Topics: Juventus, UEFA Champions League, Serie A, Galatasaray
The Bianconeri had a golden opportunity to make an impact in Europe's premier competition, but now will have to slog through the Europa League

Last season, Juventus marked their long-awaited return to the Champions League by surprising many thanks to their run all the way to the quarter-finals, where they bowed out after losing to eventual champions Bayern Munich 4-0 on aggregate. And considering how die Roten went on to bulldoze favourites Barcelona 7-0 in the next round, the Bianconeri’s defeat certainly wasn’t something that their fans could be entirely ashamed of.

One key thing that many observers noted that while the Turin giants had a pretty solid defensive outfit, their attack was often left wanting—something that certainly the team’s management also noted and attempted to remedy through the acquisitions of Fernando Llorente on a Bosman from Athletic Bilbao and Carlos Tevez from Manchester City. They also successfully offloaded Alessandro Matri, who had been largely disappointing during his time in the northern Italian city to AC Milan for a greater sum than they’d paid for the previously disgruntled and disillusioned Tevez.

 

While it took them a bit of time to get up and running in Serie A thanks to Roma’s surprising blistering start at the beginning of this season’s campaign, La Vecchia Signora were able to take advantage of the Giallorossi’s recent stumbles to re-assert themselves at the league’s summit. But while many figured them to be a clear favourite for a Scudetto repeat, they were naturally looking to assert themselves on the continental front and become recognized as one of Europe’s powerhouses a la Bayern Munich and the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Big in Italy, but small in Europe

After all, while it’s nice to be a big fish in a small pond, after a bit it does get a bit stifling and not entertaining for supporters—plus, in terms of overall competitiveness, it doesn’t do a team good to be easily beating the same old opponents week in, week out without having the chance to test themselves against new challengers.

This sub-headline, reading "Big in Italy, small in Europe" from Italian publication Tuttosport says it all, a description and performance attribute that Juventus will be keen to shed as quickly as possible.

Their own worst enemy

“We only have ourselves to blame” admitted defender Giorgio Chiellini following their exit from the tournament at the hands of Galstasaray. The Italian international also went on to express his two main regrets, which any Bianconeri fan would recognize as the baffling draw away to Copenhagen and then throwing away a lead versus the same Galatasaray back in Turin after going 2-1 up.

Obviously, had they been able to earn six points from these clashes instead of two, the match in Istanbul, which even coach Roberto Mancini conceded “shouldn’t have been played” would have just been a mere formality. 

There was always the feeling as the bout with Galatasaray extended over two days that the Cimbom just might be able to pull off something, especially as Juventus failed to make any real inroads on the game. Indeed, it was the Bianconeri’s match to lose—as all they needed was just one point and they would have been joining Real Madrid from Group B in the round of 16. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as Wesley Sneijder ‘s late goal, set up by perhaps ironically Didier Drogba, a player the Turin side were heavily linked with at one point sent the reigning Scudetto winners crashing out and consigned to the Europa League.

Unlike fellow Europa League participants Napoli, who despite their 2-0 victory over Arsenal were cruelly denied entrance to the round of 16 thanks to Kevin Grosskreutz’s last minute goal for Borussia Dortmund, Juventus had a fairly straightforward group. The Partenopei were placed in the “Group of Death” in which normally their record would be enough to see them through. However, check out this startling statistic:

whereas Antonio Conte’s troops, for the most part, were expected to finish second to Los Blancos and make another serious run in the Champions League this year, especially having made their key additions during the summer.

Still, perhaps one consolation Bianconeri supporters can have is that their team can still pull off a tripletta, with them still clearly the favourites for the league title, in the running for the Coppa Italia and the Europa League final being held at Juventus Stadium come May. Conte clearly outlined his objectives when he stated that his side "would look to [Rafa] Benitez's Chelsea" who crashed out of the Champions League a year after winning it but redeemed themselves by winning the Europa League last season.

The ball's now in La Vecchia Signora's court. What they do with it, however, is totally up to them, but hopefully come May they won't be kicking themselves for squandering yet another opportunity to redeem themselves on the continental stage.