Juve, Joao Mario scores against Bologna: why it never worked in Turin

In just four games, he played almost as much as in the previous 5 months. But, above all, he showed that he can do it at a certain level. To discover Joao Mario, Juventus fans had to wait for him to wear… the Bologna shirt. And that, against Brann in the Europa League, he also scored the first goal of his Italian adventure. From desaparecido to protagonist, the step was just 330 km long, the ones that separate the city of the Mole from that of the Two Towers. But, more than anything, the transition from an environment in which he never enjoyed the esteem of the coaches who took turns leading the club to one in which they immediately trusted him was enough. being repaid.

Joao Mario, reborn in Bologna

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“It’s a nice surprise, he’s shy and needs to start smiling a little more – the rossoblù coach, Vincenzo Italiano, complimented him -. He’s unblocked and is proving to be a starter for Porto, who deserved the call from Juventus.” Yes, because when this 26-year-old Portuguese landed at Continassa from the Dragoes he was certainly not an unknown like his predecessor Alberto Costa (who had followed the opposite path in the operation), but a full-range right winger capable of playing more than 180 games for Porto. Yet, perhaps partly due to his shy character, but above all due to a difficulty in adapting tactically to Italian football, in Turin he was often left to watch: Tudor preferred the adapted Kalulu and McKennie in the 3-4-2-1, Spalletti made the Frenchman work overtime, who until his dismissal with Inter had not missed a minute in the season. Thus, Joao Mario had only crumbs left: 373 minutes on the pitch divided into 13 appearances (3 as a starter), until the loan exchange with Holm in the January transfer window. And the consequent turning point, made up of four games in a row as a starter between championship and cup. With the mocking taste, for the Juventus fans, of seeing him still competing in Europe and Spalletti’s team at home…