Juventus Analysis: Can Allegri deal with the 'Disease of Me'? | Justin Sherman
The book was an attempt to explain a championship coach's “winning strategies that inspire change, motivate teamwork, and reveal the winner within us all.” One of the most enlightening and timeless parts of the book reflected on what Riley called the “disease of me.”
The basic premise behind the slogan was that while it’s often easy to make sacrifices as individuals in order to reach a collective goal, those sacrifices can often lead to selfishness once that goal is attained. Riley outlined six warning signs that the “disease of me” was beginning to be the “defeat of us” :
- Feelings of under appreciation (‘woe is me’)
- Focusing on personal playing time and stats
- Internal cliques within the team
- Excessive joy in a personal performance when the team loses
- Frustration from lack of playing time when the team wins
- Desire to have more recognition than a teammate
Although Riley was specifically targeting its effects on team sports, this is a scenario that we as human beings see play out everyday whether it's in the sporting arena or office cubicle. Once achieved, success can have a varying effect on individuals depending on how they wish to approach it.
This approach is often shaped and cultivated by the leader of the group, who with his own actions can transcend and often sustain a culture that separates from basic human nature. All of the game's greatest coaches will sometime or another have to deal with this issue and it now appears that Juventus’ Max Allegri is next in line.
In examining Allegri’s career it would be beneficial to view it in the context of a hurricane and it’s effects on the ocean it crosses paths with.
In the hours leading up to a hurricane, the waters of an ocean are often calm and pristine; a mixture of predestined beauty and premature defiance. For Allegri, Sassuolo and Cagliari were both of these things.
After becoming manager of I Neroverdi in 2007, Allegri managed to quickly lead the Serie C1 club into one of the top league spots. His success continued into the second half of the season as Sassuolo mathematically ensured the 2007-08 Serie C1/A league title and the clubs first ever promotion into Serie B.
As a result of his accomplishment, Allegri was announced as the new manager of Cagliari in Serie A. Despite losing his first 5 games in charge, Allegri’s insistence on an attacking style of play eventually paid dividends as he led the Sardinians to a 9th place finish, their best result in Serie A in fifteen years. He was rewarded with the Panchina d’Oro, a prize given to the best manager in Serie A as voted on by the other managers in the league.
The following season, Allegri became a victim of his own success as the clubs hierarchy possessed an inflated sense of who they were, sacking the Italian in early April despite a solid 12th place standing behind extremely limited resources and a lack of top-flight players.
Luckily for him, waiting in the weeds was an Italian footballing giant. One who were presently being eclipsed by the enormous shadow cast by their cross town rivals, desperately willing to turn one clubs “merda” into their own shiny treasure.
AC Milan officially appointed Allegri as their manager on June, 25th 2010. Despite faltering in the Coppa Italia and the Champions League, much was forgotten when Milan were able to capture their first Scudetto since 2004, beating Inter in both league fixtures, which at the time, only Roberto Mancini had achieved at a younger age.
Still, to many the league was all but a formality with Milan trotting out the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta, Clarence Seedorf and a rejuvenated Robinho. Going into the summer, Allegri would make a decision that not only would change the fortunes of Milan for the foreseeable future but also completely shift the balance of power in Serie A.
Rossonerri legend Andrea Pirlo, was sold to Juventus after being deemed surplus due to his age. His departure signified the first threat of a storm, a system building stronger and steadily in a far away place. Milan would add a Supercoppa at the beginning of the following season but that would be it. The next year and a half would see Milan’s talent irreparably purged, Allegri’s tactics consistently mocked and his reputation sink to depths where only angler fish roam.
Allegri was sacked and devoid of his love. Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to wait long as Antonio Conte shockingly resigned from Juventus opening the door for one of the most “are you kidding me?” hires in Serie A history. Allegri would be appointed the following day, handed the keys to a club with 3 straight league titles and seemingly all of Juventini nation preparing to storm the Vinovo with pitchforks and firebombs.
The eye of the storm had now reached landfall with seemingly everything getting destroyed in its path, but something funny happened during that 5 month layoff for Allegri; he adapted, and became less stubborn. Instead of demanding that his new side play exactly as he sees fit, he decided to build on upon Antonio Conte's successful tactics and winning mentality, albeit in a less rigorous manner.
The approach paid off, as Juventus won their 4th consecutive Scudetto and their first Coppa Italia in 20 years. Fair or not, his successes would again mirror those of Milan’s back in 2010 in that many expected them. The Italian needed vindication, so he saved his best work for Europe’s most prestigious tournament, depending on the player that had almost ruined his career.
With Pirlo pulling the strings and Juve’s back-line stronger than ever, the Bianconeri would shock the world beating defending champion Real Madrid in the semi-final. Although they would succumb to Barcelona in the final, the fight and competitive spirit in which Juve displayed was painstakingly clear for all to see.
The storm had passed. Sunshine and the calm breeze of ocean mist now defined Massimo’s career. His side would again do the league double the following year, winning 24 of 25 matches despite a tumultuous start that saw them sitting as far back as 12th place. This year, Juve again came in as prohibitive favorites, expounded by the fact that they signed possibly the league's best player in Gonzalo Higuain from their closest rivals.
Although things have mostly gone according to plan thus-far, signs of the “disease of me” have begun to rear their ugly head. The first incident happened back in late January, as Paulo Dybala was substituted off against Sassuolo and refused to shake his manager's hand by actively swerving and throwing his own arm behind his back. Allegri attempted to play the situation off stating:
“Nothing happened, players can get angry when they’re substituted. The important thing is that when they’re on the pitch, they do what needs doing.”
The fact that the gesture came from the mild-mannered Dybala was all the more jarring and led many to believe that the issue is something more deeply rooted.
The controversy was only just beginning though, as Leonardo Bonucci and Allegri got into it on the touchline in the final minutes of Juve’s 4-1 win over Palermo, with Allegri caught on camera cursing out his defender like a frat boy after his ninth Irish car bomb: “Shut up, (expletive)! (Expletive) off!”.
Bonucci replied in kind, telling his coach to “go to hell”, before running off the pitch at the end of the match without acknowledging the home fans. Bonucci was subsequently dropped from Juventus’ team for their first leg Champions League round of 16 match against Porto. Allegri was again forced to do damage control, stating:
"It's a shame that we had the incident on Friday," he said. "These are things that happen during the season, I'll go as far as thanking him for raising the emotional tension.”
This marks two dust ups with high profile stars in the span of one month and many are now beginning to speculate that Allegri is all but destined for a move to the Premier League in the summer. Club hierarchy has come out in defense of their manager but decisions like these come easy as long as the side continues to win. If results begin to falter and the public displays of tension become the norm, minds can often be swayed.
The disease has now infected a small part of the body, but does Allegri posses the cure?
Justin Sherman, @JShermOfficial