The coach brought on the 18-year-old Belgian in the 76th minute in place of Miretti. After the stomp that cost Osimhen the penalty, the coach removed him in the 90th minute… to let Danilo in
It’s one of the stories of the evening, that of Joseph Nonge Boende. 14 minutes on the pitch, the first of his career at Maradona. Lived dangerously, decisive in their own way. He enters in the 76th minute, exits in the 90th minute. In the middle (also) the patatrac, the penalty awarded on Osimhen which gave rise to Raspadori’s decisive goal. And so far there is, the most classic mistake of youth, however bloody. But seeing him come out before the final whistle – to make room for… Danilo – is a move that impressed him. The saddest curtain.
entrance… announced
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Bold, courageous, reckless, Massimiliano Allegri’s decision to focus at that moment – 1-0 down with a quarter of an hour to play – on the 18-year-old Belgian midfielder, who, like Yildiz and Huijsen, is among the boys who took this year the lift from Next Gen to the first team, 9 minutes on the pitch in Serie A in his career, on 7 January against Salernitana, plus another 26 in total in the Italian cup. Also a decision taken out of necessity, because the midfielders on the bench were Nonge and Nicolussi: for an aggressive final it could have been to focus on the Belgian, or perhaps it was precisely expected because it was Allegri who said in the conference the day before that he wasn’t there need to use Cambiaso as a midfielder: “Even without Rabiot and McKennie there is Alcaraz, there is Miretti and there is Nonge”.
inside out
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Nonge’s quarter of an hour in Naples wasn’t just the frame that made Mariani decide for the penalty. The figures: a positive throw, three duels of which one won, one foul conceded and two fouls committed. One too many. 88th minute, Osimhen from the edge is doubled by Rugani and Bremer. Nonge himself comes back to help and extends his mischievous right foot. He extends it badly: he becomes a stomp on the Nigerian’s ankle, it’s a penalty. After the goal, Allegri’s decision: Nonge out, Danilo in. The last player to come in was out: there may have been tactical reasons (in the 90th minute… to let Danilo in…) but after that mistake the appearance was that of an instant failure. Trying to get even, at that moment, was more important than appearance. Reflection: if Nonge couldn’t stay on the pitch at the end, couldn’t Danilo come on a quarter of an hour earlier? In that quarter of an hour Juve lost. And a boy risks being burned.
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