Juventus Youth Report: Leali, Marrone, GarcAi??a Tena Can Add Depth To The First Team

Analysis on some of the options Juventus can choose from within their own ranks as they look to strengthen their squad for the upcoming season.

Romaai??i??s shocking 4-1 loss to Catania officially sealed the third consecutive Scudetto for Antonio Conte and Juventus. It was a truly wonderful campaign for the Bianconeri during which they broke many records. But they had a disappointing European campaign and they will be looking to improve their squad for the upcoming season to keep up this domination in Italy and do well in Europe as well. Players, most notably wingers, like Alexis Sanchez and Nani have been linked as reports suggest Conte might switch to a 4-3-3 formation. Mirko Vucinic, Fabio Quagliarela and Pablo Osvaldo do not look part of the plan anymore. Juventus were short of numbers in midfield and they were lucky that Marchisio and Vidal had injuries at different points this season. Although the defensive department looks more or less settled yet rumours regarding the purchase of a central defender does not seem to go away with Andrea Ranocchia, Mats Hummels, Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel Paletta all being linked with a summer move. Juventus might as well look at their own talented prospects to fulfil their needs. These players might not be the ones to take them to the next level but the fact that the midfield and defence consists of international starters and more than capable backups, it would be rather foolish to spend money on people who are being thought of as backup options only. We take a look at some of the options Juventus have to add to their strength in depth.

Nicola Leali (Goalkeeper)

The contract of Marco Storari expires this summer and it seems he is on his way out of the club. Juventus should not worry about this situation too much as they are nurturing a special talent in their own ranks. Leali is a promising young prospect with a lot of potential. While at Brescia, he was one of the most sought-after prospects and Juventus wasted little time in securing his services. He slowly began to mature during spells with Lanciano and Spezia. He has good size, surprising vision for such a young player and does an excellent job at commanding the D. His reflexes are praiseworthy and he has been doing a good job in correcting his flaws while on loan at Spezia.

Bringing back Nicola Leali is an option as Storari looks likely to leave and Rubinho has managed just one appearance as a substitute. Although it can be argued that a young player like Leali needs to play regularly and sitting on the bench might hamper his development but he would certainly benefit from regularly training alongside the likes of Gigi Buffon. His current club are ranked seventh in Serie B and despite letting in 36 goals in 33 matches; he has improved a number of shortcomings in his game during this time. Perhaps the most notable was his weak punches which often gave strikers a second chance after making a save and not giving his defenders reaction time to help protect the goal. But Leali has been doing a nice job in working on this aspect of his game and has been limiting the opportunities the opposing strikers get. Already a commanding presence in the box, the 21-year-old now deals with incoming shots much better and this improvement should continue. He has kept 10 clean sheets this season and was the best player against the newly crowned champions Palermo in a game which Spezia won 1-0.

Daniele Rugani, Alberto Masi, Pol GarcAi??a Tena (Defence )

With Andrea Barzagli clearly starting to feel the effects of playing at such a high level at his age, replacing the former Palermo defender is not an easy task at all. Injuries have limited the 32-year-old to just 25 league appearances this season and while Martin Caceres has deputized superbly, adding another defender capable of playing on the right side of the back three should be something of a priority in the coming months.

Once again, Juve may possess a solution within their own house, with 19-year-old Daniele Rugani slowly blossoming into one of the finest young defenders in the peninsula. Currently on loan with former club Empoli, he has been impressive this season, making his debut for the Azzurrini and getting on the scoresheet against Northern Ireland in March this year. Standing 1.88 metres tall, Rugani is blessed with the perfect attributes to play at the heart of defence and has even featured as a right-back this season. Not shy to compete physically thanks to a solid build, confident footwork and impressive aerial ability, Rugani has improved his technical skills over the past two seasons. Playing last year on loan with the Bianconeri youth team helped him improve his tackling and passingai??i??both previously seen as weaknessesai??i??as it forced him to adjust to retaining possession and building the play. Rugani made quite an impression on the Juve coach and was an unused substitute twice for the first team. He has made 36 appearances (scoring 2 goals) this term with Empoli who have the second best defence in Serie B.

