Juventus: A Monopoly in the Serie A
With the apparent signing of Gonzalo Higuain, football fans have to even wonder if Juventus will be contested for the Serie A title. Juventus are a club with a storied history. They are a club who has had some wonderful times, but they have also gone through tough times (Calciopoli Scandal).
This summer, more than ever, Juventus is trying to solidify the title, before they even kick off for their first match in the Serie A. Since the season has ended Juventus have signed: Mario Lemina (loan from Marseille loan made permanent for €9.5 million), Dani Alves (free transfer from FC Barcelona), Miralem Pjanić (€32 million from AS Roma), Mehdi Benatia (loan from Bayern Munich with option to buy), and now possibly the signing of Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain for a reported €94.7 million. Take the Higuain transfer out of it, and just focus on all of the other players they have brought in.
Were these players needed? You can always make a debate for it. For the 2015/16 Serie A season, Juventus won the title. They finished with 91 points, with Napoli coming in second with 82 points. There’s an old adage in sports; Defence wins championships. Well that statement is certainly true. Although Juventus didn’t score the most goals in the league (75), however they had the best defensive record (20 goals conceded). They conceded 0.52 goals per game. An astounding record. Yet Massimiliano Allegri still thought there was a need to bring in two new defenders to strengthen the squad.
With all the rumours surrounding Paul Pogba, and his rumoured move back to Manchester United, the Bianconeri brought in another midfielder, Miralem Pjanić from title contenders AS Roma for €32 million. Pjanić is a name that is known in the Serie A, and throughout world football. Pjanić displayed his many qualities during his tenure for the Giallorossi.
After Real Madrid activated the buy back clause in Alvaro Morata’s contract, many fans began to panic. But Allegri and the owners have come up with a solution to replace the Spaniard: Gonzalo Higuain. The Napoli forward scored an astounding 36 goals in the league last season. His 36 goals tied the record for goals in a Serie A season (Gino Rossetti 1928-29 for Torino FC). To put it into context, the next leading scorer last season was Juventus’ Paulo Dybala with 19 goals. Higuain nearly doubled him in goals.
These signings aren’t only good for the team, but it prevents their rivals from gaining ground on them. Signing players from the two teams that finished closest to you, it doesn’t only show their mentality, but that it shows they have no mercy. They have the money to make these signings to not only improve their team, but make the other teams around them weaker. They buy from within the league and cripple their opponents, to make their ascension to the top that much easier. Look at the squad that they have. They still have Pogba at the moment. They haven’t signed Higuain yet, but with Zaza, Dybala and Mandžukić do they really need to? Juventus is a club that others can try and model themselves after. They aren’t a Barcelona, Real Madrid, or a Manchester United. But they’re climbing up the ranks in world football. They will keep plucking talents from within Serie A as the years go on. They’ve got a monopoly there, but the next stage is to try and take over world football. Watch out for Juventus. They’re here, and they aren’t going anywhere.