Benvenuto Alla Juventus: MIRKO VUCINIC – Elegant Van Gogh Motions

August 16, 2011

August 16, 2011

It was obvious from the way he touched the ball this player has an extraordinary talent. When he moves, dictates the pass to his teammates, and trasmits pure technical ability, he leaves you with your mouth open. For me it’s like stopping in front of a Van Gogh painting and admiring it in silence. The art of soccer lives in his elegant motions.

Alberto Cavasin

When Beppe Marotta took over as Juventus Sporting Director, a new era was set to begin for the Bianconeri, distinct and separate from the oozing stench of incompetence left behind by the previous management. A two-phase plan was set in motion: first, build a solid base of players to firm up the rot forsaken by Alessio Secco. Then, in a second phase, add the recruits that would make the team jump in quality. Or in other words, get Juve a further step closer to their pre-Calciopoli levels.

Now well within Phase #2, Beppe Marotta is set to deliver on his promise to the Juventus nation. Discussing the club’s transfer plans for this Summer, there were two tags thrown around the Director General that kept resurfacing in the media. One was “Top Player“, the Italian pseudo-translation for “world-class player”. The other was “quality“. Two more than appropriate labels for the Bianconeri’s main transfer objectives of this Summer, Argentine wonderkid Sergio Agüero and Italian-American Giuseppe Rossi.

The two La Liga players were coming off terrific years for their clubs, with 20 and 18 goals respectively, and both carried the international prestige necessary to fit Juve’s “Top Player” bill, the big-name-purchase that would create both buzz in the changing room as well as among Juventini worldwide. Giuseppe Marotta, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, and the players’ agents all confirmed the negotiations, though Marotta kept relatively quiet, perhaps learning last year’s lesson from speaking too much about the mercato.

It’s understandable then, when fans heard both the Rossi and Agüero moves had fallen through, the general feeling was that of surprise and disappointment. Especially when rather than a young super-star talent, Juventus signed a 27 year-old from Roma coming off a disappointing year.

An Unexpected Transfer

When he signed over from Lecce in August 2006 (one-year loan contract), Mirko Vucinic had started off his Roma career well enough. Though two knee operations prevented the Montenegrin striker from seeing much playing time his first year, it was enough to convince the Giallorossi management. At the end of the year Roma paid €3.75m in order to buy 50% of Vucinic’s playing rights and make him a permanent replacement for departing Vincenzo Montella.

The 2007-08 season would be Vucinic’s break-out year in the Roman capital. The player featured in many of the club’s victorious outinings in the UEFA Champions League (scoring notably against Real Madrid in the Round of 16 which marked the Merengues’ elimination) as well as domestic competitions (such as the Coppa Italia final, which Roma won 2-1 vs. Inter Milan). Things were going well for Mirko at Trigoria, and at the end of the year the Sensi family finally bought the player outright from Lecce for €12m.

The following two years continued with steady goal-scoring performances, however injuries, Roma’s malaise, and Vucinic’s poor form eventually crept into the picture. In his final season with the Giallorossi, Vucinic missed a few shockers, open-net opportunities that drove fans to tear their hair out and question his commitment to the club. Mirko became tired of calcio, tired of the current season, tired of Roma, and was unquestionably relieved to see Summer vacation arrive.

Then on July 30th, 2011, deliverance:

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that the agreement with A.S. Roma S.p.A. for the definitive acquisition of the registration rights of the player Mirko Vucinic has been finalized. The contract envisages the payment by Juventus of €15 million in three years. Juventus and the player have signed a 4-year contract of employment.

Welcome to Juventus

It’s important to remember that the failure to sign Agüero or Rossi (right or wrong) is not something to blame on Mirko Vucinic. As of this point, which player would’ve been the best signing is a question for Marotta, not a valid criticism of Vucinic.

There are plenty of questions regarding Vucinic: they are primarily character-related, and there’s also the rather worrying injury-record. Mirko blows hot or cold. One day, he will be the Maradona of the Balkans, the other, his misses will make Iaquinta look as efficient as Inzaghi. He is very much a player that has to “feel it” to deliver his brilliance, a lack of motivation resulting in a very average striker. Roma DS Walter Sabatini and the player himself both indicated he was unhappy in the Italian capital, given the pressure-cooker environment and the Luis Enrique revolution. So perhaps a breath of fresh northern air is all Vucinic needs to reset his mentality.

What the former Lecce striker brings to the table (that Agüero or Rossi perhaps wouldn’t have) is his versatility. Vucinic can play virtually anywhere in attack, up top as a finisher, a creative second striker, or even wide as a winger. He can play deep, setting up the attack, or leading the front. It’s been suggested that should Conte continue in implementing his preferred tactics, Vucinic could line up as a wide player in the 4-2-4 line-up, much as Franco Brienza did back at Siena.

A big question regarding Mirko Vucinic’s transfer is: was he really necessary? In many ways, Juventus were aiming for a top striker, something he doesn’t seem to fit. More importantly, if asked to find a similar player to Fabio Quagliarella, Mirko Vucinic is probably the best fit within the peninsula. Tactically versatile, capable of genius on occasion, and an all-around striker, Vucinic fits the “Quags” bill down to T. There are even rumors Vucinic’s signing has unsettled the ex-Napoli forward, and with Fiorentina’s interest and Fabio’s omission from the Real Betis match, one could speculate Vucinic was brought in to replace Fabio, not complement him.

