The marquee fixtures are thinning out. Juventus, Serie A champions nine times in the past 12 years, had expected to play Barcelona in California to start their pre-season tour 11 days ago.
That event was cancelled due to a sudden bout of illness in the opposition squad. And the diary keeps on emptying. Juventus would normally have hoped that 22 wins and six draws in the league last season would be enough to take up their customary place in the European Champions League come September.
But a series of past misdemeanours caught up with them. Charges of false accounting against the club meant a 10-point deduction, leaving them seventh, not third – the reward for 72 points – in the table.
Uefa then examined how Juventus had misrepresented their balance sheets to the European governing body. They have imposed a year-long ban from their competitions.