Another youth buy in 2012; Alberto Masi has been on a co-ownership deal with Ternana this year after spending the second half of last year with the Umbrian side on loan. He was purchased by Juventus from Pro Vercelli two summers ago. Masi is a very level-headed defender who doesn’t dive hard into unnecessary challenges but rather plays the space around the ball to neutralize any danger. Normally he won’t commit himself unless he is sure of winning the ball. He is also a very good ball-playing center-back. He won’t mindlessly punt the ball upfield but rather keeps the ball on the ground as much as possible to ensure that the team stays in possession going forward. Masi has also has an eye for goal, scoring four times in 20 starts for Ternana this year. Ternana have been able to hold their position in the bottom half of Serie B and are currently three points above the relegation spots. Masi has also been called up three times for the Azzurrini. A great prospect developing at a good pace, the next step will be to see him nail down a regular spot of a loan team’s XI.

While the right side of defence may need some fixing to be done, the opposite flank appears to be in perfect condition. Giorgio Chiellini and Angelo Ogbonna provide assurance for Conte, with Federico Peluso a third option. Yet Pol Garcia Tena, a versatile 19-year-old member of the Primavera, perhaps would improve the overall quality of the department and give the former La Masia product much more room to grow. A diminutive, left-footed player who is extremely comfortable in possession, he surely can do no worse than Peluso, who is among the least technical players in the squad. He is a very assured defender who can play on the left as a left center back or wide left as a full-back. He has improved a lot tactically at Juventus and despite being a defender, he very skilled with the ball. He has been compared to Christian Chivu in his early years at Ajax. Kwadwo Asamoah has done a relatively good job as a left full back in Conteai??i??s system but the lack of quality was evident particularly against strong teams like Real Madrid. Juventus are planning to buy a proper left back next season with the likes of Aleksandar Kolarov, Partice Evra and Senad LuliAi?? being linked. Asamoah might shift inside to play in his preferred central midfield role. Pol Garcia can be drafted into the first team to provide a backup for the first choice leftback.

Fausto Rossi, Ouasim Bouy, Luca Marrone (Midfield)

Seems strange despite boasting the likes of Marchisio, Pogba,Vidal and Pirlo Juventus are in search of a midfielder. However, a closer look will definitely show a lack of depth. Juventus were very very close to adding Freddy Guarin from Inter and they even had personal terms agreed for Radja Nainggolan in Janaury. But none of them came to fruition and Juventus were left with only 4 proper midfielders to go through a very congested phase of important fixtures. Vidal and Pogba looked visibly tired in most of the games while Marchisio was absent for a couple of weeks with injury. Vidal himself aggravated a thigh strain and underwent a surgery this week. Had Pogba or Pirlo been injured during this time, then Conte would have faced a real emergency situation. Juventus must take notice of this issue and address it quickly. Again, it would be daft to spend considerable money on someone who would essentially be fifth or sixth in the hierarchy. Juventus have some in-house solutions to address this issue

Fausto Rossi was a 17-year-old when he was called up by then-Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri for the Bianconeri’s UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid in 2008. Fast forward to 2014, Rossi is resurrecting his career at Valladolid, having played 27 league games (22 starts, five substitute appearances) so far. Rossi is a central midfielder better known for his passing than his scoring. He is an accurate passer and a good defender as well. Rossi has been deployed as a central midfielder in a 4-4-2 and a defensive midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 which shows he is versatile enough to cover multiple roles in midfield. When Valladolid beat Barcelona 1-0, Rossi started on the right wing, to give Valladolid right-back added protection in dealing with Barca left forward Neymar. Around six years ago, Rossi repeatedly ran at then-Inter Milan right-back Maicon in a pre-season game as a left winger. Rossi has matured into a Claudio Marchisio-like midfielder capable of covering numerous roles.

Rossi is a team-first and tenacious player, and is productive on the defensive side: 70 tackles and 47 interceptions in 27 league games. He is a threat to win back the ball and launch a counter-attack. From a passing perspective, 71.3 percent of his passes go forward showing his attack driven mentality. He is also capable of picking out his teammates with long passes from his own half. Rossi is more of an all-round midfielder. But one negative aspect of his game is that Rossi loses the ball at inopportune moments. He is prone to yellow cards (nine bookings this season), and he has had games where his mistimed tackles have left gaping holes in midfield. Rossi is good enough to be a squad player at Juventus. His one goal and three assists have come in a combined three games this year, and the club have won all three. He has been something of an unknown entity in Italy for a while now despite being a key figure of the U21 side during the Azzurrini’s run to the finals of the U21 Euro Cup last summer. He played in all five of the matches in Israel, completing 85 percent of his passes and recording 2.6 tackles in defense. Next year he may be a candidate for an Emanuele Giaccherini-type midfielder who can be relied upon to provide quality depth in Conte’s midfield.

