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With another FFO season in the books, we'll today take a deep dive into Juventus' season as we look ahead to the upcoming season.
At a glance, Juventus finished 3rd in EFL 1, made it to the quarter finals of the EFL Cup, and won the DPT Trophy but we'll take things one competition at a time:
EFL 1- Juventus finished in 3rd place on 83 points, scoring 93 goals and finishing above the likes of Real Madrid for the second time in 3 seasons.
The aim for Juventus this season was to finsih 6th-8th after a poor season in the campaign before, however it became apparent around the mid season mark that the Old Lady would be contending for a position much higher, as after a run of games that saw them win 10+ in a row in all competitions, at the mid way point of the season Juventus were in a title race sitting 2nd.
The second half of the season saw the likes of PSG & AS Roma begin to stretch away from the chasing pack, culminating in those two finishing 1st & 2nd respectively while Juventus' form became inconsistent at times, resulting in poor defeats to the likes of Rangers & Borussia Dortmund during the final 10 games.
Having said that 3rd place was clinched on the final game of the season, after it looked like Juventus would finish 4th or 5th after a dip in form, with a come from behind win against Schalke 04, coupled with an Atletico Madrid defeat at the hands of Inter Milan.
When all was said and done, Juventus had the 5th most potent attack in the league, behind only PSG, AS Roma, Real Madrid & Inter Milan, while they had the 4th best defence behind only PSG, AS Roma & Real Madrid. Juventus' top scorers for the campaign came from 4 players. Unsurprisingly those 4 players were A_Isak (31 goals), C_DeKetelaere (31 goals), F_Wirtz (25 goals) & Antony (21 goals) in all competitions.
Overall, this HAS to be seen as a huge achievement for the Italian club, finishing arguably 3-5 places above where they should have. But remember folks, this happened 2 seasons prior and look what happened in the following season.
DPT- Juventus were drawn into Group B, alongside Leeds United (eventual Premier League Champions), Southampton & Bayer Leverkusen.
After a shaky start (A 3-1 home defeat to Leeds United), Juventus would go on to beat both Southampton and Bayer Leverkusen home AND away to clinch their place in the knockout stages with a game to play.
The 6th and final game in Leeds was one which would decide who would win the group out of the two teams, however Juventus seemed to be okay with 2nd place as they used the game to give rotation players a game as they slumped to a 2nd defeat of the competition against Leeds.
Into the Quarter Finals, and Juventus were drawn against SS Lazio, arguably the hardest draw available to them at the time, however a huge stroke of luck for Juventus as Lazio goalkeeer D_de_Gea was injured in a previous league game, meaning that Lazio would have to use an untested backup goalkeeper for the first leg...A game that Juventus would go on to win 4-0.
Goals from A_Isak, N_Gonzalez X2 and C_DeKetelaere put the tie to bed but there was still a 2nd leg to play, and with Lazio having their number 1 goalkeeper back for this one, could Lazio do the impossible?
No, they couldn't. Juventus won the 2nd leg 4-1 resulting in an 8-1 aggregate score after goals from Nuno_Mendes, A_Isak and a double from F_Wirtz.
Into the semi finals, a stage of the competition which saw AS Monaco, Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United....I know what you're thinking. What happened to the great and powerful Leeds United? Well, West Ham United knocked them out resulting in the Leeds manager releasing a statement wishing the Hammers good luck in the rest of the tournament, hoping they would beat Juventus in the final. It was at this point that Banks made a bold prediction that his Juventus team WOULD win the entire competition and shoud they fail to do so, he's resign from his position at the club.
Juventus did indeed avoid West Ham as they would face Brighton & Hove Albion in the final 4 and much like in the previous round, they would make light work of the tie winning the first leg 5-1 after goals from F_Wirtz, Antony X2, A_Isak & Y_Adli.
The 2nd leg would see Brighton win the game 3-1 but Juventus would progress to the final, via an aggregate score of 6-4, where they would face AS Monaco.
The day of the final came around and Juventus were in a crisis, as they were missing not 1, not 2, but 3 first team players through either injury or suspension.
Defender W_Fofana, midfielder F_Wirtz and striker C_DeKetelaere would all miss the final and this put Monaco as heavy favourites to beat the Italian team and lift the preistegious trophy, bringing an end to Banks' tenure at the club, but the remainder of the squad rallied together and after a 50th minute strike from A_Isak, Juventus were victorious and lifted the DPT Trophy.
EFL Cup- Juventus haven't had a great deal of luck with this competition, either being knocked out by a lowly team on penalties, or coming up against one of the 'big boys' and this season was no different.
After a 3-1 win in Round 1 against SS Lazio with goals from A_Isak, Antony & F_Wirtz, Round 2 saw them drawn against lowly Vilarreal...The same Vilarreal who they beat 12-0 in the previous campaign, however this time it would be very different.
After a 90 minutes that ended 3-3 (Goals coming from DeKetelaere & a A_Isak brace), Juventus squeezed past the Conference team on penalties to book their place in the Quart Finals, where they were drawn against the might AS Roma.
The Galacticos of Rome swept the Old Lady aside, beating them 4-0 in a totally one sided game which ended their cup run.
To summarise, Season 2 was a succesful campaign that ended in a DPT Cup win, and a league finish that few would have predicted. Can they improve upon that? Can they sustain the good performances? Only time will tell. Watch this space.
