Before the transfer window slammed shut as it does bi-annually, Marotta was quick to clear his name as Juventus had seemingly failed to secure one of their most sought after targets of the summer, Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler. “It is no wonder a deal has not taken place” Marotta told Premium Sport “because we never talked with Schalke.”
Of course this was baffling to just about anyone who had followed the Draxler saga. In mid August Marotta confirmed they had abandoned their pursuit of the German wonderkid. And of course, in July Marotta told Sky Sport Italia “That was one of the many proposals we have put forward during this market. The player belongs to Schalke 04, so obviously it ultimately depends on them.”
Marotta’s comments are reminiscent of a man claiming he never spoke to that girl at the bar because she rejected him. “I offered to buy her a vodka and coke? No, no. I said ‘that’s a very nice coat’.”
Of course, none of this would be relevant at all if Juventus were winning. And in case you’ve been living under a rock this season, Juventus currently reside in tenth place. Sorry to remind you, Juventini.
There have been a plethora of problems at Juventus, but most notably has been the failure of the number ten position. After continuing with his predecessor’s 3-5-2 to an extent, Allegri did mix it up last, trying to integrate his 4-3-1-2 that saw initial success during his time at AC Milan. Arturo Vidal filled in the tip of the midfield whenever a 4-3-1-2 was deployed, most notably in the Champions League final. The box to box Chilean was not a prototypical number ten, not by a longshot, but it still worked out. Mostly thanks to a superb midfield trio and the intelligence of Morata and Tevez.
Fast forward to the now catastrophic (by Juventus’ standards) 2015/16 season. Andrea Pirlo is plying his trade in the Big Apple, Carlos Tevez just completed a fairytale story with Boca Juniors, winning the Primera División with his boyhood club. The once worldwide respected midfield trio is now reduced to Paul Pogba, Stefano Sturaro and one of an injured Marchisio/Khedira or Simone Padoin.
Is there an answer to this within the club? For Juventus failure is simply not acceptable and as we approach bonfire night, changes clearly need to be made.
Hernanes
The Bianconeri completed a deadline day move for Inter Milan’s Hernanes, with a rather hefty pricetag of €11m considering that this had the scent of a panic buy. Draxler seemed to be the ten out of ten girl at the bar Juventus wanted, but at the end of the night they settled for the four of ten that had already called a cab.
Hernanes’ failure to be Juventus’ focal point of their creativity was summed up in their 1-1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach last night. The Brazilian’s lacklustre night game to an embarrassing end in the 52nd minute, as the former Nerazzurri man was given his marching orders for a needless, silly challenge. And with that it left Hernanes with the rather shameful statistic of having more red cards than goals and assists in six games while wearing a Juventus shirt.
Hernanes arrived in edgy circumstances, after an appearance in the Champions League final Juventini expected to be contending with Europe’s elite for the finest talents in Europe…and they ended up with a player Inter Milan seemed rather happy to part ways with. The Brazilian’s future more than likely lies deeper in midfield if he’s going to stay in Turin. In the Derby della Mole, Hernanes finished the game with an impressive 99% pass succession rate, with 79 accurately placed passes. He touched the ball far more than any other Juventus player (96, the next highest midfield player was Pogba with 69), yet he only managed one key pass in the whole game.
When it comes down to playing for an elite club, Hernanes simply doesn’t have the killer vision to play that decisive pass, he could function as an enganche that can link the attack and midfield, but giving him playmaking responsibilities as a trequartista simply isn’t going to work. Not to mention his shooting is efficient to say the least and fans should not be blinded by the odd worldie Hernanes scores.
Roberto Pereyra
Now here’s a player I think has potential. Allegri seems to value Pereyra playing in a deep position in the 4-3-1-2, Pereyra’s ability to bring the ball up from midfield takes pressure off of Paul Pogba and allows the Frenchman to roam in between the final third and midfield, a role which suits him better. With Pirlo and Marchisio, Pogba was the one to bring the ball out from midfield due to the combination of Pogba’s physicality and technical ability.
