beIN SPORTS

When Antonio Conte walked out on Juventus in mid-July, everyone connected to the Bianconeri was shell shocked, wondering how the club would cope with losing the man who had completely transformed the club in just three years. From the moment they secured promotion back to Serie A in 2007, the Turin giants were mismanaged until their former captain returned to the club, and the coach quickly eradicated the air of mediocrity that had pervaded every pore of this proud institution.

Delivering a title-winning undefeated 2011-12 campaign, Conte restored the pride Italian football’s grand Old Lady once took for granted, following it up with a Champions League quarter final berth and yet another Serie A crown. His final year saw the club net a record 102 points, winning every home game as they finished top of the table for a third consecutive season, a feat even Marcello Lippi and Giovanni Trapattoni failed to achieve.

Less than twenty-four hours later, while everyone else was reeling, Massimiliano Allegri walked in and started working as an unlikely replacement for Conte, a task most believed was all but impossible. From his very first day in the role, the former Milan coach knew exactly what was required; telling reporters at his inaugural press conference that there was only one way he could gain the trust of Juve’s stunned supporters. 

“Winning them over will require victories, hard work, respect and professionalism,” Allegri said the day after his appointment,  before going on to state where he believed he could improve upon the domestic dominance enjoyed under his predecessor. “We’ll try to enjoy an excellent Champions League campaign,” he added, “Juventus must be among the top eight teams in Europe, it’s our duty.” 

That was something of a nod to the previous season, where the Bianconeri had failed to emerge from the group stage of the Champions League, then lost a Europa League semi-final when the showpiece event was to be held in their stadium. If those shortcomings were the only knock on Conte’s tenure, Allegri knew that the elite continental competition offered him a chance to gain acceptance from a hugely sceptical fan base and achieve something truly significant.

It is with those comments in mind that the Turin giants return to European action this week, facing Borussia Dortmund in a finely balanced last sixteen encounter. The German side had struggled before the winter break, surprisingly dropping into the relegation zone whilst somehow topping a Champions League group containing Arsenal, Galatasaray and Anderlecht. 

Having reached the final of the competition just two years ago, Jürgen Klopp’s side possess an excellent pedigree, benefiting from the experience so clearly absent from the current Juventus squad.

Currently nine points clear at the top of the Serie A standings and comfortably into the semi-final of the Coppa Italia, the Bianconeri now face the very real prospect of their entire season being judged over this two-legged tie. Beating Dortmund would add legitimacy to whatever else they accomplish, allowing the players to prove they can succeed without Conte and giving Allegri’s own tenure the best possible start.

Meanwhile, elimination would likely see a fourth consecutive league title take secondary status to another perceived Champions League failure, and perhaps see questions asked about both players and coach. That is hugely reductive of course, but that is the rarefied atmosphere in which truly great clubs are analysed, and with Serie A seen as offering little in the way of genuine competition for the Bianconeri, this team will now ultimately be analysed in that manner. 

The struggles encountered by AS Roma and Napoli this term have seen them fail to mount a credible challenge to Juve’s dominance, effectively placing the Bianconeri in a one-horse race. When that happens, as we see in Germany with Bayern Munich, the leading team is expected to achieve greatness on the biggest stage of all, and the consequences of failure could be huge.

The man most eager to see how Juventus fare against Dortmund may well be Paul Pogba, the French midfielder desperate to test himself against the very best. Still only 21, he has regularly discussed his desire to win the Ballon d’Or and has enjoyed an incredible rise to prominence since opting to leave Old Trafford for the Old Lady. That he was the only player from Serie A on the 23-man shortlist last year speaks volumes about both Pogba and Italian football, so it is no surprise to see him linked with a move away in the near future.

Juve have nurtured his prodigious talent, but face the very real prospect of losing the Frenchman if they cannot mount sustained campaigns that see them reach the latter stages of the Champions League every year. The Italian club are currently some distance from that goal, and his agent Mino Raiola has openly talked about the player moving for a world record sum at the end of this season.

Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, Raiola said that if Real Madrid wanted to sign Pogba “the cost of the operation would be at least €100 million.” That has inevitably lead to talk about how Juve could improve the overall quality of the squad after pocketing such a fee, but to lose a once in a generation star like Pogba would undeniably and indisputably weaken the side.

With so much at stake, the pressure on Allegri and his team to succeed is huge, but these are the games in which the best players are expected to shine. With Pogba joined by the likes of Gigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, Juventus certainly have the talent to overcome Borussia Dortmund, and over the 180 minutes of the tie we may learn just how great this team truly is.

You can pre-order Adam's book "Juventus: A History In Black And White" from Ockley Books  here .