Happiness at Last?

The first day I was at Juventus, I said I was happy because I’ve found a tranquility here that doesn’t exist at Roma. I arrived at a great team, and I’ve achieved an important objective in signing for a world-renowned team, so to feel happy is normal. As a child I watched Savicevic’s Milan and Zidane’s Juventus. For us Montenegrins, Savicevic represented everything about Calcio. We were crazy about him, he helped me a lot, he’s given me advice, I speak with him frequently when I’m with the national team. Do you know the last advice he gave me? When the first few news stories linking me to Juventus came out, he called me and said “If there’s a possibility, go to Juventus. Run there, don’t even think for a moment, it’s Juve!”.

The first signs from pre-season have been encouraging: Vucinic looks like a man reborn, the new environment in Torino leading to a personal revival. He’s linked up with former Roma teammates Luca Toni and Marco Motta (for better or worse) as well as his old Serbia & Montenegro U-21 teammate Milos Krasic (for whom, after Hasan Salihamidzic’s deparature, he acts as translator). He’s looked creative and threatening on goal, and his interviews have conveyed plenty of enthusiasm.

It’s been a long trip for Mirko Vucinic to move up the peninsula. A fresh-faced 17 year old when he first arrived to Lecce in the summer of 2000, he’s built up his career with a prolonged move to Roma, his Giallorosso tenures filled with brilliance and frustration. Now officially a Juventino, we hope the “Maradona of the Balkans” can display his class once again, this time in Bianconero.

So good luck, or rather puno sreće in Turin, Mirko!

Permanent link to this article: http://juventiknows.com/benvenuto-alla-juventus-mirko-vucinic-elegant-van-gogh-motions/

http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.

Puno sreće indeed. Forza Vucinic!

Great article Aaron, but I think you’re way off on the Quagliarella rumors. Fabio was injured vs. Betis, that’s all. He received a minor hit on his operated knee vs. Chivas and hasn’t played since. That’s all.
- Anonymous
  
  One more “that’s all” and I would have thought you were in denial, Marco :p
  - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
    
    Hahaha just noticed. Freudian slip?
    
    No seriously though, I think Aaron’s off course on this. We wouldn’t have bought Fabio outright if we were planning to sell him.
    - Anonymous
      
      I’m still worried. It makes no sense, but it made no sense to sign Vidal and Pirlo when we had Melo and Aquilani.
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Fair enough, but Melo we owned and Aquilani was an actual transfer target except Liverpool was playing hardball. Bit different. In both cases the players left with a “clean” exit: Melo was loaned out with right to buy, Aquilani just returned to the Merseyside after his loan expired (and we didn’t exercise our purchase right deeming €16m too expensive).
        
        If we really wanted to get rid of Quags, we’d have done so the same way we did for Alberto. It makes no sense to spend €10m to make Quags permanent, then sell him the same year. That strategy might work for Marco Motta cuz the full purchase cost us peanuts, but not for Quags.
        
        Especially since this whole Summer Juve’s strategy was to get a “Top Player” forward. Evidently the idea from the very beginning was to improve the team and increase our squad depth. This suggests Quagliarella has been part of the project all along, and Juve are counting on him. If he does end up leaving, it’ll be because of poor perfomances, but at any rate it won’t be until the next mercato break.
      - Anonymous
        
        The counter-point is we signed Quags because we already forked out 4.5mil of his transfer fee, and figured we could pass him on at a 13-14mil valuation rather than losing out on that 4.5mil fee. Aquilani was on a free loan, and for the record, I don’t think Liverpool played hardball, I think Juve abandoned the chase after we signed Pirlo.
        
        My point is this year wasn’t supposed to be out depth, or especially, it wasn’t about turnover. It was signing a few champions to improve a decent squad. Evidently that’s not the case, as we’re going to have possibly 5-6 new starters in the XI next year. I’d be sad, but not shocked to see Quagliarella offloaded in part-exchange.
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Mmmh… don’t think so. I think the players we do have will all have the chance to prove their worth, and whoever ends up leaving will be because he lost the competition race with the others. It’ll be about individual performances and statistics, as is often the case. Having both Quags and Vucinic on the same team should serve to motivate them both at earning a starting spot, and give us squad depth if one or the other is injured. Yes, we might have more starters next year, but that will be a new season altogether when considerations will have to be made also based on this year’s statistics and achievements.
        
        On a sidenote this Juve management has definitely shown to know when it’s time to cut their losses (see Tiago, and possibly soon Fabio Grosso, who got his contract terminated by mutual consent), so if Quags wasn’t part of their plans I think they’d have considered the €4.5m as investment for services rendered (till his January injury at least).
        
        As for Aquilani, it was most definitely hardball. I remember reading the papers every day, and the main story was always about Paratici or Marotta meeting with Damien Comolli over the buyout fee. Juve wanting to offer €12m, L’Pool refusing to go below the pre-agreed amount, and so on. By the time we got Pirlo, the road leading to Aquilani had already been abandoned.
        
