoli may make changes. Chivu can either continue his brilliant work at Parma with a full season to work his magic, or be tempted by the bright lights of the Serie A big boys.
Although if he cuts his teeth with Parma and makes the Emilia-Romagna team successful, Chivu will soon have his pick of clubs to continue his coach journey.
In stark contrast, Tudor urgently needs to up the ante by producing eye-catching performances rather than dull displays if he wants to be considered by Juve to lead them next term.