Juventus:Attacking centrally with the 3-5-2

The Serie A Champions Juventus, played Genoa on the week-end, going for their 13th consecutive

league win. With ten new players in the roster, and the departure of players like Tevez, Pirlo, and Vidal, Allegri and his squad struggled in the implementation of their new system of play. Using his 4-3-1-2-system, Juventus was 11 points from the first place Inter-Milan after 12 games. Recognizing the fact, that probably he did not have the players to play his beloved system, Allegri went back to the very successful 3-5-2 system of play used the previous years, which has won 4 consecutive Serie A titles. This system has worked pretty well for Juventus, producing 13 consecutive wins, and now sits in second place in the standings behind first place Napoli. It provides Juventus with a strong backline of 3 central defenders and National team starters (Barzagli, Bonucci,Chiellini), 2 wingbacks like Lichtsteiner and Evra, a 3 midfielders combo (Marchisio,Podga, and Kedira) and 2 young central strikers (Morata and Dybala).

The strength of this team seems to be their defense. The "Maestro" Pirlo used to dictate the pace and guide the team, with a slow build up play in getting in the opponent's half.

From there, they created scoring opportunities. With Pirlo gone, and without a true playmaker, Allegri had to change his attacking approach, and transform the attack to a more dynamic play.

This was based on keeping the ball in the back to advance it in dangerous areas for a quick penetration play.

The key of the new schemes is their centre back Bonucci, and the ability with 3 centre backs to keep the ball.Bonucci acts as a quarterback, always looking to advance the ball through the middle to players in good attacking positions.

The following video, illustrates the various combinations used by Juventus in the game against Genoa, in building from the back, and advancing the ball throught the middle to get in the opposition final third.