Juve, Chiesa plays little: the reasons for Allegri’s choices

In the last four matches Federico Chiesa has played 52 minutes in all, plus recovery: the last 21 with Turin and the last 31 in Rome. All the more in light of the fact that he had played all of the previous four matches, three of which as a starter (Lazio, who went with Nantes, Fiorentina), it is only natural to wonder why one of Juve’s three strongest and most decisive players – and he is strong the party of those who consider him number one – is playing so little. Due to objective responsibility and custom, the first thought inevitably goes to Allegri’s choices. And inevitably everything passes through him, but the evaluations are not only of a technical nature.

THE PHYSICAL ASSESSMENTS

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Inevitably the first criterion is of a physical nature. The return is now four months away, in November, yet the need to dose its use will go on for a little longer after a ten-month absence from the fields. “We have another game on Thursday and another Sunday: I have to manage Chiesa, even if he came in very well tonight, he rips,” Allegri said in Rome, and in fact, physically Chiesa dominated Karsdorp, only to not have as many technical incisiveness. Of the two signals, the most important was perhaps the return after 14 months on the grass from the serious injury, that some mental waste could leave her.

THE PHYSICAL ASSESSMENTS

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If after his return, managing Chiesa meant above all avoiding overload, limiting his playing time, to avoid muscle injuries, as time went by the focus shifted to recovery times, with the need to give the blue the possibility of recharging the batteries between performance and the other. But with the last “full” game now two and a half weeks away, and only 21 minutes into the last game played (the derby), the reason for choosing to use him on the bench at the Olimpico cannot be purely physical. It’s not enough for the former Viola to be healthy to play, it is inevitable that tactical assessments also come into play: in the current structure, Chiesa’s position can be from full-back to the full range of 3-5-2 (possible, and successful, but difficult), or as a second striker but it would mean considering him as an alternative to Di Maria, or still trying to have them all together but at the price of changing the game system.

STRATEGIC CHOICES

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That’s what ultimately happened in the last half hour at the Olimpico to make up for the disadvantage, leave the 3-5-2 for the trident. “We imagined that Roma would have given us more in the second half: the goal conceded was not in the plans, but we wanted to have an extra gear with the substitutions,” said Allegri. Therefore an evaluation linked to the strategy of the single game. Or the broader strategy over a period of several games: given the seasonal priorities, it is natural to ask whether it made more sense for Juve to field the best against Roma or keep them for the first leg against Freiburg. In any case, it will be easy to resolve the subsequent doubt between Freiburg and Sampdoria. But these too are fundamental assessments of the players to manage, and Juve has more than one: in addition to Chiesa, Pogba, and to a certain extent perhaps even Di Maria. In short, a tetris. And among so many variables, there is always one too many that works against.