Juve, Kempf was yours in 2014: the transfer background on the Como defender

There are those who say no… And then they even make jokes. In Juve’s mess in Como everyone thinks of the superlative Nico Paz, but the first (painful) injury was caused by Marc Oliver Kempf, an old acquaintance at Continassa. In the literal sense of the term. It is true that the now thirty-year-old German defender landed on the banks of the Lario only a year ago, following a full-fledged career in the Bundesliga. Few know, however, that during his rise in youth he had become a concrete transfer target for Juve.

kempf-juve, in 2014 it was all done

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We have to go back 11 years, when the then Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta and sporting director Fabio Paratici were hunting for promises in Europe. Kempf, who grew up in the youth sector of Eintracht Frankfurt, also stood out with the German national teams, participating as a protagonist in the under-17 European Championship (silver medal) and then becoming European Champion with the Under-21s. Always with important goals in his forays into the opponent’s area. The reports from the Juventus scouts were excellent, so much so that they convinced the Juventus managers to appoint agent Giacomo Petralito (as an intermediary) to make contact with Freiburg to close the deal. The operation was almost concluded with the payment of 1 and a half million euros and a five-year contract to the player. The agreement was also finalized by his family’s mission in Turin. Marc Oliver, together with his parents, was invited to get to know the Juventus reality, stopping at the Vinovo technical center and then at the Continassa one. In short, it was all done.

Borussia Dortmund’s deception

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But right on the wire the unthinkable happened. In fact, shortly before the signatures, Michael Zorc, at that time plenipotentiary of Borussia Dortmund, learned of the now imminent deal and decided to intervene in his own way. He knew, in fact, that Kempf had a weakness for the black and yellow club since he was a boy and he leveraged that passion of the player to entice him to refuse the black and white offer, promising to sign him up shortly. It was a heartfelt choice that Marc Oliver made, certainly not a professional calculation. A move he must have regretted over the years. Dortmund, for example, did not live up to their word. So much so that Kempf remained at Freiburg and then spent his German years between Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin. Goodbye Champions League, then, including the national team. Now the experience in Como is giving him some satisfaction, considering that he is linked to Fabregas’ ambitious project until 2027. And this season too he started off on the right foot, given that goals are his specialty. He scored many and with quality in Germany, he is repeating himself here too. First the goal against Fiorentina, now close against the Bianconeri. In the meantime, Marotta and Paratici have taken other paths. The Inter president continued to win and discover players, his former right-hand man has just left Tottenham to put his skills as a talent scout to good use. Meanwhile in Turin these are delicate days. Comolli’s new course is struggling to find the right path to put behind him the failure of his predecessors and Tudor’s bench is already wobbling. Instead in Como the rebirth of Kempf is just one of the many success stories in a group in which young people are authentic protagonists. Yes, because behind Nico Paz there are many asking for a way.