There is no doubt that Andrea Agnelli’s time as president has seen him completely transform Juventus. When he took over back in 2010, the club was still recovering from the scars left by the Calciopoli scandal, that year spent in Serie B weighing heavily on the Old Lady. She had struggled to compete with Italy’s best clubs, finishing behind both Inter and AC Milan as they racked up titles, forced to watch from the sidelines as other teams enjoyed moments of glory.

His first year did not go too well, but soon Antonio Conte arrived and Juve recaptured the Serie A title, sparking a period of domination that continues today. It has not been without difficult moments however, and Agnelli’s role in releasing beloved players like Gigi Buffon, Carlos Tevez, and Claudio Marchisio cannot have been easy for someone who loves his club so deeply.

#graziemax pic.twitter.com/p2KR7f0qRa

— Andrea Agnelli (@andagn) May 19, 2019

Yet when he sat alongside Max Allegri to announce that they were ending a collaboration that had brought unprecedented success, it was clear something was different. The coach had won the Serie A title in each of his five seasons at the helm, adding four Coppa Italia triumphs and one Italian Super Cup for good measure. He had taken a team that had failed to get out of the group stage the year before he arrived to two Champions League finals, but now the time had come to part ways and Agnelli was clearly struggling to suppress his emotions.

Asked if this was the toughest decision he’d ever had to make at Juventus, he did not hesitate. Pulling the microphone to his mouth he replied instantly, “Yes. Absolutely, yes. For all the reasons I outlined… yes.” 

Before that, the 43-year-old president had described the “affection, respect, friendship, togetherness, hard work, and above all many, many, many victories” they had shared, but then Agnelli looked to the future and insisted that “when this team comes together in July, it will begin with the objective of winning, both in Italy and in Europe.”

And therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub.

Allegri had won in Italy in a way no coach has ever done before. He is the first man to win five consecutive Serie A titles, while his overall tally of six is just one behind Giovanni Trapattoni’s record of seven. No team had ever completed the domestic double in back-to-back seasons or lifted the Coppa Italia more than twice in a row; he did both four times to set benchmarks that may never be broken.

But it was “in Europe” where the struggle came, Allegri unable to end the club’s 23-year wait for Champions League glory. In lifting them to two finals he certainly took them closer than they had been before his arrival, but ultimately he came up short, raising Juve’s glass ceiling but unable to actually smash through it. Perhaps it is no surprise then that the decision to part ways began after Ajax eliminated them in this year’s quarterfinals, the performance of the Bianconeri laying bare the shortcomings of both the squad and Allegri himself.

? @aaronramsey was a keen spectator at @juventusfcen this evening! pic.twitter.com/jAPLqpS4DR

— Dugout (@Dugout) May 19, 2019

As discussed in this previous column, there are definite issues within squad, most notably in midfield. The signing of Aaron Ramsey, who was at the Stadium to watch Juve’s draw with Atalanta this past weekend, will undoubtedly help address that, but it is also no surprise that the Bianconeri are being linked with a number of other targets. Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio claims they have already reached a deal with Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, while Luca Momblano is confident that Paul Pogba will return to Turin this summer.

Such high-profile moves show that the club are aware of the need to strengthen this area of the team, but they have also clearly acknowledged Allegri’s failings too. “This is what happens when intelligent people look at a situation and decide to end on a high rather than drag it forward,” Agnelli noted at that tearful press conference.

Sat beside him, the coach echoed a similar sentiment. “We talked, expressed our ideas on what was best for Juventus and the future of Juventus,” Allegri told reporters. “Some things were written that were not correct, suggesting I asked for a long contract, for a squad revolution, and different players, but we never got to that. We simply realized it was best not to continue together.”

It should be no surprise that those touted as potential successors are men whose teams take to the field with a clear and easily identifiable playing style. Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Maurizio Sarri, and even Simone Inzaghi might all approach the game differently, but they have deep-rooted belief in their own system and never deviate from it.

One criticism that can certainly be levelled at Allegri is that he preferred to chop and change, tailoring his approach depending on the specific opposition rather than pushing his side to impose their will upon each and every game. It worked more often than it didn’t, but each Champions League exit seemed to stem directly from that reactionary style, the players perhaps seeing themselves as inferior because they were always the ones forced to adapt.

Now however, with that reported list of candidates, it is clear Juve’s management team is pursuing a “man with a plan,” someone more proactive who will instil a variation of the high-pressing, attacking style that Europe’s very best clubs adopted long ago. They could easily have waited a year and allowed Allegri to see out his contract before making a change, but the comments at last week’s press conference hinted at the knowledge of the team’s narrow window of opportunity.

Our players arrive to greet their coach, Massimiliano Allegri! ? pic.twitter.com/mUOE1i9xAf

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) May 18, 2019

Below their podium, the first three rows of press seats were occupied by every member of the first team squad, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Giorgio Chiellini (both 34), Mario Mandžukić (33), Blaise Matuidi and Leonardo Bonucci (both 32), and Miralem Pjanić and Wojciech Szczesny (both 29). While there were some exciting and talented youngsters seated among them, it is clear that — at least for the veteran core of this group — their time is limited.

Seeing Andrea Barzagli retire on Sunday hammered that point home, Chiellini now the only man who has been with the club throughout this current cycle. Ronaldo being the same age as the skipper is arguably the most important factor, his ability to carry a team and secure results like the comeback win over Atletico Madrid cannot last forever. Maximizing what remains of CR7’s peak is clearly the order of the day. Juve did not pay €112 million and smash their wage structure simply to gain a larger audience on Instagram—they did so to win the Champions League for the first time since 1996.

A new coach will have big shoes to fill and a clear mandate over what he is expected to achieve, because while Allegri’s failure should not diminish the remarkable accomplishments of his tenure, they will undoubtedly shape how the Bianconeri move on now he has left. 

His exit has made it very clear that Juventus intend to live by Giampiero Boniperti’s famous old maxim because, when it comes to the Champions League, “winning is not important, it’s the only thing that counts.”