        It’s funny, I remember Adam mentioning on the podcast that ultimately it’s always the players dictating the terms (something along the lines of “if Aquilani wants this permanent move to happen, the clubs will work to make it happen”). I called him naive at the time for considering the players had so much power. Ultimately I think it was Juventus’s parsimony and Liverpool’s inflexibility that made the deal collapse, certainly not the desire of the player who wanted to stay in Turin.
      - Anonymous
        
        I doubt Marotta would cut 4.5mil loose for Quagliarella. Remember, we still have Jorge Martinez on the books. Tiago and Grosso are unable to bring in any real money, hence why Marotta let them go. Quagliarella has value. Same reason Amauri is still part of the team- he does have value, and Marotta is trying to squeeze it out.
        
        I very much disagree on Aquilani. I think come late June, Liverpool were shopping him around for a drastically reduced amount, but we weren’t interested. Marotta couldn’t turn down a free player. Aquilani was never going to arrive, no matter the price, when Andrea Pirlo was available on a free.
        
        I’m rather irritated that Marotta has gone about another revolution with the team. That wasn’t the plan, for good reason. We could have competed just as well with high class additions at LB, RB, LW, and striker. Swapping Quagliarella (on bench or on pitch) Aquilani (Pirlo) and Melo (Vidal) for very similar players is very counter-productive.
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Grosso having no value I agree. Tiago still very much had value, especially for Atletico Madrid. Except the Colchoneros were smart: they knew what the deal was with Tiago-Juventus, and they let it play out to their advantage. Now they have a quality (for them at least) midfielder for free.
        
        Regarding Aquilani, I think where we mostly disagree on is the timing. I know Pirlo was the game-changer, if we hadn’t gotten him Marotta would still be in talks with Comolli perhaps. However it is a fact that for a very long period of time, the Juve & L’Pool honchos were arguing on price over the Aquaman. I think if anything at the beginning, Pirlo was used as a bargaining chip to make Alberto’s price drop (the idea being: “hey listen, we like Aquilani but there’s chances AC Milan’s letting Pirlo go for free this year… get the message”?). I mean between Pirlo & Aquilani, as a long-term investment I’d still take Aquilani any day (and this despite seing what magic Pirlo’s been producing in pre-season so far).
        
        Except Liverpool didn’t get that message, so eventually Marotta grew tired and said “You know what? Fu** off, I’m gonna go spend those €12-15m elsewhere”…
      - Anonymous
        
        Tiago had value? 2mil max. A player we don’t want who is semi-wanted by one other club, with one year left on his contract.
      - JoseR
        
        The revolution we have seen this year is, first of all not as big as it looks at first glance, and most importantly not solely dependent on Marotta.
        
        We brought in Pazienza, Ziegler, Pirlo, Leichsteiner, Vidal, Matri, Quags, Pepe, Motta, and Vucinic (I think I have everyone here). Matri, Quags, Pepe and Motta don’t count because they are part of last year’s revolution. A player like Pazienza was going to come in for sure to release Sissoko who we can actually get money for. Ziegler also had to come unless we wanted to see Grosso for one more year if PDC got injured. Leichsteiner was a must buy and should have come no matter what.
        
        That leaves, Pirlo, Vidal, and Vucinic. If we wanted Aquilani to come we had to pay at least 10m + salary. Even with Pirlo’s high salary (4m) we are still ahead of what Aquilani had to cost. Reasonable move in my opinion given his quality and price.
        
        Vidal and Vucinic are a little more complicated and here is where I see Conte’s hand. Vidal comes to replace Melo who did great last season but is still a volatile character and who claimed he won’t be staying if Delneri leaves. He may be a player that has a hard time with a coach who is not as motherly as Delneri and maybe Marotta, Paratici and Conte recognized that. Instead of him they brought a very good player, younger who starts with a clean slate (we don’t know if the other players disliked Melo and found him disruptive). Also, 13m for Melo after a year is not a bad deal either. Vucinic is a player that can play that left wing that Conte requires (I don’t think that is why he was brought to the team). More importantly, maybe Marotta and Conte know something about Quagliarella that we don’t know, maybe his recovery is expected to be much longer and they didn’t want to take a gamble. We all know how poorly we did without Quags last year, Vucinic can help alleviate that hole.
        
        I agree this was a revolution, but I think it was full of movements in the right direction. Next year Juve shouldn’t be shopping for a left back, or a starting right back. They will probably also stay put in CM and a few additions can be made on the wing and in attack. This is of course if Conte stays, if not we may have another revolution in our hands.
      - http://lavecchiasignora.net/phpBB3/index.php thegutterpoet
        
        I followed the end of season Aquilani story equally vigilantly, Marco, and whilst I cannot suggest that I kept abreast of the italian media in its natural state, i certainly eyed every english translation as well as the english reports themselves. We seemed to only offer 6m. A figure similar to what Milan have offered since…That isn’t a case of Liverpool playing hardball, its a case of their valuation of their player far below his would be suitor’s valuation. Despite King Kenny attempting to drive up the price with comments such as ‘he is a quality player we will welcome back with open arms’, there is no place for him at Liverpool. Firstly, he clearly hasn’t got the heart for the scousers cause, and Kenny has been building a team aside from Alberto, not to include him.
        
