One of the few positives to come out of [Juventus](https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com)’ final Club World Cup match was the Buffon-esque performance of Michelle Di Gregorio. Over the course of 90 minutes, injury time, and cooling break time, completed 10 crucial saves against a Real Madrid side with some heavy firepower. The former Monza man was staring down the barrel of 21 shots, 11 on target shots, and 11 corners, only conceding a single wide-open header courtesy of Gonzalo Garcia.
But it wasn’t just the on-pitch performance of the keeper that stood out, rather the context of Di Gregorio’s situation. El Digre was not simply the last line of defense — he was the defense. That’s especially true considering the motley crew of defenders Igor Tudor fielded in Tuesday’s loss: Newcastle man Lloyd Kelly, own-goal expert Pierre Kalulu, Ajax-recalled Daniele Rugani, and the only recently healthy Federico Gatti. Although for a player who hasn’t been in Italy in over a year, Rugani performed better than expected.
So this was the situation for Di Gregorio. Face down the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde, Vini Jr., and Jude Bellingham, with a fractured and defeated back line. A scary proposition for any keeper, but Di Gregorio stepped up to the challenge, and kept one of the most threatening Real Madrid sides in decades to a single goal.
### _Going Dutch … or Portuguese_
Daniele, what have they been teaching you at Ajax?
One of the Juventus defenders coming into the match with very low expectations was Rugani. In the past half decade, he’s been on a Eurotrip, loaned out to Rennes, Cagliari, and most recently Ajax, and with such little time to practice with the core squad, it was a complete shock to watch the Italian clear 10 balls, keep a 95% passing accuracy, and tally a tackle and an interception. Of all the low-expectation players, Rugani leveled up his game against a formidable foe, standing out from Kalulu and Kelly.
The only other player with similar statistics was Alberto Costa, who after becoming a bit of a ghost under the Thiago Motta administration has been doing everything to earn his black and white stripes in the Club World Cup. With 10 clearances and two tackles against a vicious Spanish opponent, the Portuguese youngster will have a better chance than ever of becoming a more permanent fixture in the starting lineup.
One of the best things to come out of the Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca matches was seeing that even against “layup” teams, Juventus’ attack was growing more precise, more cohesive, and shedding its shakiness that long belabored it early in the season. The Manchester City match showed that against a big side, there were still issues, but a logical person would figure that the likes of Randal Kolo Muani, Kenan Yildiz, and Francisco Conceicao would be able to scale up their attacking attempts knowing full well how poor the backline was.
It’s simple war tactics, beat your opponent in their castle before they can attack your poorly defended one.
### The result? Nothing.
There were just two shots on target from Juventus, complemented by a bevy of off-target shots followed by Real Madrid counters. The four corner kicks of the match were easily thwarted by Thibaut Courtois, and Juventus headed home without a goal to its name. It truly felt like Tudor’s squad was the worst of his past two predecessors, where defensive mastermind Max Allegri had very little attacking on his roster, and former Inter player Motta focused on attacking while letting his defense rot. Put those two together, you have Juventus against Real Madrid in Miami.
### _Giveaway Blues_
It seemed that like clockwork Juventus would find themselves in possession, then immediately lose the ball via either trying to dribble past Real Madrid’s midfielders or an attempted pass that would see Trent Alexander-Arnold or Antonio Rudiger come out of nowhere. The Bianconeri couldn’t hold onto the ball if it was glued to them, as their consistently feverish attempts to get off their back foot resulted in a consistent scramble and chase.
**The Ugly**
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### _Backline Blues_
Now into July, it seems like outside of the transfer rumor mill, Juventus is not focusing on their biggest issue. A fragile and paper-thin defense led by Kelly and Kalulu, with lofty hopes that when Juan Cabal and Bremer come back, the world will simply reset itself. It seems that the management in Turin have completely forgotten that the very backbone of Juventus, and arguably all Italian football is defending.
No, instead of racing to fix the gunshot wound, the powers that be would rather treat a stubbed toe. It’s great that the Dusan Vlahovic era of mediocrity is ending, Nico Gonzalez is rumored to be up for grabs, and Jonathan David is coming from the Great Snowy North to try to force some power in attack. But what does that mean if Juventus goes through another year of going up a goal, conceding, and ending in a draw? It’s like every single Italian grandmother has said for centuries: clean your room and make your bed before you have company. And in this case, Juventus needs to get its house in order.
### _Playing 10 Questions_
Tudor said after the loss to Real Madrid that there were 10 requests for substitutions during the match due to fatigue in the harsh weather conditions — which does not bode well for the rest of the competition, let alone next summer’s World Cup. But it’s odd, because so many teams outside of Europe face humid and exhaustingly hot conditions during their regular season. Just ask Wessam Abou Ali of Al Ahly. Even the averages in Napoli or Lecce during the start of the Serie A season hover around that 90-degree Fahrenheit mark.
Whatever comes of this, it will not bode well for teams from all over Europe playing in North America next summer.
**Liam’s Analysis**
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Look, we were out of our depth and kept the match to 1-0. Which is great. But what’s been extremely hard to reconcile over the past half-decade or so is that the Juventus so many of us grew up with, the one that struck fear into the hearts of English, Spanish, and German sides, is not the one that currently exists.
The current Juve is the result of poor investments, misguided modernization, and a chip on its shoulder about things that happened a decade ago. It doesn’t just want to be able to take on the strike-heavy Manchester Citys and Bayerns of the world, it wants to be them, and that’s not in Juventus’ DNA. You can sign a striker who’s “hot” for the moment, call yourself a “lifestyle” brand, even change your logo, but does that really fundamentally change who you are?
Yes, scoring is important, but the base of the Juventus pyramid has been defending, and defending isn’t as “sexy” as a goal via scissor kick. But it’s practical, smart, and tactical. All concepts that have been lost in Turin. The Italian system, one of the greatest in history, isn’t showy, doesn’t brag, and isn’t obsessed with champagne football, or whatever it is called.
Some players are showing grit, putting the club above themselves, but the problems are deeper than something fixable by a good attitude. After crashing out of the Coppa Italia, losing to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, barely making it to fourth place in Serie A, and now being ousted from the Club World Cup, it’s clear that these issues will persist for a long time.
Juventus fans have been “spoiled” with success, and the expectation of continued victory in the past fifteen or so years. Almost a decade of titles with scattered Coppa Italia and Supercoppa trophies, two appearances in the Champions League final. But are we really spoiled, or do we measure this club that we’ve pinned our hopes and dreams to on a scale built by a history of dominance?
So ends the matches for the next month and a half, and I’m sure everyone is eagerly awaiting what happens in the 2025-26 campaign.
As always, Fino Alla Fine!