2018 Year In Review

It was a year that saw another Scudetto added to the collection, filled with twists & turns that few, if any could have expected, and that’s before even mentioning what happened off the pitch. So with 2018 coming to a close its time to look back on the memorable (and not so memorable) moments that filled the year

BEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR : THE ARRIVAL OF CR7

Well this one was always going to be a no brainer, during every summer there's always at least one transfer rumour that sounds too ridiculous to possibly come true. This year that rumour was Cristiano Ronaldo joining from Real Madrid, only this time opinions quickly went from "not going to happen" to “this is actually happening!”. To put this short saga into context, the story was so massive that it even took attention away from a World Cup that was still being played. Once the arrival became official fans expectation went through the roof, all eyes were drawn towards the old lady. . And it felt good! The ‘CR7’ effect was in full motion as Juventus began to benefit from signing the Portuguese superstar before a ball had even been kicked, gaining in excess of 1.4 million new followers on the clubs Instagram page, as well as the clubs value on the stock market incredibly rising by 37%. Ronaldo’s short time in a Juventus shirt has been far from plain sailing (from an early goal drought to seeing red away to Valencia), however 15 goals and 8 assists over 24 games clearly shows that despite being 33 years old, Ronaldo is still worth every penny spent to bring him to Turin.

WORST MOMENT OF THE YEAR : DEFEAT AGAINST NAPOLI

Surprisingly there was plenty of competition for this moment, but for the overall feeling of what this defeat could, and perhaps even should have resulted in means that this is my main pick for worst moment of 2018, although a 3-0 defeat at home against Real Madrid & being denied extra time in the second leg came close. . And there was the more recent meeting with Manchester United too . . Anyway moving on. The clash against Napoli in April was a crucial must not lose game, as both clubs were neck in neck fighting for domestic supremacy, 1^st vs 2^nd, champion vs Challenger. What transpired was 90 minutes of stress and frustration for fans of the Bianconeri, with only one side looking hungry for all 3 points, and it wasn’t Juventus. Napoli dominated for most of the game, Juventus dangerously played for a draw, and Koulibaly punished the old lady with a last minute winner for Napoli. Juventus remained top of the league, but Napoli trailed by single point and with what looked to be an easier run of fixtures compared with Juventus, who still had tough away fixtures to Roma & Inter. Napoli fans celebrated extravagantly throughout the night believing that this was the moment they had won the Scudetto, and honestly it felt like it was only a matter of time before they did. Of course we all know that Napoli went on to crumble under the pressure immediately losing 3-0 away to Fiorentina & more surprisingly dropping points against Torino in a 2-2 draw. Still, for fans of Napoli they will always have the memory of one night in Turin. . . And all the fireworks & tattoo’s that came with it.

BEST GAME OF THE YEAR : INTER AWAY (28/04/2018)

1-0 away to Lazio was sheer relief, 3-1 away to Real Madrid was euphoric up until the final minute, but when it comes to down to picking the best game of the year there was only going to be one winner. With 9 days of the season remaining Juventus traveled to Milan to face Inter in what would be a title defining moment for the old lady. It didn’t take long for the action to heat up on the pitch, Douglas Costa firing Juventus ahead after 15mins, soon afterwards more sparks would fly as Vecino saw red for a nasty challenge on Mandzukic. 1-0 ahead and playing against 10 men you would be forgiven for thinking that the rest of the game would be plain sailing for Juve, except it wouldn't, far from it. 7 minutes into the second half Inter would draw level through the usual suspect, Icardi. Worst was to come as Juventus fell behind to a second Inter goal, now trailing 2-1 and playing poorly it looked like Juventus would suffer another crushing blow in their scudetto hopes, but the old lady had other ideas. With 4 minutes of normal time remaining Juventus took the first step towards a miracle comeback, as Cuadrado’s cross deflected off Santon and into the net to make it 2-2, GAME ON! Then just like all great comebacks as the full time whistle began to creep closer by the minute, it happened. Juventus get a free kick from 25 yards on the 89^th minute, Dybala curls the ball into the penalty area where Gonzalo Higuain is waiting, Higuain heads the ball beyond the reach of Handanovic to become the hero of the moment in a game that no Juventus fan will forget.

65 mins: Inter 2-1 Juventus

87 mins: Inter 2-2 Juventus

89 mins: Inter 2-3 Juventus

Absolutely brilliant.

WORST GAME OF THE YEAR : REAL MADRID HOME (03/04/2018)

Yes I know that it was supposedly the moment Ronaldo decided to join Juventus but that doesn't make a 3-0 defeat at home any easier to take. Less than a year had passed since both clubs had met in the champions league final (the less said about that the better) and it was time for payback, except any thoughts of repaying Real Madrid with a loss of their own were quickly dashed as Ronaldo found the back of the net after 3mins. Overall it was a horrible night for Juventus, matched only by the downpour of rain throughout the night, conceding three goals, two could have been avoided, the other was an overhead kick by Ronaldo. Thankfully if CR7 ever repeats this wonder goal at the Allianz stadium it will be whilst wearing a Juventus shirt. To rub salt into the wounds Dybala capped off a horrid night by getting himself sent off, this is definitely one match you do not want to revisit.

BREAK THROUGH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: RODRIGO BENTANCUR

João Cancelo came close to winning this one, but since he has only been with the club for half of the year I'm going with Bentancur. Still only 21 years old Bentancur has taken advantage of Juventus midfield worries this season by firmly putting his name into contention for a regular place in the starting line up. With Emre Can & Sami Khedira injured, Allegri had little choice but to start Bentancur in midfield, the young Uruguayan was more than ready for the challenge. So far Bentancur has started 19 games, and very rarely looked out of place when wearing a Juventus shirt. Whilst he still has a lot to learn, if Bentancur can keep his cool and commit less fouls he could play a big part in any success that Juventus has this season.

