Here is another one from Channel 4:
Young blood
President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli has a dream. In all honesty, he has many dreams. From Juventus pipping Inter in a Scudetto dash to the Bianconeri winning the Champions League in Rome after their recent exodus from the competition. But a recurring one, as he’s reminded us on numerous occasions since his appointment two years ago, is to build a competitive side which includes talented young Italians.
It’s an honourable and popular objective, a philosophy which brings back memories of the late 1970s and early ‘80s when a predominantly Italian Juve side – enforced due to foreigner restrictions – took on the world and, in most cases, succeeded. It was no coincidence that six of the Azzurri who started the 1982 World Cup Final against West Germany spoke Juventino.
Yet, as John Hancock Field once remarked: "All worthwhile men have good thoughts, good ideas and good intentions, but precious few of them ever translate those into action." The reality is that Juventus, even this side which is still in its infancy after Calciopoli, doesn’t have the time to wait for promising youngsters to turn into the champions which are needed to compete at the highest level.
Looking for proof of that last statement? Ask Domenico Criscito who was prematurely thrown into the starting XI last term, crumbled under the spotlight and sent back to Genoa in January. Then we have Antonio Nocerino, a player of real promise, who will be performing for Palermo next season after he was sold in the deal which took Amauri north. Surely he deserved another Turin campaign to prove himself? And don’t forget Raffaele Palladino, who is on the verge of joining Genoa. They were said to be the Juventus of the future…
At the present time, the outfit’s much-touted youth policy functions within the same kind of parameters as it did under the Triade. For the most part, boys are nurtured and then subsequently forfeited in the transfer market. The majority are nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard looking to gain its eighth rank in order to be promoted, but usually sacrificed for a more important piece.
With that in mind, Juventus fans should be slightly apprehensive of what the new season will bring for Sebastian Giovinco, Claudio Marchisio and Paolo De Ceglie. All three will meet up with their teammates on Friday after being recalled to Turin, but the trio will be aware that they may have to put in a Giorgio Chiellini-type season to make sure they’re still part of the same squad 12 months down the line – otherwise, it could be checkmate to their Juve dreams.
By Antonio Labbate