The Belgian does a lot of obscure work, but still can’t get unstuck. He pays for Tudor’s late arrival and intransigence, but now he must also give Spalletti the goals
Almost seven months without a goal for a striker represents an eternity and cannot help but represent a problem. But if we go beyond the cold numbers, Lois Openda is proving to be a very useful player in Luciano Spalletti’s new Juve, but not for what he was (practically) purchased from Leipzig for 44 million. In the matches against Udinese (again with Brambilla on the bench on an interim basis) and Cremonese the Belgian, lined up alongside Vlahovic, relieved the Serbian of the pressure from the opposing players and took part in the actions that broke the deadlock in the match, but he often sinned in the final choice and hit the target just once out of 8 attempts.
juve, openda without a goal for almost seven months
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It was last April 11th, at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolsfburg, when Openda experienced the joy of celebrating a goal for the last time. 205 days have passed since that moment, but the Belgian born in 2000 has no longer managed to break the deadlock. An abstinence of almost 1000 minutes: 978′ to be precise, made up of 369′ at the end of last season with the Leipzig shirt, 100′ with the national team and 509′ this year, divided between the Bundesliga and Juve. A unicum, however, in the recent history of this attacker who, in the ranking of strikers born in the new millennium, occupies sixth position, behind Haaland, Jonathan David, Alvarez, Vinicius and Vlahovic. One hundred and seven goals in 314 games for Openda, certainly light years away from the 325 goals of the Norwegian cyborg of Manchester City, but which still represent a very respectable haul. So much so that he convinced the Juventus general manager Comolli to invest 3.3 million on the last day of the transfer market to convince the Germans to sell him on loan, with a redemption obligation (set at 40.6 million) practically certain: for him to make an impact, in fact, Juve will have to finish in the top 10 positions in Serie A.
openda’s dark work
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Certainly, the last minute arrival at Continassa did not favor him, as did the fact of having to deal with the intransigence of Tudor, fossilized on a module with a single striker and two playmakers in which Openda ended up getting lost. Too alone in the role of sole center forward, not congenial to his characteristics as a striker skilled in attacking depth and exploiting spaces in transition, the job of an attacking midfielder. In the new Juve, however, the Belgian has found his function: perhaps obscure, inconspicuous, but very useful. Because with his cuts across the entire attacking front he helps to disorientate the opposing defense and free Vlahovic from double marking and because with his pressing he disturbs the construction of the maneuver. Of course, however, what remains in our eyes above all are the 3 shots thrown at “Zini” and the various missed opportunities due to a wrong choice. This is why the time has come for Openda to put an end to abstinence.
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