        Some players most definitely DO have all the power. Players like Rooney for example. Others do not. Alberto is NOT in a situation of showing brilliant form for a whole season, in fact has he ever had a whole season in which he has been consistently brilliant???I do not think so. Beggars can’t be choosers…And a player whose wages are large in comparison to his achievements in the game, coming off a season in which he was decent for half the games, close to awful for the rest, is obviously not going to have all the power when it comes to choosing a club. Common sense really…
        
        We have no natural backup for Pirlo, but then again, unless we switch to 4-3-3 I doubt we will see Andrea starting every game. Vidal seems excellent, but asking him to the do the job of two players in the middle of a 4-2-4 is unfair and a false economy. I do not want Vidal solely defensive, as the lad can clearly score and create goals. Its high time we curbed this awful tendency of playing people out of position. Melo as a regista? Marchisio as a wide left midfielder? Martinez as a touchline hugging winger? It MUST stop.
        
        As for Vucinic, i am pleased for his arrival. he has a lot of talent, a volatile temperament, is very well versed in calcio, and has that touch of class that can break down tough opponents in a flash of genius. We definitely did and do need renovation of the front line…
        DP- almost 37
        iaquinta- can still shoot, but old and far too many injuries consecutively to hope to regain any top class form.
        amauri- should have been shot years ago
        toni- old, useful now and then as a sub, looked ownderful with Vucinic in that friendly, but…time to be put out to pasture.
        Quag- recovering from a very serious injury. will take time to regain sharpness and the right mentality.
        matri- fit, healthy, great natural born goalscorer. a solid prima punta.
        
        Looking at it like that, we have ONE striker who is generally fit, healthy and capable; Matri. We need to renovate that department further, for in the coming seasons DP will die off, amaura/iaquinta/toni ALL need to be released/sold.
        
        benvenuto Mirko!
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        I don’t know which press you have been reading gutterpoet, but if they said 6m they have it way off. That doesn’t even make sense with alternative currencies.
        
        I remember that Kenny Dalglish statement you refer to, and I laughed when I read it at the time because I recognized it exactly for what it was: pure grandstanding, and clearly a request imposed upon him by the club’s directors. There was no doubt in my mind Aquilani wasn’t part of their plans, so that statement was simply part of the Juve-L’Pool tug-of-war over the price.
        
        Though by the looks of Liverpool’s pre-season so far, they’d be stupid not to use Aquilani in some capacity this year: the lad’s been working his ass off and playing really really well.
        
        Also call it a difference of opinion, but I was very satisfied with Aquilani’s performances last year. Not just by comparison of his previous two years at Merseyside, where he spent more time in the infirmary than the actual pitch. I’m talking about quality, impactful performances for Juve, associated with great passing, assists, and even a few goals. Calling him 50% “Decent” & 50% “Awful” is very unfair IMHO.
      - Anonymous
        
        I’ve read 6-8mil stories as well. I agree with thegutterpoet, I think that’s what LFC wanted but Marotta wasn’t willing to even match that once we hit Pirlo.
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Stop reading goal.com then, read La Gazzetta!
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Stop reading goal.com then, read La Gazzetta!
      - http://lavecchiasignora.net/phpBB3/index.php thegutterpoet
        
        Apparently I have been reading similar sources to Aaron, Marco…It was pretty well spread over a wide variety of media sources.
        
        As for my apprasial of Aquilani’s form…I feel I was fair. Melo and Alberto together were great for the first few months of the season. Up until December really, when our engine seemed to start slowing down. After the horrorshow against Parma, most of the team lost its way, Aquilani included. His stats for that period are fairly inconsequential to me, or rather, at least not as telling as actually watching him in a game. I could play 20 passes in a game, over 2 yards to team-mates, and appear, with the stats, to have had a wonderful passing game, when in reality, my passes counted for very little indeed. January to May, he was generally ineffective and often woeful. I hasten to add, that in this same period, his midfield partner, Melo, remained effective and in the least competent, often bullish and decent.
        
        When I am judging a player of his worth, i take his price into account, and his wages. 4m per season I think he was on, which we paid last term. A price tag of 16m. No, for that money, he did not look at all worth the full transfer.
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Like I said, seems like the error originated in English-speaking media and spread out through the same milieu. I regularly read 3 separate Italian news sources (Gazzetta, La Repubblica Sport, Tuttosport) and they all quoted the €12m figure I mentioned. Maybe that figure dropped down further later, but as I mentioned, by that time the road to Aquilani had been abandoned.
        
        And whoever said anything about Aquilani’s statistics?? My opinion of him is based on what I saw on the field, not what I read on ESPNSoccernet 1 hour after the game. Not that I ever did mind you, I just know Alberto’s stats are pretty flattering because Adam kept referring to them during our podcasts.
        
        As for Aquilani’s valuation, you’re forgetting his age. Compared to Pirlo, it’s what makes Alberto a better deal, for as much as Pirlo came on a free transfer and everything. I sincerely hope Andrea’s got a few years left in him and we won’t regret missing out on Aqua.
      - http://lavecchiasignora.net/phpBB3/index.php thegutterpoet
        
        I also keep abreast of the italian media, as much as the english media and whatever else I can find on Juve online, but why compete eh? Its a discussion not competition to see who can list the most sources for their information.
        
