With Juventus failing to make any real dent in last season’s Champions League, it was almost irrelevant as to what Maurizio Sarri achieved back home and although he would deliver another Serie A title to Juventus, it was not enough to keep him in gainful employment.
Which meant a rather rapid promotion for former midfielder Andrea Pirlo and although many felt that he was a Juventus manager in waiting, nobody expected him to earn the position in such a short space of time.
Especially, as just nine days before his appointment, he was placed in charge of the Juventus Under-23 side and with the 41-year-old planning for life in Serie C, those plans were quickly amended to life in Serie A.
While it is the continual possession of the Scudetto which is the bare minimum for the club’s hierarchy and as Sarri and other managers have learned to their cost, if you cannot do the business on the continent, you will be doing no business on a domestic level.
Of course, there is a sense of added pressure for Juventus’ new managerial incumbent, as with the club winning the last nine editions of the Italian league championship, Pirlo has been charged with securing the perfect ten.
In a sense, Pirlo has the easiest job in the world, as all he has to do is navigate a squad through the testing waters of the Italian top flight and eventually lift the coveted Serie A title at the end of the season.
However, there is also the weight of expectation that comes with such an appointment and for someone to be cutting their managerial teeth in such a high-profile setting, it could be a recipe for disaster.
Because, nobody wants to be the man in charge of the club when the streak of success finally breaks and although at one stage, it looked as if Maurizio Sarri may be the unfortunate party, he has handed the baton onto Pirlo.
While on the evidence of Pirlo’s first eight league games in charge, it has been a sense of solid rather than spectacular and although he is yet to taste defeat from the touchlines, Juventus are arguably drawing games that they would have won under previous management.
To the point where they’ve already drawn four of their first eight encounters and with their usual seat at the top of the Serie A table being filled by A.C. Milan, one wonders if ten successive championship wins may elude them.
At the same time, there is still an overwhelming sense that this side will come good in the end and when looking at the outright picks for the season, not many are defecting from the Juventus camp just yet.
With that said, there is a sense that blind faith may be steering the early season predictions and just because something has happened in the past with recurring regularity, does not mean it will happen again in the future.
You only need to look to the Scottish Premiership and another team who are looking to secure their own 10 in a row as testament to this and with Celtic ceding so much early ground to Rangers, the pressure is already building on Neil Lennon.
Which means the new Juventus head honcho is going to have to find an ignition spark, as although the Old Lady currently finds herself lying fourth in the table, the gap to the top is far from insurmountable.
At just four points, it is a margin that can easily be eroded and there is also plenty of time in which to do so. With that said, the same swagger that has been on show in the past, is not as forthcoming as it once was and that will be a concern to all involved with the club.
All winning streaks have to end at some point, it would be silly to suggest otherwise and although Juventus have been the dominant force for the past nine years, extending their reign of terror to 10 is by far from a given.
Which means the natural order within Italian football might just be disrupted for the first time in a decade and although Juventus fans will bemoan such a fact, it is fair to say that the rest of the country will be absolutely delighted at such a prospect.