Discussing the up-and-down journey of the Old Lady of Turin in the past decade.

In their famous black and white, Juventus were among the most outstanding and consistent European teams in recent decades. The keyword is ‘were.’

It has become more evident with every passing game, every football touch, and every online sports betting opportunity that Juve’s glory days are slipping away faster than they concede goals.

Falling…

In the early 2000’s Juventus went through one of the worst spells in the club’s history. They were not terrible on the football field, but the management was involved in some shady business.

The entire scandal was popularly known as ‘The Calciopoli’.

It was revealed that some teams in the Serie A were involved in match-fixing, and the man at the helm of it all was Luciano Moggi, an Italian football administrator. Moggi was involved in choosing specific referees for Juve’s games and even had a say on which players would be selected from both Juve and the opposition.

The most damning testimony was from the Italian National team coach Marcello Lippi who confirmed that he was told to avoid selecting Juve players in the national team.

The Azzurri were stripped of their Serie A titles after some senior players like Trezeguet and Buffon testified in court about being threatened to throw games. Their sanctions at the time included a double relegation to the lower leagues in Italy.

Rising to The Top…

However, it didn’t take them long to make their way back up. In fact, after making it back up, they went straight back to the top of the pecking order in the Serie A by finishing third in their first season.

With a young president (34-year-old Andrea Agnelli) full of brilliant ideas and a new stadium, the Old lady returned to its glory days. The football club board quickly transformed; after one or two errors in the appointment of a manager, they struck gold by signing Antonio Conte as manager. Conte would later become the catalyst that bore the most dominant force in Italian football for a century.

For ten years, Juventus won the Serie A back to back. It was easy for them to attract the creme de la creme of football to the club.

During that impressive spell, they signed players like Pirlo, Ronaldo, Pogba, Chiellini, Bonucci, and many others.

Their success was not just in Italy but also in Europe. They were juggernauts in the Champions League, making it to the finals on several occasions — but they didn’t win the competition.

And Down Again…

Their luck started to turn in 2019 when they lost the league title to the Nerazzurri for the first time in 10 years. It began to feel like the club was scientists mixing different concoctions without knowing what worked.

They made many failed attempts at getting the right manager in. They tried Sarri and then Pirlo and then reverted to their old servants like they are accustomed to doing by bringing in Massimiliano Allegri.

Allegri is currently failing the Old Lady again after failing to win any significant European trophy during his first spell at the club.

Juve sits seventh on the table — 10 points behind league leaders Napoli after 12 matches.

Unfavorable results could be taken with a pinch of salt if the team plays well, but Juve’s performances throughout the season have been shambolic and worthy of reprise.

Aside from their poor league form, the Old Lady unceremoniously crashed out of the Champions League group stage for the first time in a decade. Europa League was a done deal before the first kick on the final day of the group stage.

As teams like Manchester United and Barcelona have begun to realize, the rot starts from the head. There are still active investigations into the fraudulent activities of current and former executives by Italy’s financial authorities. The training ground of the Old Lady was raided by the authorities, adding more pressure.

Youth is no longer an excuse for the club’s president Andrea Agnelli, who took over at age 34. Some bad decisions on his side have made him look like a piranha in recent times. His involvement in the defunct super league is one among many.

Juventus’ problems run pretty deep. With things all over Europe making geometric progress, it’s okay to wonder if the fallen giants will ever rise again.