        You ask whoever said anything about Alberto’s statistics, then answered your own question…I also recalled, when writing earlier, Adam banging on about those stats during the podcasts last season. As you recalled it yourself.
        
        Pirlo is a better regista, if fit. Although if both were free, and both could cost the same in wages, i would pick up aquilani. For he is younger, and also, last season, well…at least in the first few months, he was slowly adding some welcome steel to his game. He spoke about this a couple of times, explaining that delneri was moulding him into a more complete central midfielder. His distribution and free kicks are not close to Pirlo’s class, and other than last season, when has he managed to stay fit for a whole term? I find it hard to believe that Liverpool wouldn’t accept 12m Euros or sterlings. Its not a huge reduction from the formerly agreed 16m, and kenny has obviously been purchasing players with alberto out of sight and out of mind. This is why I believe we offered far less than 12m, as why the hell would liverpool say no to such a figure, for a player they clearly want rid of, a player who clearly wants to return to italy? it makes no sense…so obviously there is much we are not aware of.
        
        as mentioned, both the same price, same wages, i would pick alberto. But one of them cost 0, the other, apparently, from you are saying, would cost more than 12m. Its quite a massive saving. That alone signed us Vidal.
        
        I wish alberto well, as long as he doesn’t sign for Inter! It was wicked for him to stay fit all season, and I hope he continues to stay physically fine, as its lovely to see him back in la nazionale…and he seems like a decent chap.
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        It’s not a competition, but since obviously neither of us is willing to trust the other on his proclaimed statements of fact, a little proof is required.
        
        Exhibit #1, dated April 22nd, mentions €12m figure
        http://www.tuttosport.com/calcio/serie_a/juventus/2011/04/22-120764/Juve-Liverpool,+braccio+di+ferro+per+Aquilani+
        
        Exhibit #2, dated May 16th, mentions €8m figure; by now Pirlo deal pretty much finalized, just needs “officially official” stamp
        http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/juventus/?action=read&idnet=dHV0dG9qdXZlLmNvbS00OTkyNQ
        
        Exhibit #3, dated May 24th – Pirlo officially signs for Juve
        http://www.tuttosport.com/calcio/2011/05/24-126504/Ufficiale,+Pirlo+%C3%A8+un+giocatore+della+Juve+VIDEO+E+FOTO
        
        Also, in the case this a currency mismatch from figures reported by British media, £8m = €9.17m. That’s 3m less than 12m.
        
        Anyways, hate to be splitting hairs like this, but all this just to say THESE are the facts. If we’re talking trustworthiness, I trust anything reported directly by the Italian media 100 times more than what may come off distorted or mistranslated by English outlets. If on the other hand your figures come from e.g. The Guardian and you wish to start a debate on who’s more in-the-know, them or La Gazzetta, that’s another matter. Personally in this case, when it comes to making an assessment how much Marotta is hypothetically willing to spend on a given deal, I trust the Italian media (despite the deal involves an English-owned player).
        
        Back to Aquilani’s assessment, my previous mentioning of “great passing” was a qualitative rating, not quantitative. As in: I watched almost every Juventus game last year and noted Alberto was constantly making quality passes, i.e. not only with good accuracy but which also resulted in key dangerous situations for our opponents.
        
        Yeah, Pirlo is a better regista and his passing is also probably better. But he doesn’t run or defend as much as Aquilani. In fact, knowing Conte’s propensity for the 4-2-4 and ball-winning midfielders, Aquilani is much much better tailored for this year’s formation than Pirlo. Frankly it is really surprising (yet great!) how Pirlo has been able to impress us so far in pre-season, and I sincerely hope he keeps it up. Maybe Conte will tweak his formation so that Pirlo can be Pirlo without having to run his ass off like Marchisio or Vidal would in the same situation. And these running-your-ass-off situations WILL come this season as soon as we play some tougher opponents than Club America, Chivas, or Cuneo.
        
        So if I had to make the same assessment a few months ago (and discounting the current pre-season knowledge) I still would pick Aquilani over Pirlo, in fact since one cost us zero I would take both and keep Felipe Melo, not sign Vidal. That way we would have two registi in Aquilani/Pirlo and two ball-winning midfielders with good passing skills in Melo/Marchisio.
        
        At any rate, the Aqua boat has sailed and I too hope he does well (and plays!!) at the Merseyside. I also sincerely hope this whole deal doesn’t become another one of Juve’s “missed opportunities”.
      - http://lavecchiasignora.net/phpBB3/index.php thegutterpoet
        
        As was clear, I assumed, from my previous post, Marco, I am less interested in discussion of the sources of suggestions of our offers for Alberto, than I am in the fact that we chose Pirlo in his place, and also, the definite downturn in his form in the second part of the season. I am also interested in why YOU think it is, if you are adamant that we offered 12m (euros or sterlings), that Liverpool stonewalled us, when he is surplus to their requirements and wanted to sign with us on full registration.
        
