Juventus crashed out of the Champions League after their 4-3 loss to Benfica in Lisbon last night.
They must earn a result against PSG while hoping Maccabi Haifa does not do better in their game against Benfica if they want to play in the Europa League this term.
The Bianconeri have had a bad season and it could get worse, judging by their European form. However, elimination from continental football could be a blessing in disguise for Max Allegri’s men.
This is because Juve has a thin squad and injuries have continued to affect their key men since the start of this term.
This has left Allegri with no choice but to field players who will not ideally get first-team chances in most matches.
The Bianconeri had a proper pre-season in the US, even though some of their new signings were not involved because they hadn’t joined the club at the time.
But the team lacks rhythm, which you would expect to have been built before the campaign started. Some of the players would probably benefit from free slots games with bonus to gamble now and a bit of rest and recreation but not all of them may be so fortunate.
The next World Cup break will be an opportunity for the ones not going to Qatar to train and strategise with the coaches and manager for the second half of the season.
If they do not have European commitments after the group stage of the UCL, they will return from the World Cup refreshed and full of energy to execute the rest of the league season.
They will often rest and play once a week, while others with European commitments will have midweek games.
The importance of this downtime cannot be overstated and it will help our players to stay sharp every week.
We will lose money if we are not in Europe, but the limited workload will offer our players an easier route to becoming the top club in Italy again.
With just one match per week, our chances of winning games will be much higher because the players will be well-rested.
This could get us back inside the title race in the second half of the campaign, and we could win the Scudetto, with some luck.
The Europa League is not ideal for a club with a thin squad like Juve because it means we will overstretch our capacity and our performance in the other competitions will suffer.
It is shameful that we have left the UCL at the group stages, but we can take full advantage of our reduced workload and win more domestic matches as well as challenge for the title.
However, fans will still expect the team to be in top form in the game against PSG next week.
Well the european competition itself unlike local league is something else…here players can really learn how to cope other with different approach, style, and atmosphere then they will developed more. Serie A might be considered slow, then you will experience this intelligent and high tempo game which ia really physical and demanding as you enter the knockout stage. Those games are really something worth playing.