The solitude of Allegri, who has finally taken off his mask

Finally the mask fell off. “I’m the first one who seems impervious to everything, but on a psychological level it’s mind-boggling stuff”. Or maybe, who knows, it was he himself who wanted to show his true face, putting aside the jokes and sharp irony at least for one evening. It is not easy to be a manager and manager, a coach and even a “psychologist”. Because in the meantime that patina of holy man to whom everything slips on, that of someone who is capable of drawing philosophy even from (sports) tragedy, has perhaps become too heavy after yet another judicial turnaround, after the four goals conceded in Empoli. Too heavy even for the Juventus coach: he doesn’t come out of a season like this unscathed even if you grew up in Livorno’s Gabbione and your name is Max Allegri, who even got used to being a lightning rod. She had found a taste for it, had made herself a character. Because when everything turns, you know, everything comes easy, almost natural.

But this is”stuff that really blows your mind”, said the Juventus coach yesterday evening. He wasn’t referring to the field, he was talking about the “dripping” to which Juventus was subjected in the capital gains case – three trials with three different sentences, for the same charge. Somehow he was left alone-did they leave him alone? – to defend the team and its work, a second place on the field which in truth would not have thrilled, given how it has matured, even beyond sporting justice. But that’s another story, not even a new one.

What remains is Allegri’s solitude as he tries to explain, with a disconsolate face in front of the post-game microphones, that it is impossible to find meaning in a season like the one that is about to end and that in the next one no one expects miracles, the road to get back to the top is still long. Words and concepts that are usually due to the president, to the management – which in the meantime was limited to a press release in which it is written that after the reasons, the appeal will be evaluated. And instead it fell to the coach. Perhaps in a sort of prologue of what will be. A future in society, a bit like Ferguson with Manchester United, wrote the most optimistic. The reality may be more complicated.

Who knows, nothing is obvious at this point. Also because last night Juventus, or rather the Juventus players, at a certain point seemed almost relieved in their disappointment. As if the new penalty had somehow freed them from every task, every expectation. The coach takes care of it, the subtext. By winning yesterday evening, Juventus would not only have remained in the running for the Champions League, but would have been able to play the master of their own destiny: by beating Milan next Sunday, the Bianconeri would have regained fourth place. And instead, on the pitch, no reaction to Empoli’s goals, as if the players had dismissed their coach, who also continues to repeat in every interview “that you can’t reproach the boys for anything”, “who have done their best this season ”.

So many unknowns remain. And another (another) new course to inaugurate: with or without Max? And with which players? Downsizing – some call it a restart – seems inevitable. It is a question of understanding who will be able to manage it, if a new sporting director arrives as it seems (will it be Giuntoli?); whether the loneliness that seems to surround Allegri today is just passing through and whether it’s just the onerous contract or a project to really build, perhaps around the youngsters who have done well this season. But even if Allegri himself is really the right man. After all, despite many alibis, he has never managed to shape his team and the defensive solidity, the Tuscan coach’s trademark, has never been revised since his return. That too is a fact, along with the many ifs that will need to be sorted out.

“Leaving now would be cowardly,” the coach said yesterday, making himself available, suggesting his willingness to leave. But under what conditions and under what circumstances?