The midfielder had been courted by Napoli where he would have been the luxury alternative to De Bruyne. But then he stayed, and he is proving invaluable for Spalletti too
Who knows how, and where, Fabio Miretti would have played today if the Napoli court had resulted in an announced white smoke: Antonio Conte looked for him, the Italian champion team would have welcomed him as they do with a 22 year old boy destined to enter the scene as a luxury alternative and, the injuries of De Bruyne and Anguissa, the luxury alternative would have opened the doors of Maradona, and not only that. Miretti remained with the dress that he feels is his most: the black and white. And he remained waiting for nights like those in the cold and frost of Bodo: seventy minutes on the pitch, seventy minutes of great substance first and then of profound tactical quality. When Juventus was still looking for the right measures, Fabio dedicated himself to the simplest but most effective management: Locatelli’s shoulder in the middle, Conceiçao’s shoulder and Adzic a few meters ahead of the pitch. And when Juventus got hold of the script, Miretti added ideas and running to his effort until he got to the goal, which was canceled by VAR.
the trust of Spalletti
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Certaldo’s coach, Luciano Spalletti, likes the 22-year-old with a recent past of physical setbacks and doesn’t hide it: as soon as he arrived on the bench, the former Azzurri coach put him at the center of his thoughts with the few, but significant, minutes in the Champions League match at the Stadium against Sporting Lisbon. In the most evocative cup, Miretti hit a shot full of personality that will come in handy in the immediate future. Koopmeiners disguised himself as a defender à la Calafiori, Thuram has lost the light of the good times, McKennie continues to work as a wildcard, Locatelli cannot play them all: here, for one of Conte’s desires, space becomes increasingly larger and more precious in Naples. Bodo’s frost has “unfrozen” Juventus and its “new” modern midfielder.