Like I said, Vidal was a signing Conte wanted, Marrotta wanted Inler.
Marotta still had to get out to get him, though, and he did. Fighting off other suitors in the process.
Most directors would've snapped Pirlo up at Juventus.
There's no way of knowing this, but it's probable. And also, if we are gonna deal in probability, there were probably other directors that would've loved to snap up Pirlo last summer. There were in fact rumours of Chelsea.
But it was Marotta who pulled it off.
There's no way you can't give Marotta credit for the Vidal -and Pirlo signings.
Quag was injured yes. But his preseason form gave indication that he still had it in him. There was no reason to jump the gun when you already have Toni, Iaq, Amauri on your books before the man that singlehandedly carried your team last season.
Regarding Quag; yes, his preseason form did indicate that, and he's still here, isn't he?
Regarding those "fantastic" replacements you mentioned (Toni, Iaquinta, Amauri); come on ... Of course he had to go out and get a player like Matri, you can't rely on Toni, Iaquinta and freakin' Amauri.
Krasic maybe going through a bad patch of form, but is six months enough to do away with a player you spent 15 m on a season ago and sell him at a substantial loss!?
First of all, Krasic hasn't been sold. In fact, it doesn't even seem like he's on the transfer list. Remember the media's role in all of this. They write a lot of stories when they get the chance to. But if it turns out that Krasic is on the transfer list, we must keep in mind that Krasic was the integral piece of the Del Neri-puzzle. If it's true that Conte doesn't like Krasic, then what the hell can the club do but offload him? What's the point of having a player stick around who is not wanted by the coach? And finally: there hasn't been any rumours of a "substantial loss". There has been talk of 10 million euros. If we were to sell him for that amount it would be quite all right, because Krasic has been rubbish for almost a year.
Barzagli looks like a very good signing, yes. But i would give some of the credit to Conte for that, because we both know he wasnt brought in as a starter, but a replacement for Legro.
Conte must be given credit for making the most out of Barzagli, this is true. But we should stick to the topic; whether Barzagli was or was not a good signing by Marotta. You seem to agree that it was.
Beppe was ready to sell Bonucci and Pepe. I'm not debating their quality here, I'm questioning the thought process behind buying them for one season and then selling them at a potential loss the next one.
Based on Pepe's performances last season, it's understandable that Marotta considered using him in swap deals etc. Were there any juventini not calling for Pepe to be sold? Then Marotta was told by the coach that Pepe should stay, and Pepe stayed. What's the problem?
As for Bonucci, no one is quite sure what the issue was, but it seemed to me that in the summer, Conte wanted another defender and gave Marotta the green light to use Bonucci in swap / cash -deals.
Once again, this is quite normal when you change the coach. If the coach doesn't like a player, there's no point in keeping him, regardless of him having been at the club for 6 months, 1 year, 5 years etc. But the Bonucci-situation seems to have found an internal solution as well, so once again, what's the problem?
In a position like Marrotta's, I could only use the term shrewd when somebody has conviction and belief in the way they handle finances and player transfers. Marrotta seems awfully confused in his dealings. 22 signings is a joke no matter where we stand on the table. Because unfortunately a lot of the credit for that too, I'd give to Conte, who isn't a Marrotta signing and in fact has overruled a lot of Marrotta's deals on the market if anything. Shrewd is a term, Moggi and Galliani personify for the years they've spent building teams with quality instead of revolutionising them with quantity.
Moggi were and Galliani is definitely shrewd GM's. Marotta has some way to go before he can be considered in their league, I have no problem admitting that. But the Barzagli -and Pirlo signings were indeed shrewd. Especially the latter. There's no point in saying: "Anyone would've snapped up Pirlo" when in the end, Marotta was the one who did.
Vidal, Mirko and Licht were also very good signings. Instead of overpaying for Aguero and Rossi he saved tons of money and went for Mirko instead. Lichtsteiner is the best fullback in Serie-A, and he got him for 10, while Lotito wanted Juve to pay the 12 million release clause. Vidal had many suitors, but Marotta got his man. Yes, Conte wanted Vidal, but Conte didn't bring him to Turin.
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