BEVERLY HILLS, March 10, (THEWILL) – When the dust settled on the end-to-end contest that was the second leg of the fiery UEFA Champions League last 16 knockout stage of the competition, there was a subdued sense of déjà vu for the Old Lady, Juventus of Serie A. Once again, the elusive UCL trophy Juventus had invested heavily to claim, including the big bucks they shelled out to buy and to keep a player of Cristiano Ronaldo’s status, once again eluded them.
Instead, Porto progressed from a pulsating Champions League match on away goals when their thrilling tie with Juve ended 4-4 on aggregate at the Old Lady’s home grounds in Turin. It was a match that had everything. There were chances aplenty at both ends, there was a red card shown to Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, five goals were scored in total; with a brace each from Sergio Oliveira and Federico Chiesa.
Yet, after all the money spent, with all of the changes to reach European glory for the first time in nearly three decades, the result in March 2021 mirrors closely how the Champions League struggle ended for Juventus in August 2020: dumped out of European elite football by a team they were expected to beat home and away because of all the goals scored, it was Oliveira’s brace that proved the most decisive.
Ronaldo, who is regarded as King of the Champions League for his unmatched excellence in the competition, was supposed to provide an extra edge for Juventus and, although he set up the first goal of the night for Chiesa with several flashes of brilliance over the two legs of the round of 16, the forward struggled to have a significant influence on the game in any decisive manner.
He looked set to shine when Porto went down to ten men as there was more space for him to exploit, but it just was not his night. Some have been quick to consider it an indication of a decline in his powers while his most ardent supporters believe it was a one-off, as it often happens to most of the best players. The fact is, Ronaldo has the opportunity handed him on a plate to, at the very least, carry the team into the next round to go one better than they did last year, and he failed to seize it.
Opposite him but bearing the same responsibility with equanimity and grit was the Porto skipper and former Real Madrid teammate of Ronaldo, the defender Pepe. The centre back was an inspirational presence at the heart of defence for the entire contest. His calm and composed performance, while still putting his body on the line when needed, was a level of defending that was heroic yet performed at an exceptionally high level. He took the responsibility of shutting down Ronaldo, which only few ever manage successfully.
When Juve manager Andrea Pirlo listed Cristiano Ronaldo as a substitute for a 3-1 win over Lazio over the weekend, he had this tie in mind. It was a big call since a domestic defeat almost certainly world have ended any hope for the club to win a 10th successive league title as they were already behind by 10 points.
To Pirlo’s advantage, he had several players available that he did not have in the first leg three weeks ago. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny anchored the coach’s usual 3-5-2/4-4-2 hybrid, while the fated Merih Demiral, Leonardo Bonucci, and Alex Sandro played in the back three pattern. Juan Cuadrado joined the impressive Chiesa on the wings. Pirlo brought a combination of Adrien Rabiot, Arthur, and Aaron Ramsey in the midfield leaving Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo up front.
In the entirety of the first half, the rest Ronaldo received did not seem to make much of a difference. By their own high standards, it was a dreadful first half for Juventus.
This is moreso when viewed alongside the penalty they conceded and the fact that they were more disadvantaged at the interval of the second leg at home than they were at the end of the first away from home, there cannot be any other verdict than to blame them for allowing their home advantage to slip. But, with their Champions League lives hanging in the balance, Juventus had little choice but to throw everything forward in the second half. They looked like a different team almost immediately after play resumed.
It is not easy to imagine how much Pirlo would have drilled them during the break to stress the importance of progressing to the next round. Whatever it was certainly got the team going upon resumption of hostilities. Pirlo had a sound game plan to implement against the Portuguese side. Porto has had problems dealing with good wing play and crosses domestically. Cuadrado was well set up to exploit that. Juve frequently got crosses in, but the chances created went begging.
Through the inspired Chiesa, the Old Lady still managed one hell of a comeback in the second half. The 23-year-old Italian demonstrated that he could be a player this team can build around going forward into the future with his brace to keep their chances of progress alive from 3-1 on aggregate to 3-3.
The incredibly resilient Porto ploughed on even after going down to 10 men. They defended with determination to avoid conceding and did not sit back in the hopes for a penalty shootout resolution of the tie, which was absolutely impressive all the way especially in a knockout match against a side like Juve with a striker in the shape of Ronaldo.
Aside the magnificent 38-year-old Pepe and Chancel Mbemba who played at the heart of the Porto back four with him, their goalkeeper, Agustin Marchesin, was critical to their progress with the handful of significant saves he made on the night. His crucial intervention, time and again, kept the scores in Porto’s favour on aggregate. And, they deserve all the credit their qualification to the quarter-finals merit.
For Juventus, it is the same story all over again.
The €100 million for a 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo has only brought one elimination in the quarterfinals and two in the last 16. Even against a Porto side playing with 10 men for over an hour, they still could not cross into the next round. This is not even about the fact that Ronaldo was partly responsible for the second Oliveira free-kick goal that went through his legs as he turned his back in the wall and jumped when the kick was taken.
This points to Ronaldo’s wider contribution, which was all but non-existent. It can be argued that last year he gave his most and they still lost at this same stage of the competition, but his input this time round was appallingly uncharacteristic of the King of the Champions League. He looked slow and heavy legged. He is a forward who needs service. That is understandable enough given his age, but that only provokes the question of why a 36-year-old is being paid more than the next four highest players at the club put together to lumber around ineffectually.
With Ronaldo in Juve’s colours, they were outplayed by Ajax in the 2019 quarterfinals and were dumped out by Lyon in the 2020 last 16. Again, this time, Porto was much the better side for three-quarters of the tie. Ronaldo still has one year left on his contract and except there is a major windfall next season, the conclusion will remain that the decision to bring the talented Portuguese superstar to Turin for the objective of bringing the UCL trophy to Juve with him as the arrowhead was a major flop.
Without doubt, there are questions to be asked as well about Andrea Pirlo. The manager in his debut senior role was appointed Juventus coach last summer with no experience at this level whatsoever. There is no doubting Pirlo’s charm and intelligence. No one can argue with the fact that he was a very fine player, one of the best for the I Bianconeri. However, with Juve third in Serie A, 10 points behind league-leading Inter Milan, and seemingly likely to fail to win the scudetto for the first time in 10 years, there is previous little nothing to suggest he was ready for a job of this magnitude.
With such responsibilities, there can sometimes be a learning curve. Pirlo will learn with every match he plays with the team selection to execute victory and prevent loss. But, is the Old Lady ready to wait for the lessons which come by in trickles add up to become enough to win them the UCL in a field chock full of experienced hands and where only one side can emerge at the top each year?
Andrea Agnelli, the Italian businessman and Juve chairman has burdened his club with an overly expensive striker no more at the height of his powers and a manager whose inexperience is repeatedly exposed. It has brought Juve to this critical juncture after three years of a bewildering gamble. The verdict is that it was not successful and it could very well worsen, because apart from the Scudetto, they could lose the Coppa Italia on May 19 against Atalanta and end without silverware.
It truly is a mess. The question now is who has to pay for the cleanup.
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