Juventus’ Midfield Problems Could Be Solved From Within

It’s difficult to envision it now, but there was a time when Juventus had arguably the best midfield in the world.

From 2012 to 2015, the quartet of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba all featured in the same midfield and this is where Juve’s greatest strength lay. The defence was exceptional, marshalled by Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci, but midfield was where Juve sparkled, the area of the pitch where Juve dominated most games during the early part of their nine-year reign of terror on Italian football.

And then, like The Beatles, the band broke up: Pirlo and Vidal left in the same summer; Pogba a year later. Only Marchisio was left and, after suffering one too-many injuries, the Italian fell down the pecking order at the club and was eventually sold to Zenit St. Petersburg.

The midfield then morphed into a neglected wasteland, filled with freebies and poorly thought-out signings. If Juve’s midfield had been a credit rating, it would’ve went from AAA + to D in a matter of three years.

And it remained that way for years, with the club continually investing ridiculous sums of money in defence and attack, but overlooking the area that matters most in the modern game.

By the time the club woke up to the fact that they’d slept on their midfield for too long, the pandemic had taken hold and crippled Juve’s finances. This summer, the club have tried desperately to offload the excess fat in the squad. Aaron Ramsey was let go, and they were willing to listen to any half-decent offers for Adrien Rabiot and Arthur Melo.

That trio represent the high watermark of Fabio Paratici’s three years of insanity whilst being Juve’s sporting director. Where Beppe Marotta was prudent with Juve’s approach to the market, Paratici was the complete opposite, throwing good money after bad in each of his summer transfer windows.

Juve’s inability to offload either Rabiot or Arthur has hampered the club’s transfer campaign this summer, and as the hours tick down and with only two days left, the club need more quality in the middle.

Leandro Paredes, as of writing at least, seems on the verge of a move back to Serie A, joining Juve from Paris Saint-Germain on a loan-but-obligated-to-buy deal that Italian sides are so fond of.

But another answer to the midfield problem can be found from within, and Fabio Miretti could be the answer to a lot of the club’s problems.

Now, promoting youngsters and Juve don’t usually fit together in the same sentence. Italy’s biggest club are notorious for their lack of youth development. This requires time and patience, not normally two words associated with a club addicted to the smell of instant success.

The last youth product to really make it into the first team over a sustained period of time was Marchisio, but only after he endured a loan spell at Empoli in 2007-08.

Miretti, only 19, produced a mature performance against Roma in Serie A’s first big game of the season. Given a start by Max Allegri due to injuries to Paul Pogba and the seemingly lost faith in Denis Zakaria, Miretti played a big part in Juve playing arguably their finest football for 18 months.

Playing in behind Dusan Vlahovic, Miretti ghosted in between the lines of Roma’s defence and midfield, looking for pockets of space and running with the ball, charging deep into the Giallorossi’s half. This all sounds simple stuff, but Juve haven’t produced, nor even bought, a midfielder like Miretti for years.

Manuel Locatelli carries out a similar role for Italy under Roberto Mancini, but Allegri is trying his best to shoehorn him into becoming a regista — a player who dictates play from deep — with not much success as of yet. Locatelli does his best work further forward, but with the introduction of Miretti, Locatelli may just be afforded the time to grow into the role.

“Miretti is a young lad who knows how to play football,” beamed Allegri following the 1-1 draw in Turin. “ He knows how to free himself and go in between the lines and his first touch is always going forward,” he added.

Miretti, born in Piedmont, will hope that his dalliance with the first team isn’t just a fling, but on a more consistent level. Allegri, like Juve, doesn’t have the greatest track record with bringing through young players. Yet with finances hamstrung and injuries accumulating, if there was ever the chance to give youth a go, it’s now.

And Miretti has shown he has what it takes to play with the big boys, despite his tender age. The old maxim rings true: if you are good enough, you are old enough.