There was a renewed sense of optimism surrounding Juventus at the start of the 2024-25 season, ushered in by new and promising management and the addition of key players during the summer transfer window, showing signs that the club was on an upswing.
The addition of Thiago Motta as manager was an indicator that Juventus would become a more attack-focused team, while the signings of Khephren Thuram, Douglas Luiz, and Teun Koopmeiners showed that there was a clear effort to right the wrongs of past seasons. However, plans in the beautiful game rarely go the way that management wants them to, and with the exception of brilliant moments in very specific games, the season was rife with poor performances, locker room drama, and a very present lack of team cohesion, eventually leading to what can be summarized as a mediocre, if not poor, campaign.
While many applauded the decision to bring in Motta as manager, some stuck to their belief that Max Allegri was the right man to captain the ship. Somehow, both parties were proved correct. Motta’s new men did bring strength in the midfield and created a good deal of attacking opportunities, mainly via Thuram, but the Gleison Bremer-less squad suffered numerous occasions of inability to maintain a lead, something that Allegri’s squads had less of a difficulty with. Juventus finished with one of the highest totals of dropped points from a winning position this season.
Ultimately, the optimism around Motta faded, and the former Bologna manager was fired during the March international break, with Igor Tudor coming in to try and secure a Champions League spot next season. Which Juventus did with their season-ending win over Venezia.
Either way, the season is now in the rearview window, and the future looks to be a star-spangled Club World Cup, alongside the best of global football powerhouses.
Serie A
2024-25 finish: Fourth place, UCL qualification
2023-24 finish: Third place, UCL qualification
Comparing the two most recent Juventus seasons domestically is akin to playing a game of apples and oranges. The 2023-24 season was one that showed early title contention as the club played only one match a week, and had a “Last Dance” quality to it. Veterans like Alex Sandro, Wojciech Szczęsny, and the ever-controversial Adrien Rabiot proved to be on their way out, Allegri knew the consequences of what a poor season meant, and youngsters like Nicolo Fagioli, Fabio Miretti, Kenan Yildiz, and Dean Hujisen were just getting their footing, though Hujisen ended up on loan to Roma and is now set to don the white shirt of Real Madrid. This squad was more consistent than that of the present day, but lacked the middle-ground of experienced but not yet veteran players in their mid-to-late 20s.
Alternatively, the 2024-25 squad was much younger, but lacked the consistency and drive to chase a title. Early on there was some promise, but the long string of early draws thanks to late-game leads going awry led to one of the worst “invincible runs” in Serie A history — and even that was too early to say. The Old Lady got the job done against big clubs like Inter Milan, Lazio, and AC Milan, but simply could not put the nail in the coffin when facing mid-table and relegation squads. The 4-0 loss to Atlanta and 3-0 loss to Fiorentina, and the crash out from the Champions League and Coppa Italia, spelled the end of Motta’s time at the hull of the SS Bianconeri, making way for a no-nonsense Tudor, who managed to just get the team to next season’s Champions League … and all the millions of euros that come with it.
With Juventus’ history of excellence in mind, this year’s fourth-place finish should not be the bar. However, with Juventus’ more recent history in mind, this is another situation of beggars can’t be choosers.
UEFA Champions League
2024-25 finish: 4-3 loss on aggregate to PSV Eindhoven in playoff round
2023-24 finish: Did not compete in the competition
This year’s Champions League campaign only served to highlight the very confusing nature of Motta’s Juventus —on one hand the club beat the likes of Manchester City, PSV, and RB Leipzig in the new-look league phase, but on the other hand could not muster enough to perform well against recent DFB Pokal winners Stuttgart or Angel Di Maria’s Benfica. There were “Oh my God” moments such as the come-from-behind victory over RB Leipzig after going down a man courtesy of two Dusan Vlahovic goals and Francisco Conceicao’s game-winner that indicated Juventus may be moving in the right direction early on. However, that promise was erased by sluggish draws against Club Brugge, Lille, and Aston Villa.
