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Soccer is usually a merciless sport typically. It may be devilishly unfair. It will possibly ship rewards and anguish seemingly on whims somewhat than advantage.
However as Juventus discovered Sunday, soccer can be vindictive. It will possibly indict those that sully its identify. And it might search justice.
Its seek for justice took it to Turin, Italy this weekend, the place Juve and Napoli met for what was billed as a Serie A title decider. And for 89 minutes, it regarded set to be simply that. With a purpose mandatory to place the Scudetto again up for grabs, no person had scored. No person had scored as a result of one group couldn’t, and the opposite didn’t actually attempt.
The opposite was Juventus, positioned as hosts and favorites to exhibit its superiority. As a substitute, it performed with worry. With cowardice. With timidity. Some would possibly say it didn’t play in any respect.
And on 90 minutes, Kalidou Koulibaly got here flying by the northern Italian evening air, as if a present from the soccer gods, to present Juve what it deserved:
There isn’t any one technique to win a soccer match, and nobody technique to win a title. However this was no technique to play the gorgeous sport.
It was additionally nothing new. It was the newest in a protracted line of unadventurous performances towards aggressive friends. Since a loss to Lazio in October, Juve has performed 5 video games towards the highest 5; it has scored three and now conceded one.
It had entered 5 showdowns that have been meant to be spectacles and turned them into slogs. It had wooed followers from all over the world with its success, then bored them with its negativity.
Sunday was the preeminent instance, as a result of it ought to have been the preeminent sport of the European league season. Disciples of the gorgeous sport tuned in from all continents and corners of the globe. They tuned in to see magnificence. And Juventus refused to present it to them.
Juventus refused to place a single shot on Pepe Reina’s purpose. It didn’t fail to, as a result of failure requires intent; Juve, somewhat, barely even tried. It did so, by selection, with out its finest attacking participant for half the match. Paulo Dybala was yanked off at halftime to make a defensive gameplan much more defensive. By the ninetieth minute, it had turn out to be one thing of a 6-3-1, with fullbacks on the sector outnumbering attacking ideas in supervisor Max Allegri’s head.
Truthful or not, for higher or worse, this may have been, and nonetheless is likely to be, the legacy of Juventus’ seventh consecutive Serie A crown. The Bianconeri have, in actual fact, scored loads. However they’ve chosen to not play soccer towards succesful opponents. They are going to be outlined by 0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 1-0 and 0-1, title or in any other case. And now the title race can be outlined by their ends in two extra top-of-the-table clashes, at Inter Milan and Roma on April 28 and Could 12.
They’ve accomplished what they do effectively, and irrespective of the method behind the outcomes, titles depend all the identical. They don’t have any precise obligation to play soccer or to entertain. They could very effectively beat Inter and Roma 1-0 to maintain the Scudetto at residence.
However Koulibaly extinguished their margin for error. He set fireworks flying into the Naples sky, maybe as choices to the soccer gods. As a result of on Sunday, it turned clear they’re watching. It turned clear that they, understandably, need Napoli to win Serie A.
And if Juventus continues to refuse to play their sport, they could simply get their want.
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Henry Bushnell covers world soccer, and infrequently different ball video games, for Yahoo Sports activities. Have a tip? Query? Remark? Electronic mail him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or observe him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.
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