Antonio Conte is 42 years old and Giampiero Ventura is 63. But while this age gap of more than twenty years may suggest that these two men have little in common, one crucial fact remains – both are managers of the two Torinese teams, Juventus and Torino. And, as October ended, each sat top of their respective leagues.
The Bianconeri have endured two awful seasons, finishing seventh in consecutive years and Champions League participation is a thing of the past. For Juventus, this is an unusual state of affairs.
After Ciro Ferrara, Alberto Zaccheroni and Luigi Delneri all failed at the helm, a new management team at Juventus, with the young Andrea Agnelli as president, asked Antonio Conte to step into the hot seat. Conte, an ex-Juventus player and one of the most important performers during the successful Marcello Lippi era, is not just another name for the club’s fans, but is considered a legend due to his on-the-pitch leadership.
Conte began his coaching career in southern Italy with Bari, not too far from his native Lecce in Apulia, and then moved to Siena. He guided the Bianconeri of Tuscany to promotion to Serie A last year, instantly attracting the attention of bigger clubs.
The former midfielder has begun to work on Juventus’ players with the aim of changing their mentality and convincing them of the special role the Turin giants play in the Italian game, unlike any other side, due the club’s status and long-lasting history in the league.
Starting the season in the perfect way, winning at Juventus’ new stadium by thrashing Parma 4-1, Conte’s rejuvenating approach instantly paid off. At the beginning the new Bianconeri boss opted to play with an aggressive 4-2-4 (the same formation used by the mighty Brazil side of 1970), but then shifted to a more pragmatic and solid 4-2-3-1, as he soon found the wide players needed to play his preferred formation lacking.
Milos Krasic and Conte’s new acquisitions, Marcelo Estigarribia and Eljero Elia, do not provide the side with enough strength down the flanks and the Juventus coach has preferred to use a system with Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio in midfield, and Simone Pepe, Arturo Vidal and former Roma striker Mirko Vucinic behind lone attacker Alessandro Matri.
Juventus have impressed with both their strength and speed, especially when facing reigning champions AC Milan at the beginning of October. The Bianconeri overran Massimiliano Allegri’s men for the entire 90 minutes, but despite that only scored twice in the closing moments of the game through Marchisio. After that clash, Juventus dropped points at home and away, drawing with Bologna and Catania, Chievo Verona and Genoa; but last weekend, Conte led his team to the San Siro to face an Inter side in crisis. The Bianconeri produced another top class display, scoring in the first half through Vucinic and Marchisio and showing that this time they are indeed title contenders.
In a season where AC Milan have their highs and lows, Inter sit fourth from bottom, Napoli are distracted by the Champions League, and Lazio and Udinese, despite playing fine football, do not look Scudetto challengers, Juventus and Conte have a superb chance to put the Turin giants back on top of Italian football.
But Turin’s football success story does not end here. On the other bank of the Po river sit Torino, a side engulfed by all manner of problems over the last 20 years. The Granata have become a yo-yo team and last year failed to even reach the playoffs for promotion to Serie A.
In the dugout, Giampiero Ventura is an experienced coach who did well with Bari two years ago. Last season though the Galletti of Apulia suffered a slump and Ventura was dismissed with Bari rock bottom.
Both Ventura and Torino needed to start a new chapter and so far the marriage appears to be working well. The Granata have flown out of the blocks and now sit top of Serie B, in front of Pescara, themselves managed by an ageing and much-discussed coach, Zdenek Zeman.
Ventura has set out his stall just as Conte wished to, with a 4-2-4 system, and Torino’s turning point came in early October, again just like their rivals, when a win against Sampdoria convinced the club that they were capable of conquering Serie B this season.
Torino have a number of highly rated players in their ranks, such as Angelo Ogbonna, a 23-year-old defender who has been called up by Cesare Prandelli to Italy’s national team, striker Rolando Bianchi, and forward Mirko Antenucci, who has been the club’s surprise package so far this season.
The Granata have lost just one match, in Gubbio, and are clear favourites to head back to Serie A at the end of the season.
And so this season, after years of pain, could be one to remember for both Juventus and Torino, as they each make their way forward under a new coach who has transformed their prospects.
