Juventus 19/20 Serie A Season Thread for August [R]

Juve's midfield has played two very good matches for the first 60 minutes or so.

I'm not sure where this idea that Khedira can't play a heavy possession based system comes from when he played on that German side in a two man midfield with Kroos. Although I don't think he can play in a two man midfield anymore, he is great as the attacking midfielder. His decision making and timely runs in the final third are what the team missed last year. His duty isn't to be on the ball or facilitate like Pjanic, yet when he is on the ball he rarely loses it.

Matuidi is obviously limited offensively. Then again two goals came from his side when combining with Costa. He isn't the "technical" Sarri CM, but as far as pressing and defending the left midfield, he fits very well. He is essentially covering for Ronaldo.

The other reasons for the strong starts is Higuain. His hold up play and pressing for the first half have been fantastic.

So given that the three players mentioned are all in their 30s, Juve largely drop off in the 2nd half because they all tire. Juve aren't in a position physically to play at their first half tempo for an entire match. The hope is that they will be there eventually or the subs will have a bigger impact.

 

I suppose Ramsey will play in Khediras role and Rabbiot in Matuidi and I would like to see Betancur in Pjanic role.

 

Because he can hit a vertical pass and your wrong about Betancur, hes a very good central midfielder. Pjanic did nothing against Napoli but 3 yard passes, didn't even take a decent FK.

 

Cool story bro.

 

Pjanic has been excellent over these two matches. It's not easy to be the player that is tasked with receiving the ball 100 times and having to facilitate the build up with only 1 and 2 touches at a time.

Ramsey's forward runs are very good so his profile matches Khedira's. As for Rabiot, I do wonder if he can do the defensive work on the wing that Matuidi does. For Ronaldo to be free of defensive responsibilities, there has to be a player willing to cover his sideline the way that Costa does for the right.

 

That Khedira played in such a system when he was in his early to mid-20s I don't think helps with the argument that he could play in such a system today. I think you implicitly acknowledge this where you later mention that fatigue is an issue for a player this age.

Setting the fatigue issue aside, I would still maintain that he is not adept for this system. What good is a great attacking run if there is no end product? He missed a sitter one on one versus the keeper against Napoli. He has scored 21 goals in 128 matches for us; 6 in 191 appearances for Real. He does not create a lot of goals either. He has never impressed anyone with the ball at his foot. This is not a player that helps the attack a great deal.

I agree that Khedira can have utility for a side like this because he is a smart, tactically-disciplined, hardworking player. He's just not as a starter at this stage of his career. I can see the logic in playing one of Khedira or Matuidi--just not both simultaneously if you expect to dominate play the whole game, which Sarri's system is predicated on.

 

Khedira or Matuidi isn't really the option for Juve. They are very different players. Matuidi starts because of the way he can cover the left flank.

Let's see how Khedira does as the third more attacking CM. His numbers for Real and Juve are less prolific because in each case he has predominately been used in a two man midfield (ex Alonso-Khedira) with four attackers ahead of him.

If he can stay healthy (big question mark) and is mainly used as the attacking CM then it wouldn't be shocking if he contributes the most goals out of all of Juve's mids. At least for now, he has been very good through two matches. The issue for Juve is that he can't play at that tempo for an entire match. Hopefully Ramsey can get fit and replace him. That would give Juve the option for a like-for-like replacement that they don't have when he comes off.

 

The other problem with Khedira, and Ramsey for that matter, is injury. Both rarely make it through a season without missing time.

Rabiot should be an improvement over Matuidi, but as you say, Matuidi is used primarily to cover for Ronaldo's lack of defending. That creates a problem in attack if you have to devote one side of the pitch primarily for defensive cover.

The thing about Blaise is he does get forward and makes some good runs. But......He, like so many of our other midfielders, can't hit the target.

That is what made our old good MF so special. We had box to boxers like Marchisio and Vidal, a maestro like Pirlo and a wild card in Pogba. ALL of them contributed on both ends of the filed and all could score.

None of those players has been adequately replaced.

 

If i may, it was always going to be difficult to replace that group of players: Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba and Marchisio and no team has even come close to having a comparable midfield since those 4

 

I think Ramsey, Rabbiot, Can and Betancur could be a better alternative. With Bernadeschi slotting in for Ramsey. Or we can sell 1-3 and buy Verratti and Pogba/SMS.

 

Like we are actually going to convince those players to come to Juventus. Good Luck with that.

 

They can fetch 200m easily.

 

In a reality where people pay 100m for McGuire.