Only fools mock Juventus
Football Italia Blog
Paul Pogba is gone, Gonzalo Higuain looked fat in his debut, but history should have learned that it’s foolish to mock Juventus, writes Vincent Van Genechten.
What a busy summer it has been for Juventus. The 2015 one was quite pressing, with the departures of Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal, and the consequent incoming transfers of Paulo Dybala, Sami Khedira, Mario Mandzukic, Alex Sandro and Simone Zaza.
But how about paying a club record €90m for Gonzalo Higuain, while also securing Miralem Pjanic, Dani Alves, Marko Pjaca, Mehdi Benatia, and Mario Lemina, and then selling Paul Pogba for a world record €110m fee to Manchester United? A player they got for free four years ago, making the Frenchman’s transfer by far the most profitable one in history.
The Old Lady’s comeback from the ashes of Calciopoli and Serie B is nothing but remarkable. Not even the biggest Inter fans are able to deny that about their most fierce rivals. Despite the fact that the Nerazzurri, Napoli and even Roma have enjoyed solid summer transfer campaigns, Juve remain the clear-cut favourites to win next season’s Scudetto.
Still, it looks like people haven’t learned that only fools mock the Bianconeri. It was evident at how Juve crawled back from Serie B to winning five consecutive Serie A titles, with a record sixth one in the making. The Turin club was burned to the ground, mocked and laughed at by rivals, who hoped Juve would be gone for an extensive time.
But the Old Lady weren’t and here they are again, wheeling and dealing on the transfer market like no other Italian club is able to do. But many have short memories and the mocking has once again started.
Just look at how social media exploded when a picture of a not so slim Higuain in his Juve debut against West Ham appeared. The Argentine has already been dubbed a transfer bust, ignoring the fact that he had been training for just more than a week after enjoying a well deserved vacation. Can’t a man have a little break once in a while?
In addition, the 28-year-old striker has never been a physical monster, relying more on his brains than his abdominals to score goals. Higuain undoubtedly will struggle at first at Juventus, trying to find his place in a new team and a new lineup. But mocking Juventus for spending big on him before his first official game? Too fast.
On to selling Pogba. Losing the French midfielder will hurt Juventus, who’ll miss his creativity, running, athleticism, and ball-winning abilities. But the transfer was months in the making and pretty much inevitable. Resisting that amount of money was impossible for player and club. So everything makes sense in the end.
But again, some laughter appeared about Juve “losing their best player,” giving up a lead in the Scudetto race, and Pogba trolling for months before eventually leaving the club. Foolish, as the Bianconeri have covered most of Pogba’s qualities and are only in search of a midfielder to step in and replace the Frenchman’s defensive attributes. In terms of creativity, Pjanic is a much better fit for the side anyway awaiting Claudio Marchisio’s return from injury.
Don’t be surprised if Juventus announce that extra transfer pretty soon, because this club is prepared for anything. Unlike most other Italian top clubs.
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