Juventus need a very favorable set of results to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Missing out would have significant ramifications, although it’s not yet clear who will pay the price for the flop, Corriere dello Sport relays.
Owner John Elkann is mulling it over. He has a direct line with Luciano Spalletti, who’s said to be distraught over the last two home results that compromised their chase. The coach took the blame, but he’s unlikely to step down or be ousted for now. The fact that the Bianconeri collected the most points behind Inter since he took over works in his favor.
Instead, the wrath of the tycoon could engulf the Juventus management, and CEO Damien Comolli in particular. He was hired last summer and promoted a few months later. He could be the fall guy, like Cristiano Giuntoli was before him.
From an economic standpoint, the Old Lady would take a €40M hit from being relegated to the UEFA Europa League, plus all the losses tied to sponsorship deals and game-day earnings. Their patron could simply pour more cash into the club, as he’s done a few times when needed.
Our Take on Juventus
We’ll see whether they still have an appetite for Antonio Conte after his about-face last year, but he’s the only hire that would justify a coaching change. Comolli has made big mistakes, but he also operated solo, as the other directors were brought in later on, and with the help of some intermediaries, who didn’t necessarily do the team’s bidding, and with little time to prepare last year. There’ll be some consequences on the transfer market, but this campaign proved they have very few keepers or irreplaceable players. They should opt for continuity for once.
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Commolli is terrible. Spalletti asked for a striker, but never got one. Jonathan David is bad, Openda is a disaster, Vlahovic spent more time sidelined with injury than played. It is a shame to see how poorly Juve is managed by Elkan and Commolli. We need a complete overhaul and real experienced leaders into each line. The result on the field is the reflection of investment in the team. Now that Juve is to miss out on the UCL, they can say goodbye to Lewandowski, Silva and Alison.