Our new coach is known for using what many call a 4-2-4 formation. This formation is really probably closer to the 4-4-2 Del Neri used last year then many realize since they both emphasize strong wing attackers, it just sounds way cooler to call it a 4-2-4. Pirlo is pretty much guaranteed a starting spot in the middle; he could play next to either Vidal or Marchisio with Krasic and on the right and a potential new arrival for LW (more to come on this subject with question #3). Marchisio and especially Vidal can also play the left wing role. Pazienza is also an option for the other centre midfield spot, of the players on the current roster he probably compliments Pirlo the best but he does not have the track record of Vidal and Marchisio. I do hope Conte strongly considers using a 4-3-3 formation instead. He could use Pirlo in the middle with Marchisio and Vidal to protect the defense, and pick 3 out of Vucinic, Krasic, Matri and Quagliarella for the 3 forward spots.
2. Will anyone buy our spare players?
It is absolutely stunning to look at the outgoing transfers for Juve since Moggi left. Juventus has bought numerous players that have not worked out in the last 3 years, some of them were very expensive (Amauri, Diego, Felipe Melo) while others turned out to be overpriced (Poulsen, Tiago, Almiron, Andrade) even though they were all individually purchased for less than 15 million. Other than the 15 million Marotta was able to get for Diego from Wolfsburg Juve has really nothing to show for any outgoing transfer- I fear Melo will end up like Tiago who was loaned out and then finally released because he had such a high salary no one was also willing to also pay Juve for his services. The only time Juve has gotten any sort of value for an outgoing player is when younger ones like Criscito and Nocerino were included in the deal for an incoming player. We are seeing the same problem this year, Juve has a very deep roster which normally would be a plus considering we train on Vinovo (there are rumors our training facility was built on an old Indian burial ground) but with no European competitions it is an issue. Juve needs to get rid of at least 4 players so Conte can run efficient practices and our ownership is not paying salaries for players that have no chance of seeing the pitch. Moggi was a master of selling off players as quickly as possible in the transfer period; he did not wait for summer injuries (IAQUINTA!!!) or for other teams to fill their rosters. Once Moggi raised money on outgoing transfers he would then focus on filling out Juve’s roster. Marotta likes to preach patience in the transfer window, I personally feel his philosophy has been simply disastrous (but that will be covered in the next column).
3. Is a LW, especially an offensive minded one, really needed?
When Juve was not able to purchase Aguero we were told we could use the money allocated for that transfer to get both Giuseppe Rossi and Vucinic who would be our new LW. Marotta’s patient approach ended up costing us Rossi as well once Villareal sold Cazorla to Malaga, so Vucinic will end up probably being the sexiest purchase for Juve this transfer season (had someone told me that In June of this year I would have disgusted but not surprised). Now Vucinic is really only being considered as a striker and we are linked to numerous LWs- Vargas, Elia, Eduardo, Perotti, Elia, Ramirez and Giaccherini. These last two names totally fit the famous Marotta “bait and switch scam” where Juve is first linked to famous names like Bastos, Nani and Vargas only to purchase lesser names. Regardless of what formation Conte picks for Juve, having another offensive minded player especially like Elia, Eduardo or Perrotti on the pitch to me seems like a disastrous idea. It would mean one between Marchisio, Vidal, Krasic or Pirlo would head to the bench and we would not have much protection for our defense. We also still have Pepe, Martinez Pasquato (is Giaccherini really much better?) and De Ceglie on the roster that can play LW should Conte insist on having a pure wing player opposite Krasic in a 4-4-2 formation. Of the players we are linked to for the LW role I only see Vargas as a good fit for our roster- he has Serie A experience and he can also provide some cover for our defense.
4. Have we improved the defense enough?
Last year Juve gave up 31 home goals. Bonucci and Chiellini never really seemed to develop good chemistry at least on Juve (they tended to play better together for Italy but that was usually against weaker opponents) and we had a horrendous collection of right and left backs. So far to improve the backline Lichsteiner and Ziegler have been brought in. Lichsteiner is a significant upgrade over Grygera and Motta but he is a player in the Maicon mold who likes to push forward, I am not sure if he was the best choice to provide cover for Krasic- the two should form a very good combination offensively but there are some doubts we will have enough defense on the right side. Ziegler is a nice player, he has played both in the Premier League and Serie A, he is a much better defender then De Ceglie, Traore and the version we saw of Grosso at Juve. We will not confuse him with Roberto Carlos offensively but we needed to focus more on the defensive side of things, come to think of it ideally we would have someone like Ziegler behind Krasic and someone like Lichsteiner on the left. Overall Lichsteiner and Zigler were good purchases for Juve, especially when you consider combined they cost as much as what we spent last year on Martinez. Juve is currently trying to bring in another CB to compete with Bonucci for the starting job next to Chiellini and we are hearing numerous candidates. One of them can be crossed off the list since Coates was just purchased by Manchester City, seed that he is so young he may not have been the best choice for Juve. Alex yesterday in the Chelsea game against West Bromwich looked like Bonucci, which is not a compliment by the way. He also seems very similar to Chiellini and Bonucci. The best alternative is Lugano, a player in the Montero mold- experienced, never out of positions and not afraid of playing dirty. He would also be fairly cheap and could help develop Chiellini and Bonucci. We also have to find a good place to loan Sorensen out to so he can play regularly, for depth purposes we still have Motta and Barzagli. A starting caliber CB with experience is a must purchase before August 31st, it is unfortunate the new addition will not have much time to develop chemistry with Chiellini
5. Will Juve prove that you can do the same thing and also get a different result?
One of the best definitions of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. In the last few years Juve has changed coaches frequently and we have brought in many new players each transfer period, most of them right before the deadline so they could not do the summer preparation with the team, not surprisingly the results have been disastrous (Inter made these same mistakes before Mourinho waved his magic wand). Marotta famously stated last summer was about quantity and rebuilding the roster while this summer was about adding quality to the team. While I like most of the additions this summer, I still see a lot of new players that need time to adapt to playing together and to Conte’s strategies. Vidal, Lichsteiner and a healthy Pirlo are improvements to what we had last year but we still lack that one difference maker that can put the team on their shoulders. Will our new team gel quickly and take advantage of the fact most Serie A teams appear weaker compared to last year? If Alex is brought in will he be able to end the curse of Brazilian players on Juve? If we can answer these questions with a positive answer Juve may finally make its fans proud.