        We are most definitely in agreement on two counts. Firstly that if we were aiming to play with a regista this coming season, it would have made perfect sense to purchase two registi (by the way, mate, how do I add bold, italic, underlining, to my disqus posts?). Secondly, Conte’s apparent 4-2-4 is vastly more suited to Alberto than Andrea. For it demands of both the central duo to tackle, hustle, run constantly, defend more than attack. Which plays into Alberto’s hands, or rather, his feet. I would add that your suggestion of keeping Melo and Aquilani, and adding Pirlo to the mix, leaving Marchisio as Melo’s reserve, would have seen us better placed. Although…I am very excited about Arturo! It will be a huge shame if Conte persists with Pirlo/Vidal, rather than giving Vidal/Marchisio a roll of the dice, as the latter duo is perfect for a 4-2-4, whereas Pirlo involved leads to Vidal pinned into defensive duties, which will be a crying shame, since he most definitely has an eye for goal and can pass decently.
        
        As for Alberto remaining at Liverpool…I highly doubt it. Who wants a player who has openly stated his desire to play elsewhere? Yes, he is a professional, with a contract, but still, Kenny is far too wily to swallow easily the abrupt change of tune when Alberto realized he was not going to make his stay in turin more permanent, and suddenly made a u-turn, expressing his happiness at proving himself at Liverpool. Anyway, I look forward to us both locking horns once again in the near future. I enjoy your writing, and am very happy indeed with this new site. Keep up the good work, mate.
        Cheers,
        Daniel
      - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
        
        Downturn in the second part of the season? You mean when our entire season went to shit and nearly everyone started playing horrible?
        
        Why did Liverpool stonewall us? I got a few ideas, and they’re all centered around the same theme. Grandstanding? Stubbornness? A matter of principle? Overplaying their hand? All valid points I think. When Juve got Aquilani on loan, both clubs agreed on a €15m right-to-buy clause. If I were Liverpool, I’d be rather annoyed if the loaning club suddenly started saying “I’m sorry that’s too much” after we BOTH agreed terms. Also, for as much as Aquilani probably wasn’t part of their plans the Reds were still very much aware of his absolute value as a player, and more importantly his value to US. With these factors in mind, they must have said “sorry, but €15m is an honest, accurate, previously-agreed-upon price”. For at the time, they knew we wanted (and needed) Aquilani.
        
        Then Pirlo came into the picture. Someone who, if he signed for Juve, would more or less provide what we were expecting out of Alberto and who, if he didn’t, would serve as a bargaining chip to make Aquilani’s price drop. Hence the €12m eventually becoming 7-8. By that time however, we had reassessed our priorities and evidently like you said, saving 10 million Euros was more important than getting a regista better adapted to Conte’s system.
        
        Now, if Liverpool aren’t stupid, they will give Aquilani a chance. After all, professionalism aside, he protected his own interests and had reason to do so. Because regarding Kenny Dalglish you’re forgetting another issue: Aquilani had agreed terms with Fiorentina after the whole permament-move-to-Juve deal had gone bust! Except he found out he was about to be loaned out again, and therefore put his foot down and said to both clubs “either buy me, or I’m staying at Merseyside”. That’s because above all, Aquilani was certainly not going to have any of the same uncertainty talks like this year regarding his future, at the end of the 2011-12 season. It’s a bit unsettling for a player of his caliber and I can certainly understand it, but needless to say La Viola were not pleased.
        
        Lastly, Disqus follows HTML rules. If you want to use bold or italics, just wrap a phrase around or tags (without the space).
      - Anthony
        
        Melo and Vidal was pretty much an even swap (granted we don’t get our money for Melo until next year…or he comes back and we still have him). Bringing in Vidal had nothing to do with keeping Aquilani in my opinion. Not signing Aquilani meant we had more funds available for other positions. And I personally would rather play Marchisio in the center over Aquilani. Marchisio is a better overall player than Aquilani in my opinion. Pirlo on the other hand offers experience and leadership. Very different characteristics to Marchisio and Aquilani. He offers a different dimension to the team.
        
        Between Marchisio and Aquilani in a 4-4-2, I’d probably pick Marchisio every time. Between Pirlo and Marchisio, it’s tough cause both are so different…and Pirlo is a proven champion and incredible regista.
      - http://JuventiKNOWS.com TeamGREASE
        
        Good point regarding the average health of our forwards without Vucinic; each forward in our lineup is a liable injury risk except for Matri.
      - Anthony
        
        Got to agree with Marco on this one. I don’t think Quags is going anywhere unless we absolutely need to give him up in a trade. But I believe they want to keep him. When the targets were Aguero and Rossi, I always believed that Quags was still part of the plans. I still do now. Players that aren’t have not participated in the pre-season friendlies. Quags missed the last one due to injury. I don’t expect to see Toni play that much this season. We could be seeing Matri, Quags, Vucinic and Del Piero as the main strikers this season. I believe they’d sell Toni before they Quags.
      - Anonymous
        
        Sell to who? Toni has no market value and no suitors. Quagliarella has both.
      - http://www.juventus.com Anthony
        
        I just meant that if they feel the striking department is crowded and they need to reduce the wage bill, they’d release Toni before selling Quags.
        
