There was a time when being tough, defending impeccably and doing the business on the other end of the pitch with coldbloodedness was synonymous with Juventus. There were like the Empire in the Star Wars series: cold, calculated and lethal. But, as it happens, a bunch of rebels turned up to annoy the Empire and make the oppressed masses dream again.The biggest club in Italy and one of the biggest in the world. The richest, the coldest, with a rich history of foul play and corruption, Juventus have also been one of the best teams in the world. They dominated Serie A for a decade, they were always one of the candidates to make it into the final stages of the Champions League. They could also afford to sign Cristiano Ronaldo when he was considered the best and also the best-paid player around. But something is broken in the black and white Empire. They can no longer rule the universe. Nor they can keep the pesky rebels at bay.Yellow Submarine torpedoes Juve in an unprecedented styleJuve crashed out of the Champions League after falling to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat against Villareal on Wednesday night. And although the scoreline was probably too harsh on Massimiliano Allegri’s side, the fact remains that Juventus couldn’t beat La Liga’s seventh-placed team over two legs. Playing in Turin, the black and whites were the favourites and they played like it for much of the first half, but they quickly ran out of steam. They lacked the killer touch despite boasting a striking partnership of Dusan Vlahovic and Alvaro Morata. And without their legendary defensive partnership of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, they also lacked the assurance at the back. It was only a matter of time before Unai Emery’s Yellow Submarine found a way to penetrate the Bianconeri’s defensive block and send the Empire crashing.Wasn’t happy with Arsenal’s results but with Vlahovic and Locatelli out of UCL after ditching Arsenal for Juventus due to desire to play in UCL, I’m extra happy 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/IIm7UD41fS— Douglas Ke🇰🇪🗨 (@mw_enda) March 16, 2022 Allegri attacked the journalists who suggested that the Villareal defeat renders Juventus’ season a failure. He lamented players injuries and admitted that his team has a long way to go.”The season is ongoing, we have targets to reach. We are disappointed and we’ll make our assessments to improve the team. We do that every year. We also need to be realists. There are ten teams in Europe superior to Juventus. It’s no shame, it’s a fact. I agree that we had to qualify today, but it was not easy. It’s useless to talk now, we must remain quiet, focus on the league and the Coppa Italia to see if we can take a trophy at home.”Villareal didn’t have Luke Skywalker nor Han Solo, but they’ve got the never-say-die striker Gerard Moreno, hard-as-nails defender Pau Torres, relentless goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and a host of other players who aren’t necessarily famous but who are solid, both technically and tactically.Thursday, 23.00: (2.30) West Ham (3.10) Sevilla (3.35)Coach Emery led the club to their first trophy in history, the last season’s Europa League. Now, he can be proud of another campaign in which his team is exceeding expectations on the continental stage.”I’m proud of everything, for Spanish football, for Villarreal and for getting into the quarter-finals of this competition for the first time as a coach.”This was the third season in a row where Juventus suffered elimination at the same stage of the competition. It’s now fair to say that they are a top 16 club in Europe – but that they aren’t in the top 8. Reaching the quarter-finals is proving too big of an ask for the Old Lady.When Pau Torres was born, Juventus were reigning Champions League winners, while his hometown club Villarreal had never even reached Spain’s top division. Now, the hometown hero has just scored in their 3-0 last 16 win in Turin. Football, eh? pic.twitter.com/QAjXEXHkxu— Euan McTear (@emctear) March 16, 2022 Juventus are now in danger of missing the next edition of the Champions League altogether. Their performances in the domestic league have left them fearing for a top-four Serie A finish this season. And although the elimination from Europe will give them more time and room to focus on the decisive battles in Italy, the question now is how strong are the black and whites mentally to put the Villareal debacle behind them and make this season bearable for their fans.Allegri has got a big task ahead oh him: reminding this group of players that they could still do the job for the club that has gotten used to nothing but winning. The Empire is crumbling, and rebels are all around, waiting for their chance to strike.