WORST PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SAMI KHEDIRA

What can you say about Khedira that hasn’t already been said? Injury prone, slows the midfield down and regularly has fans scratching their heads wondering what is his purpose in the team?. Unbelievably getting his name on the score sheet 7 times over 31 games, its still not enough to make up for the occasions Khedira goes missing during games. Why the club decided to extend his contract whilst releasing Claudio Marchisio is a complete mystery.

BEST GOAL OF THE YEAR : RONALDO V MANCHESTER UNITED (07.11.2018)

It was a goal that demonstrated the best of Ronaldo & Bonucci. Whilst Bonucci no longer looks like the dependable defender that he once was, one thing that hasn’t deserted him is his ability to pick out a long range pass. Beginning with a long ball all the way from central midfield, Bonucci’s pass landing on the foot of Ronaldo who had made a run inside of Manchester United’s penalty box to volley the ball into the back of the net.

Young Boys - Juventus (Post Game Thoughts)

Young Boys - Juventus (12.12.18)

Juventus end the night as winners of Group H, so you would expect for there to be few complaints right? Right? Wrong. Admittedly with qualification for the knock out stage already confirmed whether Juventus won, drew or lost away to Young Boys the result didn’t matter, however the performance did matter, and simply the performance was not good enough. In ways it was a night similar to the home defeat against Manchester United, all be it not as painful, Juventus create plenty of goal scoring opportunities, for whatever reason fail to make most of them count and are then punished.

During the first half Juventus created several chances to take the lead, with Ronaldo uncharacteristically firing blanks (ending the first half only hitting the target once with four attempts), yet somehow Juventus failed to convert a single opportunity into a goal, then disaster struck as Douglas Costa somehow decided it would a good idea to drill a pass across his own penalty area towards Alex Sandro, who clumsily made contact with Ngamaleu as he attempted to control the ball, was it the correct decision to give a penalty? Yes, as Alex Sandro does kick the leg of Ngamaleu, did Ngamaleu make the most of the situation? Absolutely he does, but none of this happens had Douglas Costa not made a risky pass across his own goal when it wasn’t necessary. Young Boys took the lead on the half hour mark as Szczęsny came close but not close enough to prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net. Things weren't all bad though, as not only was there plenty of time for Juventus to respond, but over in Spain Manchester United were doing Juventus a big favour by being incompetent, as Valencia also led by 1-0.

Juventus went into half time practically leading on all fronts except the one that mattered most, the score line, nine shots, two on target, zero goals. Juventus continued to create more opportunities to bring the scoreline level, moments after the restart Young Boys goal scorer Hoarau hitting the ball against his own bar from a Pjanic free kick. Juventus continued their search for a goal but failed to find one, Young Boys however did not fail, as De Sciglio gave way to a quick counter attack with his stray pass, and with it giving Hoarau his second goal of the night. With 71 minutes played Allegri finally brought on Dybala as another attacking option, who immediately made the difference and found the back of the net for Juventus, after wonderful link up play between himself, Douglas Costa & Ronaldo. Later during time added on Dybala would once again hit the back of the net with a powerful shot from range that was unfortunately ruled offside, as Ronaldo motioned to head the ball whilst being in an offside position, which begs the question why was Dybala on the bench for so long? 

So lets start with the positive, Juventus won the group which in theory should see them avoid a potentially tough tie in the round of 16, though it has to be said that finishing second in the group doesn't always spell disaster for a clubs champions league ambitions, as both Juventus (2014-2015 season) and Real Madrid (2017-2018) have shown by reaching the final despite finishing runners up in their groups. Juventus are also creating several goal scoring opportunities which is always a good thing, as in theory one of them is bound to result in a goal being scored, at least in theory. Paulo Dybala was the difference maker, as he was during the previous meeting with Young Boys in which he scored a hat trick in. Tonight Dybala came onto the pitch as a substitute (more on that later) immediately made an impact and could have dragged Juventus towards a draw had it not been for Ronaldo being flagged offside, instead the single goal and making a fool of Allegri for taking so long to bring Dybala on as a substitute will have to do.

Which brings us to the negative, stating the obvious this was a game Juventus should not be losing, and now Juventus will go into the history books as the first side that Young Boys have defeated in the Champions League group stage. The flip side to earlier praise for creating goal scoring opportunities is of course not taking them, with the knock out stage on the horizon Juventus fans know all too well how costly mistakes can be when it comes to victory & defeat, and not taking your chances in games is a big mistake, if you want proof see tonight's result and the defeat against Manchester United as evidence of how costly it can be not to make the most of your chances. If Juventus truly are among the favorites to win the champions league then this will need to be addressed, preferably long before February.

Then there is the captain of the ship, Massimiliano Allegri, at times it is all too easy to point the finger of blame in his direction but it is definitely warranted on this occasion. With the game needing more creativity Allegri decided instead to bring on Can for Pjanic in midfield, shortly afterwards with Juventus trailing 2-0 Allegri finally brought on Dybala, who for the remaining twenty minutes went on to do what none of his team mates could, scoring within ten minutes of his introduction, and almost doubling his tally for the night had it not been for the assistant referees offside flag. Why it took until the 71st minute for Allegri to bring on Dybala with his side needing a goal only he himself will know, but its another example of Allegri taking too long to make a tactical decision when one is needed.

The main obstacle for Juventus still remains, and will likely remain come February when the knock out stage begins, themselves. Whether it be needless red cards like Ronaldo against Valencia or creating several goal scoring chances and not making them count, all of Juventus wounds have been self inflicted and will need to be corrected for when it matters most. Until then Juventus have roughly two months to put an end to being their own worst enemy.