        If they desperately need the cash or we absolutely need to offer Quags in a trade, then that’s a different story. Then I’d be able to see him being sacrificed. But I think they prefer to keep him if they can. He’s not untouchable, but I think he’s a part of the plans. I’d be surprised if they sold him.
      - Anonymous
        
        I agree with you here. I’m not saying juve is planning to sell quags, but even if they didn’t wanted to keep him buying the player was a good idea. Juve can at least get 12m for him, and that’s a benefit of 2m. I hope he stays though, he brings something to the team that no one else can IMO.
Anonymous

I am still undecided about Vucinic. When on song he can be a difference maker but he is pretty moody and inconsistent. He can have a big impact on Juventus if Conte can manage to control him. He is definitely not a Rossi or an Aguero but he does have Serie A experience and defnitely improves the squad. If Marotta hadn’t made the promise about a “top player” Juventus fan base would have accepted the Vucinic transfer much more easily….bad move by Marotta to make that declaration beforehand.
bulle

Kinda off topic but I was wondering if you guys could write a piece on traveling to Italy to watch Juventus play live. I was in Italy last april to watch a couple of Juventus games and everything ended up going great (except for the results) but because I don’t speak much Italian it was a bit complicated. Would be really interesting to go down there again but would like to secure tickets before going. Are there any ways of doing that without paying unreasonable prices to dodgy ticket websites? I was planning on heading down for a week to watch Parma away and Siena at home. Do any of you guys know if Parma usually sells out their stadium? Sportsevent365 were asking for €100/ticket, pretty steep to say the least.
- http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
  
  Could be a good idea for a future article bulle. I’m pretty sure our own Adam Digby (who lives in Turin) could tell you loads about getting tickets for Juve home games.
  
  Hit him up on Twitter (@Adz77:twitter ).
  - bulle
    
    Thanks for the tip Marco! I’ll try to get in touch with Adam to see if he can give me some pointers.
    
    By the way, love the new site!
- http://twitter.com/frankcalise Frank Calise
  
  I’d also be very interested in some article providing ticket information, match day tips, etc. I’m hoping to get to Italy within the next year and am definitely going to want to see Juve play on Italian soil (I’ve already seen them play twice in the US, I would imagine the atmosphere will be WAY better).
  - http://JuventiKNOWS.com TeamGREASE
    
    The atmosphere for a Serie A match is incomparable to anything else, IMO. Try to see a night game, the drama and intensity are increased tenfold.
    - Anonymous
      
      Agreed.
    - bulle
      
      Completely agree! I went to the Stadio Artemio Franchi and the Stadio Olympico in Torino to watch Juve play against Fiorentina and Catania. The atmosphere at both stadiums were so incredible that it was difficult to follow the game properly. Especially for me since you don’t get the most exciting atmosphere at games in Finland. Tonight I’m going to my hometown club’s game against Schalke in Europa League qualifiers. Hope we don’t get completely demolished on the field and by the visiting supporters songs.
http://JuventiKNOWS.com TeamGREASE

that Vucinic chip from Coppa Italia Roma vs Juventus was just plain nasty.
- http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
  
  When I saw David Villa vs. Real Madrid this week-end, made me think of that very same Mirko goal…
Weston / wpazzurri

I may be trying too hard to find fault, but the fact that he feels tranquil could be evident of his aforementioned lack of motivation. Theres no room for complacency in a top club, especially one with 4-5 other strikers to compete with. If Quags gets shut out of the starting eleven, or worse, sold because of Mirko i will be very disappointed.
Anthony

I personally think Vucinic was a good addition, especially when you consider the price. Sure, he’s not Aguero or Rossi. But we couldn’t get either of those players. We were never going to be able to compete with Man City for Aguero. They have not only more money, but more importantly, Aguero preferred to play with them rather than Juve (who to him, is a 7th place team in a ‘less prestigious league’). As for Rossi, I think he would have come had Villarreal not decided to take him off the market.

Aguero was overpriced in any case. 45m is too much for him since he’s not the kind of player who can change a team all on his own. Even if we matched that price, Man City would have offered more…and a higher salary. And of course champions league. Rossi for 25m would have been ok. 30m seems like too much as well though. Vucinic for 15m is a very fair price in comparison. He may not be as good a player, but we’re paying the right price for him rather than overpaying for the others.
- Anonymous
  
  We could compete with Man City for Aguero. Offer Atletico his buy out clause, and boom, it’s up to the player. Offer him real wages, and he’ll accept. We never did either of those cases, so it’s a hypothetical.
  
  If 45mil is overpriced for Aguero, 15mil is robbery from Roma for Vucinic. Aguero is a far more gifted player, younger, and has resale value. We will not see any significant money from Vucinic in the future if we sell him.
  - http://www.juventus.com Anthony
    
    I think the buy out clause only applied to Spanish clubs. If we offered 45m, and Man City offered 46m, Atletico would just sell to Man City, no?
    
    If it was up to the player, I still think he would have chose Man City. He said that he preferred to play in Spain or England. So I think Juve was a last resort for him. He’s not a Juve fan like us, Juve means absolutely nothing to him. Does he really care about our history? Or does he just know we were relegated and have finished 7th place the past two years in a row?
    
