Football Season Guide

The heavy Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid back in June represented for Juventus not only the umpteenth disappointment in the premier European competition but also the end of a cycle. Leonardo Bonucci who was one of the members of the BBC - possibly the strongest defence in the world for the last five years - unexpectedly left for pastures new, lured by Milan's money and thus creating a big hole in the heart of the back four. While his departure came without any apparent controversy, Dani Alves' one caused some turmoil with the Brazilian leaving after only one year at the club despite some extraordinary performances in the final months of his stay. If in the past decade Juventus were used to advanced planning, this time around they were unpleasantly taken by surprise. For such reason, they managed to strengthen their attack - the department which had proven to be the most disappointing in Cardiff - with the arrivals of big names such as Douglas Costa and Federico Bernardeschi who are expected to add some creativity on the wings However, the club have not been capable of acquiring a proper replacement for Bonucci yet. With the aging Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini, an injury-prone Mehdi Benatia and the still relatively inexperienced Daniel Rugani, they will have to add some quality in defence. Indeed, their pre-season stands there to prove it clearly, as they have conceded far too many goals. Moreover, coach Massimiliano Allegri is still expecting some new muscle in the midfield to be added to the likes of Claudio Marchisio, Sami Khedira and Mirale Pjanic, with dozens of big names being considered at some stage but none arriving yet. A lot is expected of Rodrigo Bentancur in the future but he is not likely to become a key player in the current campaign. However, there were some signings also in the other departments. In goal, Neto left for Spain and was replaced by Wojciech Szczesny who had a couple of bright seasons with Roma and is now considered as Gianluigi Buffon's heir. Mattia De Sciglio, who is capable of equivalently acting as a right-back or left-back, made the move from Milan in order to become a protagonist of the Italian football again after some opaque seasons. The feeling is that Juventus are still a bit of a work-in-progress. A centre-back, a midfielder and a right-back (to replace Lichtsteiner if he quits the club) might still arrive before the end of the transfer campaign. On the other hand, the likes of Juan Cuadrado and Asamoah could also end up quitting like Mario Lemina who joined Southampton. Paulo Dybala and Alex Sandro are considered by Allegri as key elements in his plans and they should not be sold for any sum.