The opening day of the 2010/11 Serie A saw three of the four title contenders off to a mediocre start.
Milan, without new star signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho, found little difficulty in beating newcomers Lecce 4-0 at the San Siro but Inter, Roma and Juventus failed to win their matches.
Champions Inter and league runners-up Roma were held to goalless draws by unfancied duo Bologna and Cesena, respectively, as big-spenders Juventus fared even worse, going down to Bari away to concede their first defeat in a season curtain-raiser in 28 years.
At the San Nicola stadium, new Juve coach Luigi Del Neri fielded no fewer than six of his 11 new signings – Marco Storari, Marco Motta, Leonardo Bonucci, Simone Pepe, Milos Krasic and Fabio Quagliarella.
And yet, Juventus did very little to avoid going down to Bari for a third successive time. The writing was on the wall from the word go as the southerners did most of the running and dominated for long stretches.
Quite understandably, Juventus still seemed to be more of a work-in-progress rather than a football team that functions like a unit.
In this regard, Del Neri has a mammoth task in building a formidable side – practically from the rudiments – capable of challenging for the honours. It will definitely take quite some time for the new players to settle down and fit in the former Sampdoria coach’s 4-4-2 playing system.
In the close season, Juventus spent big. Some pundits even contend that the ‘Old Lady’ only ranked second behind mega-rich Manchester City in terms of money spent on new players.
However, unlike Milan and Roma, Juventus opted to sign several new players instead of concentrating all their transfer kitty on a few signings of note.
The Rossoneri, apart from Ibrahimovic and Robinho, also acquired second-string players.
Besides making Nicolas Burdisso’s move from Inter permanent, Roma added Marco Borriello on the very last day of the transfer window, snatching the Milan striker from underneath the noses of none other than Juventus.
Apart from some other minor signings, Roma had previously acquired the services of Brazilian duo Adriano and Fabio Simplicio, both out of contract.
Many reckon that Del Neri has a more arduous task on his hands than his Milan counterpart Massimiliano Allegri and Roma mentor Claudio Ranieri to assemble a competitive side. Perhaps, it would have been better for Juventus to have signed fewer but more quality players this summer.
The downside of such policy is that top-notch players – like Ibrahimovic – are after sky-high salaries, something that clearly goes against the wage structure put in place by the new Juventus administrators.
It is not all doom and gloom for the Turin outfit though.
The fans expect the Bianconeri to produce a better showing than last season even though they know it will be difficult to beat Inter or Milan in the title race. For that to happen, Juve will have to lift their game by several notches... and probably that alone will not be enough.
Past history gives Juve fans something to hope for, however.
Marcello Lippi’s dream team, the one that eventually went on to conquer Italy and Europe, was born out of adversity.
One recalls that in 1994, Lippi’s new-look Juventus were off to a stuttering start and even went down to Puglia region minnows Foggia (0-2) on the sixth day. But from then onwards, Juventus never looked back.
There’s nothing to cheer about when your team is beaten but, as happened in 1994, Juve’s upset to Bari last month again came in Puglia. Was that, perhaps, the sign of a good omen this season?
The hardened Bianconeri fans hope that will be the case in the long run but Del Neri and his team will have to play their part on the field of play and leave nothing to chance.