Milan, 27 May, 2019: Massimiliano
Allegri oversaw his final game as Juventus coach on Sunday, after guiding the
team to an eighth consecutive Serie A title but paying the price for yet
another Champions League failure despite the sensational signing of Portuguese
superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was left out alongside a host of other starters as
the Allegri era ended with the whimper of a 2-0 defeat at Sampdoria, having
played 31 of 38 matches and closing the season as the team’s top scorer with 21
league goals.
But helping the team to another Serie A title was
not why the 34-year-old was signed last summer.
Ronaldo had spent nine glittering seasons at Real
Madrid, lifting a fourth Champions League trophy in five seasons before moving
to Italy.
His arrival in Turin on a 100-million-euro ( 115
million) deal, plus a reported 30 million euros a year, was hailed as “the
deal of the century” by the Italian press.
But after a season in which they were expected to
sweep all before them Juventus have won less than the previous season, with
their four-year reign as Coppa Italia holders ended in a 3-0 quarter-final
defeat by Atalanta.
Ronaldo single handedly lifted Juventus into the
Champions League quarter-finals with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid.
But his hopes of a fourth straight European
triumph were ended when they crashed out to daring Dutch Ajax in the last eight.
Amid criticism of Allegri’s tactics, Ronaldo, who
has scored 124 goals in 160 Champions League appearances, reportedly said:
“I don’t work miracles”.
“Cristiano showed us he could always score in
the games that counted. But then you have to have a strong team behind
him,” said veteran defender Andrea Barzagli.
