Zhegrova’s boots highlight all the confusion at Juventus

In The Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot wrote that none of us can claim to be the same person all the time, because we are constantly changing. The individual who alighted from a train at the end of a journey is no longer the same person who boarded it. Last night, during the final match of the eleventh round of Serie A between Fiorentina and Juventus, there was a moment when the American poet’s thought took shape – indeed, it even extended to objects. In the 75th minute, shortly after Gleison Bremer’s equaliser which set the final score at 2–2, there was a moment of uncertainty about what was happening on the pitch, and viewers at home were wondering why play hadn’t resumed yet. The cameras then panned to Juventus winger Edon Zhegrova, who was bent over, adjusting his left boot. A small detail: it was a different colour because he could not find an identical one. Play then resumed.

It is a minor detail and might seem almost insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Were it not for the fact that Juventus fans had already witnessed this scene at the Allianz Stadium in Turin seven days earlier. On that occasion, it was Teun Koopmeiners’ turn: unable to find a boot of the same colour, he had to make do and play with two different ones. While the fast pace of the game may sometimes force players to make last-minute decisions, if such an emergency occurs in two consecutive league matches it is no longer a coincidence but a systemic issue. And it says a great deal about Juventus’ current form – a team that, whilst on a run of three consecutive positive results across the league and the Europa League, gives the impression in every match that, since August, confusion has been the only constant. It is no coincidence that the team’s top scorer, counting only Serie A matches, is captain Bremer, a defender by trade, who has already scored three goals – more than all the strikers put together: Kolo Muani, Woiltemade and Ekhator, the latter of whom, however, only made his league debut yesterday due to injury.

After almost three months, Luciano Spalletti’s side has still not managed to find a balance that ensures consistency in their play and results, alternating clear-cut victories with heavy defeats, such as the one at Sassuolo. After losing at home to Rino Gattuso’s Lazio – who sit one point clear of Inter, who beat Como yesterday – Juventus have once again been alternating between good and less-than-good performances, never finding any consistency in their results: first drawing with Rennes in the Europa League, then beating Lecce, and finally losing to Genoa at Marassi. The management therefore decided to send the team on a training camp. The two victories, first against Napoli and then against AZ, seemed to have given a new boost not only to the players but to the whole club. Then came the match in Florence. Twice the Bianconeri fell behind and twice they fought back; it was only thanks to Guglielmo Vicario’s saves that they managed to take home at least a point, thus avoiding a repeat of the scenario seen at Sassuolo.

Spalletti’s post-match comments – “sometimes we make a mountain out of a molehill” – sum up very well the mindset of a team that has yet to find its footing this season and which is easily thrown into disarray.