Juventus Transfers : Alessandro Matri And Not Fabio Quagliarella

By Chelston D'souza
12 years Ago

With the imminent arrival of a world-class hitman in attack, JuventusAi??are expectedAi??to vacate one of the strikerai??i??s slots. Alessandro MatriAi??and Fabio Quagliarella are both contenders and have been linked with a move away from Turin; indeed the clock is ticking on one of their futures at the club. Milan are reportedly interested in the former while the latter could be used as a bargaining chip in a bid to lure that elusive top striker. The dilemma now though is, which one of the duo should Juventus sell?

Fabio Quagliarella ai??i?? Ruined by Injury

Juventus

Juventus

Having signed from Napoli two seasons ago, Quagliarellaai??i??s arrival was metAi??with skepticism. Quagliarella was by no means a world-classAi??striker; he was a good striker, not great but someone whose play-station goals and the frequency with which they were producedAi??made him unique. Quite simply put, QuagliarellaAi??could make a simple tap-in look spectacular. His penchant for the unexpected, out-of-this-world goals was his claim to fame. Wherever his career was to take him, Quagliarella would score the most brilliant of goals and with Juventus it was no exception. The bicycle effort against Chievo Verona was another Quagliarella special.

In his first season at the Turin based outfit, QuagliarellaAi??would endure a mixed time. After a sensational first half of the season where the former Napoli man would go on to hit the back of the net an impressive 9 times in 17 appearances, a cruel injury to his knee ligament would unfortunately rule him out for the rest of the season. It was a brutal blow to a striker in flying form going through a purple patch and his club, who would go on a free-fall and end up finishing the season in a dejected 7^th place.

Quagliarellaai??i??s Juventus career was never to beAi??the same. In the season that followed, he scored a miserly four goals in 20 league appearances. The likes of MirkoAi??VucinicAi??and Alessandro MatriAi??were given the nod ahead of the former SampdoriaAi??striker which further fuelled rumors of an exit for Quagliarella. A lack of match fitness was evident in his game and it was clear that Quagliarella had lost that cutting edge he had displayed in the season before.

Alessandro Matri ai??i?? Not Quite World-Class

Juventus

Juventus

In the winter transfer window of 2011, Juventus were on the hunt for a prima punta. Alessandro Matriai??i??s name was thrownAi??up in the air and the Bianconeri quickly stepped in and got their man from Cagliari. Matri would repay the faith invested in him with excellent performances in attack. His dangerous movement off-the-ball and ability to beAi??at the right place at the right time saw him fire 9 goals in 15 league appearances. These stats warranted a permanent move to Juventus in the summer when BeppeAi??Marotta paid a handsome fee of ai??i??18m in total to acquire the former Milan strikerai??i??s signature.

In the following season, Matri would finish off the term as Juventusai??i?? top goal-scorerAi??with 10 goals in 23 appearances; hardly inspiring for a team that would go on to secure another Scudetto. Ai??A few eyebrow-raising performances, notably against Inter in the Derby Dai??i??italia, would justifyAi??Matriai??i??s selection as first choice prima punta. However, come the winter transfer window and with the rather unwelcomedAi??arrival of Marco Borriello, Matri would soon find himself resigned to a bench role. Despite Borrielloai??i??s poor form and ineffectiveness in front of goal, he would be offered more chances than Matri.

Conte continued to keep the faith in the former Genoa striker with MatriAi??getting the occasional look-in and coming on as a substitute on numerousAi??occasions. His most significant contribution to the team last season remains his remarkable performance against his former side AC Milan. Matri would come on for Juventus with 20 minutes left on the clock and the Bianconeri a goal down.

He would go on to score two goals, one of which was incorrectly ruled offside, nevertheless, asAi??his display gave Juventus a hard-earned single point at the San SiroAi??and kept their unbeaten record intact. The club finally realized that Marco BorrielloAi??was simply not good enough to don the Juventus jersey and made the obvious decision of deciding against signing him on a permanent basis, restoring their confidence in Matri.

So who do Juventus opt for?

While both the players do have their pros and cons, the smarter option for now remains Alessandro Matri. Two years junior to Quagliarella, at 27 years of age, you would tip the scales in Matri’sAi??favor to make more of an impact for Juventus than QuagliarellaAi??would. For all his efforts, QuagliarellaAi??looks like a finished product, severely lacking in confidence and a change of environment might do him and his career good. With the arrival of Giovinco, there is minimal space in the supporting striker department that QuagliarellaAi??prefers to play in. Opportunities will be scarce and it is widely anticipated that VucinicAi??and Giovinco will be ahead of him in the pecking order.

With Juventus on the hunt for the elusive bomber they crave, MatriAi??will provideAi??a potent deputy to the summerai??i??s expected star arrival and looks the better bet than QuagliarellaAi??to aid Juventus in their quest for silverware. The Bianconeri will be fighting on three fronts this season so the rotation factor comes into play and MatriAi??has definitely shown more promise than Quagliarella in his time at the club.

MatriAi??brings a lot more to the table than QuagliarellaAi??with his ability to get team-mates into play particularly praise-worthy. The time is right for Juventus to cash in on QuagliarellaAi??or use him as currency as has been suggested. And there certainly wonai??i??t be a lack of potential suitors given his reputation in Serie A.

Categories: COVER STORY, Features, Italia Serie A, Juventus
Tags: Juventus Serie A

Fabio Quagliarella ai??i?? Ruined by Injury

Alessandro Matri ai??i?? Not Quite World-Class

So who do Juventus opt for?

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