At a glance, Juventus finished 3rd in EFL 1, made it to the quarter finals of the EFL Cup, and won the DPT Trophy but we'll take things one competition at a time:
EFL 1- Juventus finished in 3rd place on 83 points, scoring 93 goals and finishing above the likes of Real Madrid for the second time in 3 seasons.
The aim for Juventus this season was to finsih 6th-8th after a poor season in the campaign before, however it became apparent around the mid season mark that the Old Lady would be contending for a position much higher, as after a run of games that saw them win 10+ in a row in all competitions, at the mid way point of the season Juventus were in a title race sitting 2nd.
The second half of the season saw the likes of PSG & AS Roma begin to stretch away from the chasing pack, culminating in those two finishing 1st & 2nd respectively while Juventus' form became inconsistent at times, resulting in poor defeats to the likes of Rangers & Borussia Dortmund during the final 10 games.
Having said that 3rd place was clinched on the final game of the season, after it looked like Juventus would finish 4th or 5th after a dip in form, with a come from behind win against Schalke 04, coupled with an Atletico Madrid defeat at the hands of Inter Milan.
When all was said and done, Juventus had the 5th most potent attack in the league, behind only PSG, AS Roma, Real Madrid & Inter Milan, while they had the 4th best defence behind only PSG, AS Roma & Real Madrid. Juventus' top scorers for the campaign came from 4 players. Unsurprisingly those 4 players were A_Isak (31 goals), C_DeKetelaere (31 goals), F_Wirtz (25 goals) & Antony (21 goals) in all competitions.
Overall, this HAS to be seen as a huge achievement for the Italian club, finishing arguably 3-5 places above where they should have. But remember folks, this happened 2 seasons prior and look what happened in the following season.
DPT- Juventus were drawn into Group B, alongside Leeds United (eventual Premier League Champions), Southampton & Bayer Leverkusen.
After a shaky start (A 3-1 home defeat to Leeds United), Juventus would go on to beat both Southampton and Bayer Leverkusen home AND away to clinch their place in the knockout stages with a game to play.
The 6th and final game in Leeds was one which would decide who would win the group out of the two teams, however Juventus seemed to be okay with 2nd place as they used the game to give rotation players a game as they slumped to a 2nd defeat of the competition against Leeds.
Into the Quarter Finals, and Juventus were drawn against SS Lazio, arguably the hardest draw available to them at the time, however a huge stroke of luck for Juventus as Lazio goalkeeer D_de_Gea was injured in a previous league game, meaning that Lazio would have to use an untested backup goalkeeper for the first leg...A game that Juventus would go on to win 4-0.
Goals from A_Isak, N_Gonzalez X2 and C_DeKetelaere put the tie to bed but there was still a 2nd leg to play, and with Lazio having their number 1 goalkeeper back for this one, could Lazio do the impossible?
No, they couldn't. Juventus won the 2nd leg 4-1 resulting in an 8-1 aggregate score after goals from Nuno_Mendes, A_Isak and a double from F_Wirtz.
Into the semi finals, a stage of the competition which saw AS Monaco, Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United....I know what you're thinking. What happened to the great and powerful Leeds United? Well, West Ham United knocked them out resulting in the Leeds manager releasing a statement wishing the Hammers good luck in the rest of the tournament, hoping they would beat Juventus in the final. It was at this point that Banks made a bold prediction that his Juventus team WOULD win the entire competition and shoud they fail to do so, he's resign from his position at the club.
Juventus did indeed avoid West Ham as they would face Brighton & Hove Albion in the final 4 and much like in the previous round, they would make light work of the tie winning the first leg 5-1 after goals from F_Wirtz, Antony X2, A_Isak & Y_Adli.
The 2nd leg would see Brighton win the game 3-1 but Juventus would progress to the final, via an aggregate score of 6-4, where they would face AS Monaco.
The day of the final came around and Juventus were in a crisis, as they were missing not 1, not 2, but 3 first team players through either injury or suspension.
Defender W_Fofana, midfielder F_Wirtz and striker C_DeKetelaere would all miss the final and this put Monaco as heavy favourites to beat the Italian team and lift the preistegious trophy, bringing an end to Banks' tenure at the club, but the remainder of the squad rallied together and after a 50th minute strike from A_Isak, Juventus were victorious and lifted the DPT Trophy.
EFL Cup- Juventus haven't had a great deal of luck with this competition, either being knocked out by a lowly team on penalties, or coming up against one of the 'big boys' and this season was no different.
After a 3-1 win in Round 1 against SS Lazio with goals from A_Isak, Antony & F_Wirtz, Round 2 saw them drawn against lowly Vilarreal...The same Vilarreal who they beat 12-0 in the previous campaign, however this time it would be very different.
After a 90 minutes that ended 3-3 (Goals coming from DeKetelaere & a A_Isak brace), Juventus squeezed past the Conference team on penalties to book their place in the Quart Finals, where they were drawn against the might AS Roma.
The Galacticos of Rome swept the Old Lady aside, beating them 4-0 in a totally one sided game which ended their cup run.
To summarise, Season 2 was a succesful campaign that ended in a DPT Cup win, and a league finish that few would have predicted. Can they improve upon that? Can they sustain the good performances? Only time will tell. Watch this space.