Pressure on new Juventus centre-backs in wake of Chiellini injury
It was a sorry sight in an otherwise entertaining affair in Turin. Juventus secured a 4-3 win over title rivals Napoli courtesy of a late Kalidou Koulibaly own goal, but the image of Georgio Chiellini watching on with crutches was a sad state for the Old Lady. The experienced Italian required surgery after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in training in late August. With no time frame on his return, Juventus are fretting.
Chiellini has played 507 times for the Old Lady and is an icon with supporters of the defending champions. At 35 years of age, though, it remains to be seen whether the Italy international will ever get back to his best, or return at all such is the severity of his injury coupled with his age. Should he be forced to call time on his glittering career, it’ll be a sad end for Chiellini, who is one of the more recognisable centre-backs in football.
Last ditch tackles were celebrated in the same manner as goals scored and the three-man defensive setup with Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, who boasts a Football INDEX buy price of £0.40 per share, and Andrea Barzagli in front of Gianluigi Buffon was both feared and admired in equal measure. Juventus are in a new chapter in their history, however. Buffon may have returned over the summer following his PSG release, but he is second choice behind Wojciech Szczesny in Turin as he seeks to become Serie A’s record appearance holder.
Barzagli, meanwhile, retired over the summer and with Chiellini sidelined for the foreseeable future, Bonucci is the leader in the squad at the heart of the defence and, in effect, the surviving member of the four horseman of the Juventus apocalyptically devastating backline. There is a new era of Juventus defenders in Maurizio Sarri’s squad, however.
As expected, the Italian has instilled a 4-3-3 setup, a tired and tested Sarri system, which lessens the pressure on Bonucci, who now has just one new centre-back partner to work with rather than two. In that regard, Sarri is spoilt for choice. Daniele Rugani stayed at the Juventus Stadium, despite links with summer switches to Premier League pair Arsenal and Wolves, while Matthijs de Ligt and Merih Demiral joined from Ajax and Sassuolo, respectively.
It’s De Ligt who is expected to be the man tasked with filling the gargantuan void left in Chiellini’s absence. The young Dutchman is under pressure to make a rapid impact for the Serie A outfit having joined for just shy of £80m. Now 20, the Dutchman was one of the most sought after centre-backs on the continent, with Barcelona, PSG and Manchester United all chasing the Netherlands international prior to his move to Italy.
However, De Ligt’s start to life with Juventus has been indifferent to say the least. A change in style of play between the Eredivisie and Serie A was always going to take some adjusting, but Chiellini’s injury means the youngster was thrown in at the deep end. A WhoScored rating of 6.15 was the second lowest of every starting outfielder in Juventus’ 4-3 win over Napoli prior to the international break, with his slip that allowed Hirving Lozano to breeze past him in the second half summing up his Juventus career to date in a microcosm.
A number of shaky moments in pre-season, including an own goal 10 minutes into his debut in Juventus’ penalty shootout friendly win over arch rivals Inter, was hardly ideal preparation for De Ligt, who needs to quickly get his act together now that he is expected to start alongside Bonucci. That isn’t to say he won’t come good at Juventus. There’s a reason so many of Europe’s elite sides were tracking the centre-back over the summer and a period away from Italy with the national team may have done De Ligt the world of good.
While it will take a number of cataclysmic displays for Sarri to drop De Ligt, the Juventus boss at least has sturdy options in reserve. Rugani may not have developed as the club would’ve hoped, but the 25-year-old is a handy stand in if required and against the league’s lesser sides, could prove a valuable member of the squad should Sarri need to call upon the Italian provided he can live up to the early promise shown in the infant stages of his career.
Demiral is another commendable coup having shone for Sassuolo on the back of his January move to Italy from Super Lig side Alanyaspor. He is yet to make a competitive appearance for Juventus, but offers the no-nonsense, never-say-die approach to defending Chiellini is famed for having averaged 5.6 clearances per game in Serie A last season. By comparison, his experienced Juventus teammate made more clearances per game (3.7) than any other player for the Italian powerhouse, with the Turkey international’s WhoScored rating (7.11) better than any other Neroverdi player, so Sassuolo’s loss is very much Juventus’ gain.
Yet the trio don’t offer that same composure and confidence that exudes throughout the defence and the squad as Chiellini. With such a solid foundation, Juventus’ attack-minded players could rest easy knowing Chiellini and Bonucci had things on lockdown at the back. In time, De Ligt will come good and he’ll be a cornerstone of the Juventus defence, but the vastly experienced Chiellini would’ve very much helped the former Ajax man ease into his new surroundings and granted him sufficient time to acclimatise to the rigours of Italian football.
In that instance, then, Chiellini’s absence will be felt greater than many would care to admit and it could be that Juventus are in for a rocky few months as De Ligt gets up to speed, starting with the trip to Fiorentina, where they’ll resume rivalries with the Viola in Saturday’s clash in Florence.