During the win over Udinese this season, Simone Padoin had 40 touches of the ball but none of them were noteworthy.He simply offers nothing to the teamai??i??s attacking play and moving that kind of player to the middle of the pitch cannot help Antonio Conteai??i??s men win matches. He started only six matches this term. Luca Marrone, currently in a co-ownership deal with Sassuolo, is the perfect replacement, and also Ouasim Bouy is another viable young alternative.

The 20-year-old left Ajax for Turin in January 2012 signing as a free agent and joining Marco Baroniai??i??s Primavera setup in time to begin preparation for the Viareggio Cup. This tournament has always been a testing ground for Bianconeri youngsters and Bouy would net goals against NordsjAi??lland and CittAi?? di Marino in the group stages to establish his presence. He scored a vital penalty in the last sixteen shootout win over Vicenza. He found the back of the net in the quarter final victory against Paraguayan side GuaranAi?? as his three goals were vital in helping Juventus lift the trophy for the eighth time in their history. He was loaned out to Brescia last season and quickly became a major part of the side scoring once and registering five assists before suffering an ACL injury that capped his season at 17 games. This year he remained in Turin for the first half of the year, making his first-team in the Coppa Italia game against Avellino. He moved on loan to Hamburg during the January transfer window, where he appeared in three Bundesliga games and one DFB Pokal contest. A managerial change saw him relegated to the bench and his promising loan spell was cut short abruptly. Praised for his timing, vision, and tactical intelligence, Bouy is a fine left-footed central midfielder who likes to push forward to create for those ahead of him. Although he is still very raw, he is extremely confident in possession which is an essential element for players wanting to become part of Conteai??i??s first team squad. A ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee slowed his progress, but he has the talent to become a backup in Juveai??i??s star-studded midfield. He usually prefers the left of a midfield three where he has impressed many observers with his maturity on the ball and neat passing.

Luca Marrone has already proven his worth for Juventus. His versatility in adapting to a new role as a vice-Leonardo Bonucci in the center of the three-man defense despite being a midfielder was really praiseworthy. Marrone joined the youth ranks of La vecchia Signora when he was just six years old. By 2007, he was already featuring regularly for the Primavera as well as representing Italy at both Under-17 and Under 19 levels. He would enjoy two good seasons which culminated in the 2009 Viareggio Cup triumph in a team dominated by the goal scoring exploits of Ciro Immobile. Marrone was given plenty of playing time in the pre-season friendlies and would make his debut on the opening day of Serie A under Ciro Ferrara in 2009. Soon after, Marrone established himself as an integral member of the Azzurrini. He captained the Primavera side as they again won the Viareggio Cup. Marrone then moved to Siena on loan and enjoyed a successful season helping them win promotion as Antonio Conte brought the best out of him. Marrone became a regular fixture anchoring the midfield in the coachai??i??s demanding 4-2-4 formation and performed superbly in his regista role.

He would have been overjoyed to see his mentor appointed as Juventus coach that same summer. Marrone worked closely with Conte and Massimo Carrera in order to improve his skill set and add the ability to deputise for Leonardo Bonucci in the centre of defence. Conte praised the speed at which he had grasped the nuances of formations and tactical schemes during this season. He made ten league appearances with the club notably winning nine and drawing one of those matches. With another three starting lineup berths in the Coppa Italia and one against Celtic in the Champions League, it was clear that he had made steady progress. Loaning Luca Marrone to Sassuolo has already been hugely beneficial to the Turin native as he has made an impressive start to 2013-14 as he averaged almost fifty passes per game at a completion rate of 92% ai??i?? putting him among the very best in the league ai??i?? and made an average of 1.9 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game. He registered three assists for them as well. But the turn of the year saw him start very less number of games as he suffered an injury and subsequently lost his place in the team. Already accustomed to Conteai??i??s system, Marrone will add depth to the midfield department and is definitely an upgrade on Simeone Padoin.

The attacking department is in safe hands as analyzed here. Now it remains to be seen whether Juventus have faith in their home-grown products to add depth to an already strong squad. Juventus certainly have enough options to work with and only time will tell whether they trust their talented brigade to mount a challenge in Europe and also keep winning in Italy.

Tags: Juventus Serie A

Juventus Youth Report: Leali, Marrone, GarcAi??a Tena Can Add Depth To The First Team

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