For Juventus Turin, the Europa League is the last chance to make it into the Champions League. The SC Freiburg could therefore plunge the “old lady” into a deep crisis.
Last weekend, Massimiliano Allegri saw just how much nerves are on edge at Juventus Turin. After the 0-1 draw at AS Roma, “some players in the dressing room cried. We’re a little fragile at this moment” the coach revealed.
Point deduction leaves wounds
The defeat itself plays a subordinate role, after all, Juve had previously been in one of the best sporting phases of this season, which has been so disappointing so far. There had been four league wins in a row, progression in the Coppa Italia and entry into the round of 16 in the Europa League. But the burden of the 15-point deduction due to accounting fraud seems to be weighing heavily on the players’ shoulders.
“You’ve never seen a situation in football like Juventus are going through this year. I have to compliment the guys, we still have big goals that we want to achieve“, Allegri said last. After the Rome bankruptcy, he then referred to the biggest of the goals: “We have to stay calm, recover well and think about the Europa League.“
Freiburg as the last chance for the premier class
Because despite all the sporting strength, this competition is probably the only one through which the “old lady” can still qualify for the Champions League – and that is both an economic and a sporting obligation for such a highly decorated club. But it also means that SC Freiburg can already mean the end of the top class dreams in the round of 16.
“They are a very difficult opponent, a strong and compact team“Warned Filip Kostic, who knows the team of coach Christian Streich very well from his time at Eintracht Frankfurt: “But we have the quality to win the Europa League and that is our goal.“
Especially since it was clear after last weekend at the latest that the route via the league to the Champions League will no longer be possible. Juve is 12 points behind in fourth place and fifth place with 13 games to play. Which is why it should only be enough in the league for the Conference League qualification. “The important thing is that we’ve already scored 50 points on the field and would be second“, Allegri verbally defied this record before the Rome game.
So far, the Vlahovic deal has mainly been worthwhile for the seller
But apart from the point deduction, the situation is quite tricky. Two personal details are exemplary: Dusan Vlahovic and Paul Pogba. Vlahovic moved to Turin in January 2022 for over 80 million euros and was considered a big number on the striker market alongside Erling Haaland, who is currently breaking goal records in the Premier League at Manchester City. But the 23-year-old has only scored 19 competitive goals since then and is often a foreign body in the games.
So far too often foreign bodies: Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic
From his ex-club AC Fiorentina there was recently scorn and ridicule. “We paid €15m for Arthur Cabral and Luka Jovic together and they’ve already scored 20 goals in all competitions. Vlahovic, on the other hand, has scored ten goals in Turin, two of them from penalties” said President Rocco Commisso. Vlahovic have “scored half as many goals as our two players. And we made 70 million euros, that was an excellent deal.”
The numbers are not correct, but the calculation remains one that could currently choose “Fiorentina” as the winner of the deal. Because Vlahovic was brought in to finally give Juve the title in the Champions League again. For 27 years, the club has been longing for the handle pot, failed in 2015 and 2017 in the final. But this year, for the first time since the 2013/14 season, they were eliminated from the group stage.
Pogba does not yet embody the ‘champion’
In the summer, with Pogba, another great hope was signed, who should bring success in tandem with Vlahovic – but so far has mainly caused problems. “He left as a boy and returns a man and a champion. But one thing hasn’t changed: the desire to write unforgettable chapters in the club’s history together again. Pogba is back and we couldn’t be happier“, was the official statement when the Frenchman returned after six years at Manchester United.
But Pogba was out immediately with a meniscus injury, only having surgery in September and doing a lot of things on his own rather than in consultation with the club. His goal was the Winter World Championships in Qatar, which he also missed. The midfielder only made his comeback at the end of February, but so far it has only been enough for two short-term appearances, whether he will play against Freiburg is still open.
The “old lady” can use any support. Emotionally and athletically, she is currently walking with a cane. But even that could break with the games against Freiburg on Thursday (March 9th, 2023) and a week later in Breisgau.