Juventus: Is the Old Lady past her prime?

Four consecutive Serie A titles, one Italian Cup, three Italian Super Cups and an appearance in last season’s Champions League final, Juventus have well and truly dominated Italian football in recent times.

However, to say this campaign hasn’t started well would be an understatement. An opening day defeat at home to Udinese followed by a crushing 2-1 loss at title rivals Roma has left the Bianconeri a lowly 17th in the table. The ‘four-in-a-row’ defending champions have zero points after their opening two league games.

So what’s changed? Why have the wheels suddenly fallen off the Fiat? Well the ‘Old Lady’ decided it was time for a fresh start and had herself a car boot sale. Key players such as Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC), Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors) and Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich) were shipped out in the summer and replaced with a slightly younger generation of stars. Paulo Dybala (Palermo), Mario Mandzukic (Atletico Madrid), Simone Zaza (Sassuolo) and Alex Sandro (Porto) were among the new batch of multi-million pound signings brought in.

Now, you would think a net-spend of around £45 million could only strengthen a team. But at the same time, Juventus have lost something that many among the football world would consider invaluable: title-winning experience.

Pirlo, in particular, was key to the club’s success since his arrival on a free transfer from Milan in 2011. It’s no coincidence that he won the Scudetto in every one of the four years he spent at Juve. At 36, there’s obvious reasons why he’s now playing in the MLS. But any team would miss a player of such quality at his peak.

Does that mean the winds of change are sweeping through the streets of Turin? Maybe. It’s still early days and the new recruits must be given time to gel. But being six points off the pace after two games is not something that Juventus are used to. Last year’s title, the club’s 31st overall, was won by a massive 17-point margin. Juve are used to winning with relative ease, only now they have a fight on their hands to remain Serie A’s top dogs.

You can follow Phil Roscoe on Twitter on @PhilRoscoeITV