Bonucci treated like Zakaria, the incomprehensible choice on the center forward. But was Giuntoli needed to catch a thirty-year-old?
The man who led them through two unsuccessful seasons is still in charge of Juve. Two seasons that the Juventus club ended without trophies a decade after the last time something similar had occurred (the coach was Delneri, do you have enough memory to remember?). Two seasons in which he took fourth and third place in the league, without ever even getting close to fighting for the Scudetto, and in Europe he made up for historic foolishness, starting with five defeats in six matches in the Champions League elimination round last autumn ( when the penalty, the mother of all justifications, had not yet arrived). But also two seasons in which the club tried to comply with the coach’s requests: first the 80 million striker, Vlahovic, then the new 50 million Chiellini, Bremer, and finally the champions who were supposed to guarantee the results regardless of the game and which cost a fortune in salaries (Pogba, Di Maria, Paredes). Well, after all this Juve still has the same man in charge: Massimiliano Allegri. And the feeling is that it matters more than before.
bonucci and zakaria
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There is Allegri’s hand in the decision to put Bonucci out of the squad: from the stool to the pitch of the unwanted, we have arrived at the showdown. All right, Leo earns a lot; okay, his performance is not even comparable to that of the past; but was there really a need to treat the defender of the eight championships, the captain, like any Arthur or Zakaria?
lukaku and vlahovic
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Even more sensational is the turnaround that Allegri inspired in attack: off a twenty-three-year-old center forward, Vlahovic, and inside one of thirty, Lukaku. Where is the convenience for Juve? The gross salary is the same, there is perhaps an immediate advantage: the Belgian costs 40 million, 70-80 can be obtained from the Serbian. Yes, but in two or three seasons how much will Lukaku be worth? A digit close to zero. And how much could Vlahovic be worth if he were able to fully express his potential, perhaps because he is supported by a team that plays better for him? The explanation for this strange choice by Juve is probably hidden in the Allegri line: let’s take an expert, someone who can solve matches on his own, or at least try to, ball to Lukaku and then he’ll take care of it, rather than working to build a Juve with a tactical soul, an identity. Lukaku after Pogba and Di Maria: the story is always the same.
joints
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The surprising aspect of the story is that the new Juve has, or should have, opposite principles: discovering young people unknown to most, exploiting their qualities, enhancing them for the transfer market. A bit like the Napoli champion of Italy did, it is no coincidence that they went to get De Laurentiis’ sporting director. But today one wonders: was Giuntoli needed to discover Lukaku, to notice a thirty-year-old center forward? Maybe not: Allegri was enough.
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