The Argentine became a vital squad player in Juventus’ almost treble season, playing the joint most games with 52 and didn’t see that much of a significant drop in playing time comapred to his Udinese days. Pereyra impressed Marotta and co. enough to splash out €14m on the former loanee and make his move to Turin permanent.
Pereyra is arguably a late bloomer in today’s modern game, turning 25 this season but still possessing the appearance of an unpolished gem. Pereyra has potential to excel in the most crucial areas of a trequartista. His touch is polished and it’s almost a crime to not utilise it as much by playing Pereyra in a deeper position. Already this season we’re seeing improvements in Pereyra’s vision and passing, granted it’s a small sample size, but Pereyra is currently on 2.9 key passes per game, almost double his career best (1.6 in 2013/14). There’s no doubt he’s benefitting from the vote of confidence he received in Juventus in actually completing their buyout clause in his loan and is flourishing playing with superior players than he did at Udinese.
Others to consider
Claudio Marchisio – The now 29 year old often played in advanced role in Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 system, with Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo playing behind him. But the Italian international has been enduring a physical decline over the past six months with injuries taking their toll on the Bianconeri youth product. This will be Marchisio’s first season since he broke out on the European scene without one Andrea Pirlo and it seems Allegri views him as more of a regista rather than a player that can play in a more advanced role. And rightly so. No solution.
Paul Pogba – Naturally being French, Paul Pogba drew immediate comparisons to a former Bianconeri maestro, Zinedine Zidane. The comparisons made sense, heavenly long legs combined with the touch of an angel, the image of Zidane bringing down seemingly uncontrollable passes with one gracious leg became synonymous with the Frenchman and anyone who copied his actions were doomed to live up to lofty expectations.
Buuuut, Pogba’s best position doesn’t appear to be a trequartista. Aside from sporadical games played there under Conte in his early days, presumably as Conte was attempting to figure out what kind of talent he had in the form of this youngster, Pogba has never featured atop a midfield. Pogba is one of the most versatile players in world football right now, but it seems that both Conte, Allegri and Deschamps have either viewed or view Pogba as a player that is best suited playing deep and is most comfortable roaming around in the middle third.
So what the hell do Juventus do?
Allegri may have already found his answer accidentally against Torino last weekend, after Sami Khedira went down with an injury, Juan Cuadrado, the man who eventually scored the winner, was brought on. Juventus shifted Hernanes deeper into midfield alongside Pogba and Marchisio, with a front three of Cuadrado, Dybala and Morata. Cuadrado’s 2013-14 season with La Viola was an absolute joy to watch, perhaps it’s not the formation change that is helping Juventus, perhaps it’s just simply playing Cuadrado.
The Colombian wasn’t given a chance to prove his worth at Chelsea and Juventus have yet again pulled off a transfer masterclass by securing a season long loan with an option to buy, presumably a cut price fee from what Chelsea paid. In fact, I don’t like playing time and win correlations that much, but Juventus have only lost one game in which Cuadrado has played significant minutes this season, a 1-0 defeat to Bologna.
The 4-3-3 seems to fit the rest of the squad well, too. Alvaro Morata seems to have no problem playing on the left and drifting in, scoring two goals and assisting another in four appearances in that position. Mario Mandzukic has failed to live up to expectations this season but his best performance this season came against Manchester City at the Etihad, where Juventus played with a 4-3-3/4-4-2 hybrid. Not to mention he succeeded with Bayern and Atletico’s wide play. If Juventus and Allegri want the best out of their Croatian marksman this year, wingers are needed and narrow play must be limited.
A manager is nothing without his principles and his philosophy. But then again a manager will become nothing if he doesn’t adapt those principles. Juventus failed in their bid to get a marquee number ten last summer which would’ve enabled Allegri to play his favoured 4-3-1-2. It’s unlikely that any big clubs around Europe will want to sell in January so it seems that 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 will have to be Juventus’ main formations this year. The proof is in fact in the pudding, the Bianconeri have thrived with wingers this year.
The post ‘Anyone got any tens?’ – A look at Juventus’ number ten problem appeared first on IFD.
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