On 11th May, 2011, Juventus announced they had signed Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo. It was later revealed that Pirlo left due to then Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri wanting Pirlo to play in a more advanced role, with Ambrosini and Seedorf playing in front of the defence. Pirlo knew his best position and refuted the idea. The final nail in the coffin was when Milan offered Pirlo a one year deal instead of the three year deal he wanted. A rebuilding Juventus were more than happy to take on what the considered an undervalued player.
Eleven days later Antonio Conte was announced as the new manager of Juventus. In Conte’s three years with Juventus they conquered Italy with frightening dominance, going a season unbeaten and setting a new points record with 102 during the 2013/14 season.
Antonio Conte had capitalised on what Allegri failed to do (but then Allegri capitalised on what Conte had built in 2014/15). Ancelotti knew that registas need a support system, so he surrounded Pirlo with Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf, and Milan’s success during the Ancelotti reign need not be read off. At Juventus, Conte surrounded a supposed ‘regressing’ Pirlo with Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio, just as Ancelotti had done.
Arturo Vidal provided some much needed legs to go with Pirlo. Vidal would become one of the best box to box players in world football while playing in Turin, Vidal allowed Pirlo to focus on distributing passes and controlling the game while the Chilean helped out defensively while thriving as a ball carrier. Claudio Marchisio has flourished as a regista since Pirlo’s departure but during Pirlo’s time in Turin Marchisio was more of a Clarence Seedorf type of player. The Italian offered an ability to drive the ball forward yet still had an excellent passing game, not to mention his defensive contributions along with Vidal.
(GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images)
It’s clear that Antonio Conte knows how to utilise players in Pirlo’s mould and it’s likely he’ll be able to do the same. Do Pirlo and Fabregas have similar playstyles? Well, not really. Fabregas turns 29 this summer which should be considered his ‘prime’ (minutes played are a far better indicator of how close a player is to their prime than simply their age) but the similarities are there.
Chelsea and Fabregas himself have not enjoyed the most productive of seasons, with the London club currently in ninth place and the Spaniard’s seven assists is a far cry from his 18 assists last season. It’s clear the talent is still there, though. Under Mourinho last year Fabregas had the perfect support system, with Nemanja Matic assuming defense reponsibilties and Oscar dropping deep to create a three man midfield to add an extra outlet for Fabregas, Ramires on the wing also played the role same.
However, the same system hasn’t clicked this season, with Mourinho being fired in December. But now it’s time for the Conte era.
I’m not actually psychic, contrary to popular belief but here’s how I imagine Conte might line-up. The Nainggolan rumours are heating up and the Belgian would be an apt partner to Fabregas. He has pushed himself right to the top of list of best box to box midfielders in the world since 2012 and under Spalletti his stock has kept on rising. Often playing in an a more advanced role with Pjanic behind him, the opposite of how Rudi Garcia lined them up, Nainggolan has evolved as a ball carrier, a passer and still maintained his defensive responsibilities.
This is also assuming an Antonio Conte arse kicking gets Nemanja Matic back in his 2014/2015 form, as the Serbian seemed to be almost the perfect defensive partner for Fabregas. This would also allow Fabregas to play in an advanced role in a 4-2-3-1 as we’ve seen him experimented in this season. When Chelsea need more control in midfield, he would simply drop deeper to resume the 4-3-3. During Chelsea’s title winning campaign, the Serbian seemed the perfect partner for the Spaniard, the defensive capabilities of a destroyer yet he did not possess the usual limited passing game of a destroyer. Chelsea’s fluidity and passing game rarely seemed stalled by him.
When it comes to the summer, Antonio Conte might scrap Fabregas and this whole article may very well be rendered totally irrelevant, but I doubt it. It’s evident that Fabregas still has potential to be the best midfielders in the world despite his struggles this season. A support system doesn’t necessarily mean that a player needs to be ‘carried’, it just means that a player needs roles given to surrounding players so he can thrive in a select few roles. It’s not exactly a new concept, in the 1960s Milan had Balon D’or winner Gianni Rivera, and there was much debate about whether technically gifted players such as Rivera were worth it as you needed a ‘support’ player. Giovanni Lodetti was known as Rivera’s ‘third lung’.
With the ‘lightweight’ Rivera won three Scudetti, four Coppa Italia and two European Cups. Not bad for a player that needed support.
It’s also worth noting that Ruud Gullit touched upon this subject on the BBC’s Match Of The Day (Via @sidcelery)
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