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Benvenuto Alla Juventus: ARTURO VIDAL – If You Don’t Know, You Better Ask Somebody!

July 22, 2011

by Adam Digby

July 22, 2011

 

Juventus sign Arturo Vidal. The general response, among those not too proud to admit it, is a resounding WHO? The five of us here at JuventiKnows.com, a few Copa America and World Cup games aside, have seen very little of the Chilean midfielder that seems to have been captured at the request of Antonio Conte.

His arrival, alongside the departure of everyone’s favourite bi-polar Brazilian Felipe Melo, signals the end of destructive-midfield play and would appear to herald the dawning of a possession-based game under the new coach.

Beppe Marotta seems to have pulled off a master-stroke in sealing a deal for the Bayer Leverkusen man, holding off competition from the rarely defeated Bayern Munich. Alarmed by our collective lack of knowledge of this highly-sought player, we turned to Terry Duffelen of the brilliant BundesBag to find out just who the David Trezeguet stunt double really is.
 

What type of player is the newest member of the Bianconeri?

Vidal is one of those players who confounds the tacticians. Technically, he’s supposed to be a defensive midfielder. However with ten Bundesliga goals and eleven assists to his name last season, it would suggest a much more well-rounded player. He is almost the epitome of a modern midfielder, one who can do pretty much everything a coach asks. Arturo Vidal is a jack of all trades and master of all, to boot.

Tell us a little of his history

There is an element of romance to his story. Vidal hails from San Joaquin, a working class community in Santiago. No doubt he had to emerge from a congested field of hungry boys, desperate to fulfil their dreams of professional football and improve their lives. Vidal joined the youth ranks of the Santiago giants, Colo Colo. Two Aperturas and one Clausura later, he made the move to Europe and Bayer Leverkusen.

How well did he do after moving to Europe?

As a Leverkusen player he has found domestic honours somewhat hard to come by, although he has come pretty close to the Bundesliga title since his arrival in 2007. Last season, however, was his breakout year and Vidal, perhaps benefiting from his experience in Marcelo Bielsa’s Chilean World Cup team, has matured into one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga. Next season, he should be regarded as one of the best in the world.

Do you think he fits with the Juventus midfield?

Can only see him benefiting from the experience of Andrea Pirlo. At his age (24) he has the energy of 1.5 players so yes, he’d be more than capable of holding a double-pivot midfield alongside the World Cup winner, or slotting comfortably into a combination of three players.
 

Follow Terry on Twitter (@bundesbag) for more brilliant Bundesliga insight.

Permanent link to this article: http://juventiknows.com/arturo-vidal-if-you-dont-know-you-better-ask-somebody/

  • Anonymous

    KING ARTURO!

  • http://www.cramie.net Refly

    LOL. David Trezeguet stunt double, I just realized they really looked alike. One a more serious note, I’m glad to see the club is building what looks like a winning team.

  • Weston / wpazzurri

    So does this mean Marchisio languishing at wing for another year…?

    • Carsten Sommer Andersen

      I guess it all depends on if Conte only will play his 4-4-2 or if he will switch to a 4-3-3 in some games. With only two midfielders, it looks like Pirlo and Vidal, but with three it could be a Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio combination.

      And Marchisio does also play a very good left wing coming inside to shoot. He would be a lot more offensive compared to last year where he had to defend for Grosso as well…

      • http://twitter.com/dwi_nucleo Dwi Prasetyo

        yes.. It’s maybe.. 4-3-3

        • http://twitter.com/Mc_Amor Hamba Ini Syarif

          ho oh

        • http://twitter.com/Mc_Amor Hamba Ini Syarif

          ho oh

      • daas88

        I’d like to see a 4-3-3 but now we don’t have enough central midfielders… Only Marchisio, Vidal, Pirlo and Pazienza (Ekdal is likely to leave). What if one or more of them gets injured/suspended?

    • Revan

      I think Conte could try something like this:
      ————— Pirlo —————
      —–Vidal————Claudio—-

      -Krasic————–Bastos(?)
      ————Matri————–

      If he arrives, Rossi would be used as an inside forward on the right, and maybe Martinez will get a chance in this setup as well. Pepe also plays better on the left. 

      • Anonymous

        If Rossi arrives, this formation would put two of our best players on the bench.

    • Juve1

      getting rid of marchisio for a nice chunk of change would be the ideal scenario to the constant and annoying marchisio question. 

      • Anonymous

        I just can’t believe you are still on about Marchisio. If you can’t see the value he brings to a team especially ours I’m afraid there’s no hope for you. Apart from being homegrown and respected by players and coaches he puts the team first and that’s why instead of sulking he played out of position for the last 2-3 years. He has the club loyalty and heart you rarely find in players these days and while he may not be the best player on the team he’s certainly good enough for us.

      • Robee

        Yes, and it would bring you and others backs to tears when he pulls a “Giovinco” on us… ‘Cause of course that would be unavoidable..

      • daas88

        @juve1:disqus’s comment was so wrong that I had to flag it. Sorry moderators.

