Victory against Roma tomorrow night could be enough to call him Mister Champions. Massimiliano Allegri has been repeating it since the beginning of the season: the objective is to bring Juventus back to the most important continental event. And who knows better than him how to do it? Even on a personal level, it would be a good achievement for Max. The Livorno coach, in fact, would be in his tenth qualification for the Champions League. In Serie A, only Carlo Ancelotti has done better with eleven. Allegri, however, would object that on the pitch he is actually already in double figures and could thus already catch up with the current Real Madrid coach. Last season is not included in the account, in which Juve would have finished third in the standings, even if they were then relegated to seventh place after being penalized 10 points due to the well-known legal proceedings that started with the Prisma investigation. It changes little, whether we consider Max already at ten like Luciano Spalletti or at nine like Giovanni Trapattoni (at the time however it was called the Champions Cup and only those who won the championship or the Cup itself were entitled to participate), we always talk about the top of the bench. The others are all detached.
from Milan to today
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If we exclude the particular and already mentioned case of 2022-23, Allegri has achieved the Champions League in practically every year in which he has reached the end of the season since he began coaching a big team, i.e. from 2010-11. It was his first year at Milan, which ended with the Scudetto won and celebrated on the lawn of the Olimpico, the same one where tomorrow evening he hopes to get the three points that would formalize Juve’s arrival in the Europe that counts. Friendly stadium, that of Rome: here the coach from Livorno has won four Italian Cup finals and an Italian Super Cup in black and white and here on May 15th (Cup final against Atalanta) he will try to return to lifting a trophy after two years of nothing . A void that hasn’t happened to him since his time at Milan. After the scudetto and the victory in the Super Cup in Beijing against Inter in the summer of 2011, in the following two and a half years with the Rossoneri Allegri was unable to achieve any other titles. In 2011-12 and 2012-13 he still achieved a second and third place, although at the time third place meant having to play for access to the Champions League group stage through the playoffs. Max’s Milan beat PSV in 2013 and earned the pass. The last year in Milan, however, was the least happy in a big league, with Allegri sacked in January 2014 after a daring defeat (4-3, four by a young Mimmo Berardi) against newly promoted Sassuolo. The coach from Livorno had the opportunity to make up for it when the following summer he was called upon to replace Antonio Conte as Juventus coach: eleven trophies in five years, including five consecutive championships. After his farewell in 2019, he returned to Juventus Turin two years later. Since then, as mentioned, no trophies, but the guarantee of always finishing in the top four, at least on the pitch.
to the present day
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Today it would be enough for Juve to even finish fifth, thanks to the performances of the Italians in the European cups and the new format of the Champions League. Max, however, would like to close the process as soon as possible, to then concentrate on the Italian Cup final with Atalanta. The quickest way is, in fact, to beat Roma. Otherwise, to have the arithmetic certainty of not failing the mission, five points will be needed between now and the end of the championship between away games at the Olimpico and Bologna, and matches at the Stadium with Salernitana and Monza. The objective is therefore definitely within reach, although how it arrives could also make the difference in the consideration of Allegri’s own work. After a great first round, which ended with 46 points, his Juve decidedly limped in the return and the just 13 points in the last 13 matchdays have thus shaken up a season finale that seemed serene, at least with a view to qualifying for the next Super Champions League. Max still has one year left on his contract, but his stay on the Juventus bench is considered in the balance. Even if he were to confirm himself as Mister Champions once again.
