Sergio's Grab Bag: Groundhog Day

Yesterday at 04:00 PM

We talk about Juve's highs and lows (again!), their rash of January transfers and the unceremonious dumping of a former captain.

What is there left to say?

Juventus played a really good game and then a bad game within the span of four days. They showed good things at some moments, while continuing to exhibit the same worrying trends and ineffectiveness that have been ailing this team for months now. For every couple steps forward there is inevitably a step or two back — which makes for technically flawless Salsa dancing, but it is a bad football experience.

Take that statement above and you can essentially replicate it to describe the form of Juventus at all moments during the current season. Hell, push me further and you could use that paragraph above to describe almost every single year since Juventus' last Scudetto season in 2019-20.

It's like watching someone learn how to drive a stick transmission. You're just as likely to make a great switch from second gear to third to then completely over-rev the engine while screeching away when switching from third to fourth.

(One of my few snobby, obnoxious takes, by the way, is that it is infinitely superior and more fun to drive a manual transmission instead of an automatic. I do look down upon you if you are unable to drive stick. I apologize preemptively.)

It really doesn't matter how good you look one day if this team is still unable to put results together and as we turn the calendar to February, we are still not closer to figuring out what this team really is great at doing. It's probably not ideal.

Let's cook.

Dutch Disappointment

So, Teun Koopmeiners is having a bad season, right?

One of the marquee signings of the transfer window and of the entire Cristiano Giuntoli retooling of Juve's squad continues to he kinda just ... there.

The counting stats — two goals, three assists in 25 total appearances — are bad enough but it really is shocking how easily you forget he's on the pitch especially when last season it was the complete opposite for the former Atalanta player. The guy who pulled all the strings for the Europa League champs is struggling to even find where the controllers are with Juventus.

I don't know if it's a different system, the general adaptation to new teammates and coach or what it is, but the guy that was supposed the key to unlock the entire Mottaball project looks like a shadow of himself. It's not like he's completely unable to play as an attacking midfielder — last year with Atalanta, Koopmeiners played 37 games as the nominal central attacking midfielder.

Whether by design or by circumstance, Koopmeiners has found himself on an island for a vast majority of the games, rarely touching the ball and even less rarely doing something dangerous or productive with it.

Juventus spent over €100 million in Douglas Luiz and Koopmeiners this summer transfer window. Hard to make the case that the investment has paid off.

Busting out the credit card

I've got to give it for Cristiano Giuntoli. Unlike last season, he's not shying away from busting out the old wallet and putting his money where his mouth is and giving this team January reinforcements.

Juve's kinda thin in the fullback department? Bang, Alberto Costa from Portugal right away.

Arek Milik might just never play again and Dusan Vlahovic remains Dusan Vlahovic? Here's Randal Kolo Muani to try and fix the situation.

Turns out Pierre Kalulu and Federico Gatti can't play 90 minutes every other day? Take some Renato Veiga for your problems.

Granted, the Kolo Muani deal and the Veiga seem like desperation heaves in the sense they are short-term loans with no guarantees that they will be Juventus players any longer than the remainder of the season. Then again, considering the serious need for warm bodies in those positions, a desperation heave was kind of as good as it was going to get.

Sure, if they end up playing really well, odds are that the clubs who own their rights will just simply call them back, thank Juventus for developing and/or salvaging their distressed assets and move on, but, hey you do what you can.

There's also a marked difference between the proactiveness of Giuntoli this January transfer window with the last one, in which a team that was in the thick of a title race and with several potential positions to shore up got ... Carlos Alcaraz and a shrug for their troubles.

(Carlos Alcaraz now plays in Brazil if you were curious about where his career went after his anonymous Juve stint.)

Will this wave of mid season reinforcements be a changing of the tide for Juventus? Hard to say. With the issues this team has had in the position groups that got a boost and the intriguing mix of talent and youth Giuntoli inserted into the squad it's tempting to say that this could be a turning point. At worst, it's nice that there are more options to keep the legs fresh for the Bianconeri. At best? Hey, I believed in Alcaraz until the death. As far as I'm concerned, Kolo Muani might score 20 goals.

Parting Shot of the Week

There's got to be more to the whole Danilo thing, right?

I mean, when have you see a player go from every day starter and captain to frozen out from the team and about to get his contract rescinded in less than six months — there has to be something, right?

Danilo wasn't having the greatest of seasons during the 2024-25 campaign. That's no shock to anybody who saw him in his limited minutes during the Motta era but with injuries and the player crunch it is shocking that the team was so willing to let go of a guy who was such a pivotal part of the team last season and who you have to imagine had some locker room influence considering his status as captain.

Add to that some of his cryptic comments after leaving Vinovo with his move back to Brazil almost done and you have to assume there's more than just a downshift in form behind this quick and bitter end for Danilo's stint in black and white.

I will remember Danilo as the guy who was a throw in in the Joao Cancelo deal and who ended up pretty significantly over performing the talented but flawed portuguese fullback. He leaves Juventus with four more trophies to his name and as a Scudetto, two time Italian Cup and one time SuperCoppa winner. Also leaving a legacy behind of a guy who was always the consummate professional and someone who legitimately seemed to love the club and his time here.

See you, next time.