As any rational Juventus fan could tell you, there was little to no chance that this year’s Champions League campaign could be fruitful, expecting an exit in either the Round of 16 or at most, the quarterfinals. But even with a new manager, a lot of new players, and a bit more renewed hope, the Bianconeri followed a pattern of crashing out against a club that only 10 years ago would be seen as a guaranteed victory. Yes, PSV joined the likes of Porto and Lyon as the clubs who bounced Juventus from Europe’s most prestigious club competition in recent years, even after La Vecchia Signora dispatched the team in a 3-1 victory in Turin on the opening matchday of the competition’s league phase.
Ironically, a good number of teams Juventus faced in Europe this season did end their seasons with trophies or moderate success. PSV won the Eredivisie title, Stuttgart beat out third-division Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Pokal final, and Benfica went to the Taca De Portugal final, only to controversially lose to Sporting CP by two goals.
Coppa Italia
2024-25 finish: Eliminated in the quarterfinals by Empoli on penalties
2023-24 finish: Beat Atalanta in the final
This year’s Coppa Italia was similar to that of previous years ... until it wasn’t.
Juventus trampled Cagliari by four goals in the round of 16, which came as little surprise. But the killer of the competition for Juventus was the now-relegated and very much shorthanded Empoli, where the Tuscans scored early, only to face a equalizer from Thuram. The match dragged on, and after 15 total shots, nine corners, and a shockingly high passing accuracy of 90%, Juventus were out of the competition via a penalty shootout. Vlahovic skied his shot over the goal, and a defeated Yildiz shot the ball directly into the keeper’s gloves, sending Empoli to the semifinals where they received a thrashing from eventual winners, Bologna.
What this proved to anyone who was unlucky enough to watch was that Juventus’ situation was more dire than it seemed. Vlahovic — who’s entire spell at Juventus has been marred by ups and downs in performance but is known for his relative clinical nature when it comes to penalties — could not keep the momentum in the shootout. And, as the camera panned to the Juventus squad watching, it seemed even they knew their fate was sealed in the competition.
This was arguably, if not completely, one of of Juventus’ worst banishments from the Coppa Italia, although in recent years Empoli has proven to be a foil against the Bianconeri, even though their most recent victory in the regular season came minutes after the squad was told they were receiving a reduced point deduction in May 2023.
Supercoppa Italiana
2024-25 result: 2-1 loss to Milan in the semifinals
2023-24 Result: Did not compete
While not the most important competition of the season, the loss to Milan in the four-team Supercoppa was an indicator of what would become a massive crash out to come across most competitions. An early Yildiz goal in the 21st minute showed promise, but the second half became a massive backslide in performance, allowing for the Rossoneri to take the upper hand due to a penalty by Cristian Pulisic, and an own goal by Federico Gatti.
Admittedly, it was the first time Juventus played in the new structure of the competition that features not only the previous season’s Scudetto winner and Coppa Italia winner, but also the runners-up from both competitions. Were it the original format, Juventus would have squared off against Inter, who they tallied one win and one draw against in Serie A. The 2025 Supercoppa was one of the more odd editions of the competition, played in Saudi Arabia in January and ending in a shocking AC Milan win over arch-rivals Inter.
As for Juventus, an argument could be made that it wasn’t taken as seriously as other competitions, but with very little promise to walk away with silverware in Serie A or the Champions League at the time, beggars can’t be choosers.
What’s Next?
This summer, Juventus will face off against Al Ain, Wydad AC, and Manchester City in the group stage of the Club World Cup. Similar to the most recent Champions League, there is not much hope in the Bianconeri bringing the key-activated trophy back to Turin, as heavy competition in the form of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and PSG are the usual frontrunners. Though, when it comes to one-off competitions, some teams prefer to field players who are less likely to be important in the Champions League and their respective domestic campaigns, so the door is ever so slightly open.