Friday, March 4, 2011

From Ferrara to Zaccheroni to Del Neri to...... Juventus' coaching saga continues!

The 2010/2011 instalment of the Serie A has seemingly mirrored that of 2009/2010 for the Bianconeri. A new coach brought a new hope for the fans who have been disappointed on a regular basis, amongst some poor performances and some woeful transfers the Juventus of old has seemingly disappeared post Calciopoli.

 
The Turin giants sit 7th in the Serie A on 41 points. In perspective they lie 17 points behind rivals and next opponents Ac Milan, and 7 points outside of the top four. They remain in the hunt for a spot in the Champions League spot, although with only 11 games remaining this season this may seem to be an insurmountable task.
If one thing is for certain though the Juventus board will look to hold those responsible for the utterly diappointing season. It looks as though the first person to go - as is always the case - will be Luigi Del Neri.

Many would argue that Del Neri is not responsible for the poor run of Juventus form. Rather it is the players, both newly transferred and season campaigners who have failed to produce consistency on the pitch. Nevertheless Juventus will be on the look out for a new coach. Several high profile managers have already been linked with the Old Lady.

During the January transfer window, former Roma coach and current Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti was linked with Del Neri's job. During his time in the Serie A he lead Udinese to a Champions League position, and later lead Roma to a host of Coppa Italia victories. He continued his good run of form in Russia winning two league titles with Zenit.He would certainly have the Serie A experience to take over the role of coach at Juventus.

Current English national coach and former Juventus coach Fabio Capello was also linked with a move to Juventus. Capello was at the helm of the Bianconeri in the period leading up to Calciopoli. He developed a team that proved to be one of the most lethal in Europe, there was the possibility that he was even going to lead Juventus to a third Champions League title in the following years. However his team was dismantled when Juve were relegated. Capello is not the man to back down from challenges, and the challenge for him to finish the task he started 7 years ago is still more than alive.

With rumours as absurd as a Lippi return, or a certain Arsene Wenger walking in on the action, Juventus will certainly have an abundance of choice to choose from when choosing their new coach. For now the board will hope that Del Neri has the ability to lead the disappointing Bianconeri to an elusive Champions League spot, so that his certain predecessor is given an opportunity to make his mark.

Juventus face Milan at home this weekend, a win is almost necessary to keep European dreams alive.