The Bianconeri have been blighted by problems off the field this season, but that's still no excuse for them stinking out Serie A…

"It's not a failure; it's steps to success," NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo argued last week in an extraordinary post-match press conference. "There's always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me?

"It's a wrong question; there's no failure in sports. There's good days, bad days, some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not, some days it is your turn, some days it's not. That's what sports is about. You don't always win."

Given the circumstances, it was an impressively rational and reasoned defence of the Milwaukee Bucks after their shock first-round elimination from the play-offs, the most polite put-down you'll ever see, with Giannis repeatedly interrupting himself to make it clear that this wasn't a personal attack on the journalist who had sparked such a passionate response to the idea that the Bucks' entire season should be considered a write-off because of one series defeat to Miami Heat.

The Greek's argument also provoked a broader debate about the definition of success and failure, and the media's coverage of those two 'impostors'.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri even name-checked Giannis in his press conference ahead of Sunday's Serie A clash with Bologna. "There will be moments when we don't win, but we need to create the conditions to do it," he told reporters. "Only one team wins and we need to be that team."

And he's right, because it is absolutely impossible to defend Allegri unless his team wins. The end needs to justify the means because there is simply no longer hiding the fact that Juventus are one of the worst teams to watch in world football at the moment, which is disgraceful given their resources.

Getty Images'Allegri makes Inzaghi look like Cruyff'

Last week's performance in their 1-0 loss to Inter in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final was embarrassing. They were a goal down, both on the night and on aggregate, from the 15th minute, and yet they ended with an xG of just 0.15.

"Allegri makes (Inter coach Simone) Inzaghi look like Johan Cruyff in comparison," Daniele Adani argued on . "His objective in life is to stop the other team from winning.

"Do you know why that game ended 1-0? It's because Inter stopped playing in the second half and sat deep, just like Juventus did in their golden era, and the second half was in fact shameful. I hope whoever was transmitting it on international TV cut off the signal to save us embarrassment.

"A team like Inter ought to beat this Juventus 4-0, they were playing against a Dead Man Walking. I think Gianni Agnelli was turning in his grave seeing that Juve performance. I’ll be honest, though, not even I believed he could be worse than last season, but that’s where we are."

Indeed, Allegri has actually managed to make a really bad situation even worse.

AdvertisementGetty Images'Physically, we are broken'

He is obviously not to blame for the many financial and institutional issues Juventus are facing this season, and keeping players focused on the field, given the chaos unfolding off it, is not an easy task.

Directors are coming and going, as are points, with the Bianconeri the subject of constant court-room drama that could drag into next season. There are difficult working environments, and then there is Turin.

However, what's clear is that Allegri isn't part of the solution at Juventus, he's part of the problem.It is no coincidence that reports of player unrest are now appearing in the press on an almost daily basis.

According to the , the ankle injury that ruled Angel Di Maria out of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Bologna only appeared after the winger had been informed that he would not be in the starting line up for the game at the Renato dall'Ara, while it was claimed afterwards that Federico Chiesa has grown extremely frustrated with being employed in a variety of different roles – often within the same game.

There has long been a suspicion that the coach has no clue of his best team, as underlined by the fact that Allegri has used 100 different line ups in the 100 games he has overseen since returning for a second spell in charge in 2021.

"Physically, we are broken," an anonymous player told the . "By changing line up every time, we struggle to have a playing style."

Getty'There are no ideas'

The net result is a rotten run of form that has seen Juve pick up just one point from their past four Serie A games. They still sit third in the table, a top-four finish remains there for the taking, but there is no guarantee that the Old Lady will be playing Champions League football next season.

Firstly, there is every chance that their 15-point penalty deduction for breaching financial gains rules will be restored, while they could yet be sanctioned in relation to the criminal investigation into illegal salary manoeuvres.

Secondly, the paucity of Juve's performances means they could end up sliding down the Serie A standings anyway. This is a team that is largely devoid of an attacking threat. Juve paid €70m for Dusan Vlahovic and yet the Serbian, who continues to score freely at international level, has now gone 744 minutes (11 appearances) without a goal in Serie A.

The Bianconeri have managed just four goals overall in their last six games – only Empoli, Spezia and Lecce have managed fewer (three each).

"It is honestly sad to watch Juventus players in these conditions," former forward Christian Vieri lamented on . "Whatever they do, it is almost accidental or a fluke, they have to rely on the opposition making mistakes [to score]. There are no ideas."

(C)Getty Images'Allegri just doesn't care'

It's difficult to disagree. Or indeed argue that things wouldn't at least be better with a new coach with modern ideas.

As Antonio Cassano argued after the Coppa Italia exit, "Juventus defended in the hope of reaching extra-time and perhaps penalties, and I can accept that from Cremonese, but not Juve. They play bad football, Allegri and his staff have got to go.

"He's an embarrassment and cannot represent Juve. His football ideas are still the same as 30 years ago. In the two-year hiatus (between 2019 and 2021), he went fishing, but the other coaches use that time to study. I think of coaches like Thomas Tuchel, Marcelo Bielsa, Roberto De Zerbi, who clearly love football and study it from day to night. Allegri never has done, because he just doesn't care."