Allegri - the lucky general? | by James Horncastle
It was a mark of just how highly Vialli regards Allegri. Not for the first time, he was seriously impressed with what he saw from him. On a night when Juventus could ill afford to get anything wrong in a top of the table clash with Napoli, Allegri got more or less everything right from the change of formation to a 4-4-2 and the risking of Sami Khedira just 12 days after he had been ruled out for several weeks to his game-changing substitutions. “I got a bit lucky,” Allegri smiled bashfully.
Napoleon would no doubt have liked him. “Give me lucky generals” was one of the codes he lived by. On the contrary Napoli fans will ascribe last night’s defeat to Gobbismo. Those flukey hunchbacks. But if Allegri's ‘gut instinct’ keeps proving itself right then, truth be told, it only makes it harder and harder to chalk this ulterior example up as an accident rather than part of some grand design.
In elaboration let’s reflect on how this 15-game winning streak began in the Derby della Mole. Quite counter-intuitively at first glance, Allegri replaced Paulo Dybala, a striker, with Alex Sandro, a left back. Soon afterwards Sandro crossed for Juan Cuadrado’s 93rd minute winner and Juventus haven’t looked back since.
History practically repeated itself last night. Allegri threw on Simone Zaza for Alvaro Morata whose ineffectiveness offered greater justification for his substitution than the dislocated thumb he suffered. Sandro then entered play for Dybala. What happened next was another late win. Khedira played a diagonal up to Sandro. He beat Elseid Hysaj and Jose Callejon to it. Patrice Evra found Zaza, who, perhaps granted a little too much space by the otherwise impeccable Kalidou Koulibaly, turned and had a go. The shot deflected in off Raul Albiol. It was the 87th minute and boy did it bring the house down.
“So Juve” was how Tuttosport put it. It was so Allegri too. He reads games like old sages once read runes or tea leaves. His knack for judging the mood and deciding exactly what is required particularly in-game, especially after the interval is really something. Pay close attention to Allegri on the sidelines and you’ll hear him ask his players to slow things down rather than speed them up. Games don’t last 10 or 15 minutes. They go on for 90 and then some. Patience is a virtue he holds great belief in. “It always rewards you,” he told Mediaset.
Consider the run Juventus are on. Big games against Torino, Milan, Fiorentina, Roma and Napoli all have something in common. The decisive goals all came late. Sometimes even in stoppage time. Twelve of Juventus’ goals this season have come in the final quarter of an hour. It’s testament to the character within this team. The winning mentality. But also the patience and calm Allegri seeks to instil. In this regard, he has something of Carlo Ancelotti about him.
A common reaction to last night’s result was to see this as inevitable. Serie A is boring. Juventus always win and the title race is a foregone conclusion. But that’s a grossly unfair and reductive analysis of things and does a disservice to the protagonists involved. It’s mid-February and Juventus are top of the table for the first time this season. It’s been 259 days since they were last in first place. They’re the fifth team to take pole position this season. That’s a record since Serie A introduced three points for a win two decades ago. The outcome might not be any different but this is not the same old season we’ve seen in the last four years.
Juventus were 11 points off the top at the end of October and comparisons were drawn with Chelsea. What they’re doing is by no means easy. Juventus are back in Italy. Chelsea are not in England and if you’re thinking about arguing how one league is less competitive than the other, don’t bother because it downplays the human endeavour here. Juventus could have thrown in the towel. They could have given into the temptation to call it a transition year post-Pirlo, Tevez and Vidal. They could have thought “we’ve had a good run” after four league titles in a row. Unfortunately for their rivals, they didn’t. They picked themselves up and did what Gigi Buffon believed was “unthinkable” following defeat to Sassuolo at the end of October: a 15-game winning streak and the reclamation of top spot.
And yet all that has only been enough to move just a single point in front of Napoli. Don’t underestimate them. This isn’t over. Maurizio Sarri asked his team to be “crazy enough” to impose their own game at the J Stadium and you know what they did. Careca was spot on to say that Napoli played more like the home team, especially in the first half. They had more of the ball. Played high up the pitch and showed signs that they could still do damage even though their opponents did a great job of taking away their most dangerous weapons: Gonzalo Higuain and the left-hand side. Napoli also limited Juventus.
It was an even game. “Very tactical,” Allegri said. Maybe too much. While he couldn’t fault his players out of possession, Sarri felt Napoli could perhaps have been a little looser and more free spirited in attack. Instead, to borrow a Wengerism, Mediaset’s Arrigo Sacchi believed they were a bit handbrakish and understandably preoccupied by what Juventus might do if they let themselves go too much. But the game could have been very different if it were not for Leonardo Bonucci’s incredible intervention to take Hysaj’s cross off Higuain’s head. A full extension of his leg - a la Nureyev gushed Fabio Caressa in commentary - it called to mind Stefano Sturaro nudging a James Rodriguez effort onto the bar in the Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid last season. Moments later Buffon also had to make a point-blank save from Albiol from the resulting corner.
Other than that, Juventus contained the league’s best attack. Cuadrado pinned back Napoli’s left-hand side. On the whole his teammates remained compact, closed down the passing angles and snuffed out the supply line to Higuain. Napoli managed only two shots in the first half, their lowest number this season and their star striker touched the ball just once all evening in Juventus’ box. His first shot didn’t arrive until the 81st minute. As such Juventus ensured Higuain’s history making ratio of a goal a game came to an abrupt end, which was no small feat considering Chiellini was out injured and Bonucci had to depart the field of play before the hour mark. Andrea Barzagli was immense.
Ultimately, it was Juventus’ depth that told. Their fourth choice defender Daniele Rugani, a player Sarri mentored and Napoli bid €25m for in the summer, held the line and their fourth choice striker got the winner. “I stopped him moving [to England] in January,” Allegri revealed. It was Zaza’s fourth goal in the league this season. His third as a substitute. He is averaging a goal every 78 minutes. “I hope it’s a title winning goal,” he said.
Thirteen games remain. There are still 39 points to play for and with that in mind Napoli mustn’t get too downbeat. They need to bounce back quickly as they’ve got crucial games against Milan and Fiorentina either side of their Europa League tie with Villarreal. As for Juventus, they have got to keep on keeping on. It would be a mistake to think this is mission accomplished. Many suspect Juventus won’t look back now. But believe me it would be a surprise if this doesn’t go down to the wire.
James Horncastle @JamesHorncastle
