You didn't seem to rate Marchisio in the regista role and said it was a failure to get a proper Pirlo replacement.
Pirlo was spectacularly poor last season.
I'm sure 2013 midfield is superior for everyone. We are comparing this season's midfield with last season's though, not 2013's.
Yes, Lemina is defensive. He's a good short passer but doesn't have the long range or vision. It's not a requirement for the player in that position to be a distributor though, esp if he's a backup.
Pirlo was spectacularly poor last season.
I'm sure 2013 midfield is superior for everyone. We are comparing this season's midfield with last season's though, not 2013's.
Yes, Lemina is defensive. He's a good short passer but doesn't have the long range or vision. It's not a requirement for the player in that position to be a distributor though, esp if he's a backup.
Pirlo was definitely not spectacularly poor last season. He did his job quite well he just did not do the spectacular things only he is able to to do as regularly as before. You do not almost complete a treble with a spectacularly bad player as your main regista especially that this position/role is key in our game plan. He also shone in multiple moments both in the league and in the CL. We would not have made it out of the group stages if it were not for his freekick against olympiakos. He also won us the turin derby. These are just examples at the top of my mind. Check his average rating across the season on any site that you please. He was not the Pirlo from the conte era (arguably the best regista in football) but he pulled the strings and organized the midfield quite well that we never felt that the midfield are headless chickens or that the attackers are starved of service. To even consider that he is as bad as Hernanes has been for us is ludicrous. Marchisio even today is better only at the defensive side of his role.
In terms of passing range and movement Pirlo still was from another planet though less than what he got us used to in the Conte era. Marchisio does the unspectacular. He orchestrates the midfield and recovers the ball but he was never capable of the sublime.
Which midfield from last season are you considering? Pereyra/vidal with Pogba, Pirlo and Marchisio behind him? or the midfield with sturaro as starting?
A distributor's job does require long range passing and exceptional off the ball movement. He should be always available as the go-to guy for defenders and midfielders when they don't know what to do under pressure. He should also be able to link the midfield with the attack. So not only should he be available to take the ball whenever a defender or midfielder needs support, he should also know how to use the ball under pressure and deliver it either to other midfielders in more open spaces or to wingbacks or strikers. Recall Pirlo spreading the play to Licht and how every play from our defense went through Pirlo. Also recall how he controlled any pass he received, turned around and passed it to a free player. Lemina can't do those things. When marchisio was absent, Pogba had to drop deep in the midfield to help distribute in place of hernanes/lemina and people were wondering why he was no longer as threatening going forward.
Hernanes is a better candidate as far as I can tell to be our vice marchiso. He can pass well but his off the ball movement is horrendous. He just stays still instead of moving to a location where the other pressured players can find him. Pirlo was slow but he was always available to players and whenever he got the ball he could do the smooth twists and turns to escape pressure.
Marchisio is better than pirlo only in a 4-3-1-2 because he is not required to be very creative in that formation (Pirlo's advantage over him) and he has to do more defensive ball winning (Marchisio's advantage over pirlo). In a 3-5-2 however, the regista should be very creative because the two other Cm's have to be a threat going forward the way vidal and pogba/marchisio used to be after the wingbacks stretch opposition defenses. Thats why Pirlo excels in such a role. His defensive weaknesses are undermined while his creative power is emphasized by the 3-5-2. Conte's brilliance lies in identifying that and molding the team to suit Pirlo best.
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