Juve: David, we’re here now. The new Jonathan grows and convinces

Right or wrong, the evaluations of center forwards always revolve around the goals scored: if you consistently miss the goalkeepers you are a great attacker, if on the scoreboard you are reduced to an occasional presence then you risk the bench. Anyone who is a striker by profession is well aware of the harsh law of scoring and, indeed, it is certainly on this ruthless axiom that he has based his rise in football. For better or for worse, goals influence the fate of center forwards. Here it is: on Tuesday evening, in the first game without Dusan Vlahovic, Jonathan David failed to score. Despite this and despite the strict rule stated above, the Canadian international was promoted with full marks, radiating cautious optimism throughout the Juventus world who will have to do without the Serbian for the next 90 days. The former Lille player will carry the weight of the Juventus attack on his shoulders until the end of February and in the Italian Cup the first post-Dusan signs were particularly encouraging.

All round

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With the elimination of Udinese and qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition, David’s abstinence did not make the news and, from this point of view, never mind if bad luck tormented his match: in the 23rd minute the “credit” for the lead was taken by the opposing defender Matteo Palma in an attempt to anticipate it and in the half-hour Jonathan’s potential second goal – a terrifying blow to the near post from a tight angle – was invalidated by a slight offside position. No name on the scoreboard, therefore, but no one can take away the merits of Turin’s performance from the Lady’s number 30. The 77 goals in the last three seasons spent in France tell of a 25 year old boy who knows how to build a great feeling with the opposing goal, but ironically against the Friulians the sample shown was different. A lot of team work, first of all, as the glue of the maneuver in frequent and functional dialogue with the attacking midfielders Kenan Yildiz and Weston McKennie as happened with the midfielders who from time to time advanced towards the away area. Compared to other seasonal outings of a very different nature, David’s every play was seasoned with an evident underlying confidence that helped him maintain a high level of clarity on every occasion. On the own goal of the momentary 1-0, for example, the Canadian’s football IQ was evident when, following Teun Koopmeiners’ beautiful through ball, he decided to stop running the ball as soon as he realized he was offside: Jonathan swerved, left the burden of the cross to McKennie and then met the ball in the area, where he can unleash all his sense of goal.

Blue horizon

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In light of the great response on the evening of the Italian Cup, it is logical to deduce that without Vlahovic the Juventus attack will depend mainly on David, for the goals and for everything he adds to it, from team play to tactical intelligence. Considering his nickname is Iceman, winter seems like the best time to unfreeze all his qualities and help Juventus climb the mountain of adversity after a mixed start to the season. The next, fundamental step will be the trip to Naples – Sunday at 8.45pm – against one of the two leaders of Serie A. There will be nothing trivial, from the level of the opponent to the crossroads with Antonio Conte up to the spring contacts between the Neapolitan club and David himself: in May the Azzurri had in fact tried to sink the blow for the most sought-after free transfer in Europe, but then in July Juventus completed the overtaking. Here, it is precisely in these cases that goals can become a sentence, to demonstrate to everyone – in retrospect – who took the right path in the months of the transfer market.