Arturo Vidal has packed his bags and is leaving the city of Turin and his ex-Club Juventus, bound for the German-giants, Bayern Munich.
Juventus gave up their Chilean midfielder for €37 million that will see him in the Bayern shirt for the next four years. Following in the footsteps of Pirlo and Tevez, Vidal is next out the door, but how much will the bianconeri miss out from his services?
While Juve have picked up a number of key offensive players including Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic during the summer mercato period, Vidal was a huge part of the squad that almost secured the Italian treble, falling only to Barcelona in the Champions League final last season.
We know Vidal was brought to Bayern to fill the hole left in the midfield by Bastian Schewinsteiger, who signed for Manchester United earlier this summer and while the signing is a huge gain for the German champions, what does Vidal’s departure leave for the Italian champions?
Age: May 22, 1987 (28 years old)
Height: 5’11”
Appearances by Club:
- 2005-2007 Colo-Colo: 36 appearances, 2 goals
- 2007-2011 Bayer Leverkusen: 117 appearances, 15 goals
- 2011-2015 Juventus: 124 appearances, 35 goals
- Chile International Squad: 69 appearances, 12 goals
Coming to Turin in 2011 from Bayer Leverkusen for 10.5 million euros on a five-year deal, Vidal helped Juve win the Serie A title four times in four consecutive seasons. Under coach Antonio Conte at the time, he found a way to play Vidal alongside Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio to create one of the most well structured midfields in Italy.
The Chilean midfielder has always been one of Juventus’ most powerful players on the field. He offers the game a certain type of grit and presence, especially in the 18-yard box, that not many other players can provide. His ability to deliver in big games is uncanny, as we have seen him score critical goals, especially during his time in Turin. In 2012 during the Champions League group stage, Vidal scored the equalizer against Chelsea after being down two goals in the first half. The following season he scored his first hat trick against Copenhagen, also in the Champions League group stage. Most recently, the twenty-eight year old scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria this past season to secure Juve’s fourth straight Scudetto. Vidal also helped Chile win the Copa America tournament this summer.
While Juve could use the revenue of Vidal’s transfer to offset the costs of their busy summer mercato so far, it surely will be difficult to replace a midfield that was once controlled by Pirlo, Marchisio and Vidal. Although the bianconeri still have players such as Paul Pogba – who has scored 20 times in three years, as compared to Vidal’s 35 goals in four years – Vidal is certainly a player that will be difficult to replace and will surely be missed by Allegri.
The post By the numbers: Vidal, the player Juve are losing out on appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
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