After defeat to Villarreal, our Juventus fan reporter Andrea Fumagali is only seeing grey areas, rather than that famous black and white…

Full time in Turin. A nice round 3-0 for Villareal. We left the pub as many other Juve fans were leaving the Allianz Stadium. What can I say? In the past three years I have learned the hard way what being unexpectedly eliminated from the Champions League means. In fact, it’s been unexpected so often that it’s become perfectly expected.

I am sorry, really I am, for my cosmic pessimism. But last night I felt something I’ve never felt before: neither disappointment nor anger, but rather a sensation of inadequacy. I reckon my feelings were fully shared among the Juventinis in the pub, all seemingly staring at the TV but really staring into the abyss. What happened to our beloved Juve? Why have things changed so quickly for us? Is this the end of an era? These are just a few of the questions that everybody in that pub will have asked both of themselves and each other; but, at the same time, no one will have had the courage to answer.

Maybe going to another sports bar to watch the game was not a great idea this time. I’d betrayed the Neffa Cafè, the place where I have lived my best – and worst – Champions League nights as a Juventus fan. Maybe the result would have been different if I hadn’t worn my signed Paulo Dybala shirt, which has seen too many defeats – many more than it deserves.

It is what it is. But at these moments, right when you bottom out, you have the chance to push your feet against the floor and do a big leap out of the water. After the match, my friends and I instantly acknowledged what we think is wrong with Juventus: identity. We are losing it. No, the players are losing it: some of them are not representing our values anymore, because they can’t bear the burden of the legacy of our champions. I am sure that most Juventus fans around the globe would agree with that. And Roy Keane, of course.

Let me leave you with a quote, which you can interpret as you want: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”