  • blz

    such a good signing. im really happy about this one. now sign rossi, a left winger and another defender or 2 and we are set. well, almost set, get rid of a bunch unwanted players as well. we all know who they are..

  • http://buffonisgod.tumblr.com/ djp4cal

    GRANDE!

  • Sampath

    delighted with this signing.

  • Anonymous

    I like the idea of the team getting younger while at the same time trying to add what MAROTTA & COMPANY deem as quality. He seems to be combative with an nose for goals. I want to see juve continue integrating young players into the team and allow them to grow and blossom into all they can be.  

  • Anonymous

    Do coaches have any power or any say when their is a sporting director conducting the transfers at the club? I don’t think so, I believe they have to make the best of what they receive because it hard for me to phantom that CONTE knew about VIDAL during his limited time and juve(MAY BE WRONG) and while he was at SIENNA especially knowing the cost of the player and then taking into consideration the budget he had there.

    • Anthony

      It’s not like Conte was cut off from the rest of the world when he was coaching Siena lol.

  • http://zizoufans.com mike

    Conte, “Mindset, not modules”

    Juve are ready to face the first real test of the season. After Sgambati and related goleada against Representative Val Susa and the Lucento, now things get serious. The Bianconeri tonight in Toronto will face Sporting Lisbon, but the rank of the opponent has not changed at all the programs of Conte:

        “We are in full preparation – analysis the Juventus coach during the press conference to present the match – we are arriving from ten, twelve days of work from both the tactical and physical point of view, but both yesterday and today we have supported very challenging training and double sessions. We will try to bring already in the field the progress for which we are working. ”

    Definitely against the Portuguese will not change the module, or attitude:

        “The module is relative, are just numbers – says the coach – but much depends on the interpretation. It is basically a 4-4-2, then if the wingers play a little ‘more forward or backward, does not change anything. ”

    rest is here:
    http://www.zizoufans.com/2011/07/conte-mentalita-non-moduli.html

  • Dj Festa

    i bianconeri plural —–   il bianconero singular

  • Squinn92

    Could be the signing of the summer in my opinion. I’ve watched a lot of the Bundesliga the last couple of years (fantastic league btw, very underrated) and he is absolutely superb. He’s quick, aggressive, absolutely tremendous engine, tackles hard and well, technically very good, he can pass, he can dribble, he can shoot. He’s got it all. He’s versatile too- defensive midfield, centre midfield and he’s a very good fullback on either side if needs be.

    I was really hoping we (Arsenal) were in for him. Would have been brilliant for us as I’m sure he will be for Juve.

  • http://www.twitter.com/NaserJuve19 Naser Abdulraheem

    Really excited to see him play with Marchisio and Pirlo. Hope he lives up to the hype.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=724846086 Mark Jacobsen

    “David Trezeguet stunt double” AHAHAHA! Priceless.

  • http://zizoufans.com mike

    Livestream Juventus – Sporting the game is also here

    http://www.zizoufans.com/2011/07/livestream-juventus-sporting-0100-cet.html

  • Anonymous

    Love the signing! While I agree that he was our most consistent player last year (not saying much), I think that his replacement was done for two clear reasons. With the ex-capitano coming in to take over, the management is trying to bring the team closer to the fans, gain their support (and revenue), really make the new stadium a place to fear. His antics from two years ago still aren’t forgotten, and I truly believe that more of the same COULD happen again, if presented with similar problems. We need a resilliant team who knows how to deal with difficulty on and off the pitch with class.

    Tactically, Vidal clearly helps us where we most needed upgrades. Possession, passing out of the back (transition offense), and shooting/goal scoring. Melo was BRUTAL shooting the ball. I can remember endless times a loose ball would perfectly roll 20-25 yards out, only to see Felipe sprinting full speed, boot it over the net, halfway up the stands. Lost opportunities. Also, the Vidal/Pirlo combo should be much better linking from defense to offense, whereas Melo not only missed passes, but often turned the ball over to spring the opponent offense right back at our defense. This either resulted in counter-attacks putting our shaky defense in difficulty, or Felipe trying to make up for his pass by committing a foul, usually earning a booking. With our speed up top- Matri/Quags/Krasic (maybe Rossi) we need to be able to gather the ball in our own third, turn, look up, and keep the ball moving forward. Melo simply doesn’t have the skill set to combine passes with the speed of our forwards, or the vision/skills of Pirlo. Vidal has at least the same workrate, better passing (1-2 touch skills), and much better shooting and nose for goal. With him and Pirlo, expect many more goals from the midfield this year!

    • JoseR

      I have this feeling that Marchisio is going to beat Pirlo to the CM spot.  A Vidal-Marchisio partnership will bring more steel to the MF which will help our ever struggling defense (that is unless we sign Vidic in some impossible mercatto move).  Pirlo can always be brought to play a 4-3-3 if we want to move the ball faster from defense to attack.

  • Anonymous

    Vidal and Marchisio in central mid. Awesome prospect.

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