Juve, another shame. A slap that scares Milan and Inter too

That stuff that Napoli did last night, Juventus fans know it well. They have seen it done many times by Conte’s formations and by those of Allegri in the cycle of the nine championships: precisely against Naples, against Rome, against the Milanese. Security and then ferocity to demonstrate superiority and to crumble any comeback ambitions: the Naples it’s a wonderful football machine, you have to have great imagination to think that he won’t win the Scudetto. Juventus’ plans to chase Spalletti’s men soon turned into whims and Massimiliano Allegri’s team lost everything, especially their honour. Because losing was in the order of things, giving up so softly, collapsing so shamelessly, contesting the second half without a drop of competitive spirit, it’s an offense to millions of fans. This time there’s no need for Andrea Agnelli to say it, as happened in October, the players and the Juventus coach cannot but feel the same shame. Shame because that’s not the case, a great team loses and there are two cases: either this Juventus isn’t one, a great team, and then profound changes will be necessary in the summer at every technical level; or he doesn’t know how to behave as a great team and then someone needs to explain it to him. There is time and opportunity to resolve the doubt: Juventus must keep the Champions League and can try to win the Italian Cup and the Europa League.

Shame, like in Haifa

But undoing last night’s humiliation won’t be easy. Allegri made a lot of mistakes in preparing for the matchbecause Chiesa’s move from the first minute against the amazing Kvaratskhelia caused enormous suffering in the blue rather than a surprise: making him play full-back is a wicked waste of energy and talent. Bremer has gone beyond his right to be wrong, because he didn’t get one right, ridiculed by the monstrous Osimhen. But practically no one from Juventus was saved, because Di Maria himself, the only one up to the situation, gave up along with the others, making his goal and his commitment useless. Shame, like in Haifa. Juventus fans can only hope that, like three months ago, that burning feeling will resurrect the team and the results. If only because Napoli are really strong and there aren’t many teams in Italy and in Europe capable of asphalting Juventus in this way. And the historicity of the defeat, which will mark an era in Naples and for the Neapolitans, is a golden frame for Spalletti’s masterpiece. The championship is very long, but his team can’t be afraid: he could have been afraid yesterday, but he was magnificent and ruthless. Now he will have even more conviction and, yes, he will have to avoid distractions, voltage drops, excesses of security, but in difficult moments he will be able to look back to yesterday night and fill up on security again. Because the impression is that Juventus got slapped yesterday and the noise scared Milan and Inter as well.