On 3rd September Juventus announced the transfer of Reto Ziegler to Turkish club Fenerbahce. The Swiss international will be joining Fenerbahce on a one year loan for 0.6 million Euros and his new club has an option to make the transfer permanent at the end of season.
The Ziegler Saga
The Reto Ziegler episode was handled badly by Juventus and does reflect poorly on the management. Ziegler was one of the first signings made by Beppe Marotta at the start of 2011 summer transfer window. The Swiss left-back was a free agent after declining to sign a new contract with relegated Sampdoria. With the arrival of Ziegler, Juventus had a solid but unspectacular player in a vulnerable position of the squad. While he is not a world class player by any stretch of imagination, Ziegler had considerable experience in Serie A and had played a crucial part in Sampdoria’s UCL qualification two seasons back.
Just a few days before the transfer market closed Juventus fans were surprised by rumours that Ziegler might be offloaded. It was rumoured that the Swiss full-back was not in Conte’s good books and the new coach wanted to get rid of him. Ziegler’s transfer was agreed upon when Gigi Delneri was still the coach of Juventus but apparently he didn’t fit Conte’s plans.
Swiss Guard: An oft used term during Juve’s transfer dealings
Days later Ziegler himself announced that Antonio Conte didn’t want him in his squad but mentioned he was willing to stay on and fight for his place. In the end, he was loaned off the Fenderbahce.
The Ziegler saga has left fans with a bitter taste. A club has rights to sell contracted players but the manner in which this whole issue was handled reeks of unprofessional behavior. If Ziegler was indeed not part of Conte’s plans then he should have been transfer listed days before the market closed, so that both the player and the club could have gotten a fair deal. In the end, Ziegler turned into a man with no home – he agreed to move to a new club but soon found him unwanted in the same club when the management changed.
In recent seasons, Juventus’ treatment of its players has been often shabby. Last season, Hasan Salihamidzic and Fabio Grosso were unceremoniously frozen out of the squad but were later brought back due to injuries to other players. Club legend David Trezeguet complained bitterly about his transfer to Hercules in an interview while Sebastien Giovinco and Davide Lanzafame have also complained about the way they were treated. Right now, Juventus does not have the ability to attract players like it used to do a decade back. Incidents like these can only antagonize potential signings.
Left Backs: What is Conte’s Plan?
The Ziegler saga looks bad from a management point of view but it looks worse from a tactical point of view. Juventus has struggled pathetically in defense during the last two seasons because they didn’t have competent full-backs. This season Stephen Lichtsteiner and Ziegler were bought to fix that issue. But with the left-back’s departure Juve is back to square one. One long term injury or suspension to Forrest Gump will bring out the exact same defensive combination of last season – the same defense which conceded 47 goals.
Antonio Conte’s system focuses on wingers pushing high up the pitch and a two man midfield. Juventus can start with Eljaro Elia and Milos Krasic on left and right wings respectively. None of these wingers have a tendency to track back which will mean that full-backs have to withstand a lot of pressure at times. One saving grace last season was the impeccable defensive screening provided by Felipe Melo in many matches. With Melo gone, Juve looks likely to start without a pure destroyer in the midfield. Lichtsteiner’s absence can bring out the ever volatile Marco Motta in first team – leaving Chiellini and Bonucci to do a lot of cleaning-up to do in central defense. Juve’s inability to bring in an experienced defensive organizer is also likely to cause problems, again.
De Ceglie and Grosso: Not Enough quality
Paolo De Ceglie is most likely to be the first choice left-back in Juventus. De Ceglie was part of the Juventus team that won Primavera Serie A along with Claudio Marchisio and Giovinco. De Ceglie had flattered to deceive before finding form under Gigi Delneri last season. A season ending injury derailed his mojo just when it was looking like he was turning into a solid left-back. He has looked very rusty in pre-season and there are question marks over how much impact he will have against quality sides.
Fabio Grosso: Giving Nightmares to Juventus fans since 2009
Fabio Grosso, the man known for his exploits in 2006 world cup (and only because of it, in most sections) has never been a good defender. His primary attributes were his marauding runs on the flanks – something that has abandoned him with age. Grosso has rarely performed consistently in Juventus and can never provide defensive assurance.
Antonio Conte has also mentioned the use of Giorgio Chiellini as centre-back if all fails. This will be another dodgy tactical decision – Chiellini is a natural left-back but has taken his game to a different level in the heart of the defence. It will be a huge mistake to take away the only quality central-defender Juventus has away from his position of strength.
Other possibilities are using Marcelo Estigarribia as a left-back. This will be an interesting decision as the Paraguayan has thrived as a winger and his strength lies in his attacking instincts. Simone Pepe can also be used as a left-back but it is a strictly stop gap solution. Two seasons back Felipe Melo was used as a ‘regista’ – as a stop gap solution – this move affected both Melo and the team negatively. Juventus should not expect to finish in top-3 if they plan to field Fabio Grosso or Estigarribia as regular left-backs.
The decision to send out Reto Ziegler is a baffling one. Antonio Conte might have his reasons to not want him as part of his plans but by sending away Ziegler he has left the position of left-back in an extremely vulnerable state. Juventus don’t have enough depth or quality in that position and may end up dropping points because of this weakness. There are players like Amauri and Iaquinta, who are deadwood to the club. These players remain in Turin but a player who could have proved useful has been shipped out.
Click here to read more about Ziegler.