    I actually think 15m is a good price for Vucinic. He’s experienced in Serie A and has quality. And he’s also very versatile. 45m for Aguero might be ok, but I still doubt he would have accepted Juve if we put up that offer. Maybe if Juve offered 45m right away before the Copa America started. That would have been our best chance. But even then, there are no guarantees.
    
    I just think when he said he preferred Spain or England since “they are the two strongest leagues”, that was a pretty clear signal that he wasn’t coming to Juve. And even his father said that he likely wouldn’t go to Juve because then he might as well just stay at Atletico (basically insinuating that Juve was no better than Atletico). I’ll try to find the article where he was quoted saying that.
    - http://www.juventus.com Anthony
      
      I think instead of having the embarrassment of Aguero turning us down for Man City, Marotta preferred to focus on other targets that were actually attainable. All those reports that Aguero had agreed terms with Juve, I think that was all bs. We’ll never know for sure, but I was 99% sure from the very beginning that we would not be able to get him with Real Madrid and Man City both interested as well. I would obviously have loved it if he came, but we can’t change the situation Juve are in. It’s a shitty one, and unfortunately it’s difficult to lure players.
      - Anonymous
        
        How did that save us any embarrassment? We did get turned down for Man City.
      - Anthony
        
        Well publicly Marotta just said that we were focusing on other targets after he decided Aguero wasnt attainable. Like you said, Atletico turned down our offer….so Aguero never had the chance. I think that Aguero was interested in coming to Juve…when Juve were the only team who put in an offer. As soon as Man City put in a serious offer, I don’t think we stood a chance. We’ll never know for sure. On the surface though, it seems highly unlikely. Aguero even said he wasn’t deciding anything about his future until after the Copa America…probably because he knew that’s when the best offers would come in for him.
      - Anthony
        
        To clarify what I said, Marotta never said the reason we pulled out of negotiations was because we couldnt attain Aguero. He just said that 45m was an unreasonable price. He may or may not have actually felt that way. I believe it was mostly a cover for Aguero preferring Man City. That way Aguero never publicly chose Man City over Juve. Aguero saying he wanted to play in Spain or England because they are the two strongest leagues was bad enough.
    - Anonymous
      
      And I can find articles where his agent says Juve interests him, and they are aware Juve is rebuilding and it is not a problem for Aguero.
      
      We never satisfied Atletico’s demands, so it’s a moot point. @Maxratul:twitter was absolutely right- we were in prime until the Copa America, and then Man City’s interest piqued and Atletico realized they had a team that would actually offer money for him.
  - Carsten Sommer Andersen
    
    What makes you think that Juve could compete with Man City in spending power??
    
    If we disregard the pure spending power of Man City and only look at the salaries paid it is easy to see that Juventus cannot compete if we want a club that is run in a sound way. The best paid player in Man City is Yaya Toure at 10 million Euro per year followed by Tevez (8), Dzeko, Balotelli and Kolo Toure (6,5), which means that Aguerro earns at least 6,5 million per year.
    
    At Juventus, the best paid player is Buffon at 6 million Euro per year. After him comes Toni (5), Amauri (4,2) and Del Piero (4). So how should Juventus compete with Man City – should Aguerro just be made our top earner?
    
    (When that is said, it just feels very wrong that Toni and Amauri are some of our best paid players as they are in no way some of our most important ones. But I think that Marotta is also trimming down the salaries at Juventus.)
    
    Source: Portugese website Football Finance - http://www.futebolfinance.com/os-100-maiores-salarios-de-jogadores-de-futebol-2011
    - http://www.mcalcio.com Marco P.
      
      You and that Portuguese site have it way wrong on Toni. At Juve his salary is no more than €2m + bonuses / year. He was earning almost 4m at Genoa, but accepted to reduce it in order to play for us.
      
      http://www.ilgiornale.it/sport/per_juve_si_e_ridotto_stipendio/08-01-2011/articolo-id=498237-page=0-comments=1
      - Carsten Sommer Andersen
        
        I also found it very strange that Toni would be on such a high salary when Marotta has put a lot of effort into trimming our budget.
        
        But I still think that the list illustrates quite well the difference in salaries paid at Juventus and Man City…
    - Anonymous
      
      Should Aguero be made our top earner? Why not? He’d be our best player.
  - JoseR
    
    It already seems like we are running out of money after buying Leichsteiner, Vidal, and Vucinic (total cost 10m+10m+15m=35m), do you really think we had enough money to pay 45m for Aguero and still have a descent RB? What about the left winger?, what about another CB?
    
    Also, is his resale value going to be high once the FFP rules come into place?, I am a little skeptical about that.
Comrade

I’ll agree Alberto Cavasin on the part about leaving you with your mouth open.
http://twitter.com/ardeux arturo ruiz

I don’t know what to think about Mirko. I guess when focused he can be a game changing player, but i do prefer Quags over all, Fabio seems to get really well with Milos, and i don’t see Vucinic playing as a wide winger from the get go. Overall i think it’s better than the 3 that makes one i.e. Amauri-Iaquinta-Toni.

But it’s the Vidal-Pirlo-Marchisio dilemma all over. Competition is good for a roster, but we’re not playing in europre this year, I hope it’s for the best.
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