Serie A: Is something wrong with Juventus already this season?

Can a new coach, having to manage egos and increased competition from other Serie A teams lead to Juventus’ downfall this season?

Coaching a club of the caliber of Juventus means having to manage egos and deal with competition from others looking to displace their power. In Serie A, rivals like Napoli, Roma and Inter Milan have improved their rosters.

Juventus, for its part, also had a very strong summer transfer market. After all, note that they have the highest payroll of any Italian club.

The summer transfer season has consequences. This season will tell us which team did the best to prepare for the rigors of Serie A and the Champions League. For Juve, it is really all about the Champions League this season, a campaign they will start on Wednesday away at Atletico Madrid.

This brings us to how Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri will manage egos, the balance between league games and European competition as well as which players to start and bench. It is this fragile ecosystem of priorities that Sarri will need to balance over the next eight months.

Everyone can name the players Juventus need to succeed. Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, tops the list. Who else? That’s what Sarri will need to handle starting now. He’s already angered some players.

At the same time, some fans have already expressed disappointment following the team’s lackluster 0-0 draw on the road against a revamped Fiorentina this past Saturday. Juve were outshot and, at times, even outplayed despite having Ronaldo in the lineup. By comparison, Juventus won eight straight league matches last season. Now, after just three games, the club could only find a draw. Why?

There are several reasons. In a wonderful piece for ESPN, Gabrielle Marcotti notes that Juve’s inability to shed players this summer may come back to haunt them. He writes: “When Juventus submitted their Champions League squad list, there were only 22 names on it. Cut from the list were Emre Can, Mario Mandzukic, Giorgio Chiellini, Mattia Perin and Marko Pjaca. The latter two have been injured since the spring, won’t be back for a while and would need to prove their fitness before they could be sold or loaned out anyway. No biggie. Chiellini picked up a serious injury just before the transfer market closed and won’t return until the new year.”

The whole saga around Can, in particular, created all sorts of trouble for the team. Can said he was “shocked and furious” about being left off the Champions League roster. Can made 37 appearances and scored four goals for Juventus last season under then-manager Massimiliano Allegri. Sarri replaced Allegri over the summer following a season at Chelsea, where he helped the London club win the Europa League.

The pressures of coaching at Chelsea will serve Sarri well this season. He will need to figure out who has starters are and how to prioritize Champions League matches over Serie A. After winning the league title for eight straight seasons, Juventus aren’t too concerned about another scudetto. What they are aiming for this season is the Champions League, a trophy they last captured in 1996.

Sarri has an uphill battle ahead of him. The best teams in Italy and Europe will be looking to stop them at any cost. The team’s superstars will need to get along. Otherwise, Juve could be looking at a disaster of a season.