The Good
Numbers don’t lie
With the exception of a few shaky moments here and there and the lack of goals in the first half on Sunday night, Juventus won their first bout of the season against Parma quite handedly. The Bianconeri led virtually every statistical category — including red cards — with exception of being level on corner kicks (6) and yellow cards (2).
The boys in black, white, and pink highlights attempted 25 shots, with eight of them on target, meaning that nerly a third of them tested Parma keeper Zion Suzuki.
But it wasn’t just their attack, it was an all-around passing and possession frenzy, completing 512 passes with nearly a 90% accuracy rating, and keeping the ball in the hands of La Vecchia Signora for 65% of the match.
In years past, complaints have been two sides of the same coin. Why is Juventus’ defense so great but its attack so lackluster? Why is the club’s focus attacking when the back line is severely out of its depth? Well, if a single match can give any inkling of hope, it’s that maybe, just maybe, things are finally on the right track for the club, and the balance between attacking and defending has finally been struck.
Yil-done-it-again!
Is there anything that Kenan Yildiz can’t do?
Sometimes it’s important to sit back as a Juventus fan and appreciate that he belongs to your club, and the match against Parma further proved that. The big headline is, of course, his two assists that helped set up both goals, the first leading to Jonathan David’s first-ever Juventus goal, and the second aiding in Dusan Vlahovic’s argument that he’s still a viable option for any club.
However, moving past the top line, Yilidz managed three shots of his own, two of which were successfully on target, two successful dribbles, two accurate crosses, and to prove that he’s not above defending, the Turkish international completed two tackles and two clearances. Even the Paramount+ team took to the microphones stating that The Starboy is possibly the talent in Serie A with the most potential. High praise.
Cana-duh!
The question on everyone’s mind at the start of the season was could Jonathan David perform under the pressure of Italy’s finest club? Surely his 109 goals in Ligue 1 and 36 goals for Canada are an impressive CV anywhere, but being a striker at Juventus is a consistent crucible.
Well, the Canadian did not disappoint in his official debut, becoming the first goal scorer of the season for the Bianconeri. Over the course of the match, he attempted four shots, with the only one on target putting Juventus on the scoreboard. Additionally, he was responsible for five key passes, and a single dribble.
Is it safe to say he will be electric in Italy? Not yet.
But there was a moment in his goal that stood out. The club has waited for an attacker who has battlefield IQ for a long time. When a Yildiz cross comes careening into the box, and even if there are defenders in proximity, having the sense to position oneself for an easy chip in while staying onside. It was a small moment compared to the entirety of a season, but it’s nonetheless great to see a new player who knows what to do when the time comes — even if it seems easy.
Dusanthing Good (Finally)
Dusan Vlahovic scored a goal!
Obviously, the expectation of a striker, though in recent times even the easiest of tap-ins have plagued the Serbian. Even with a price tag and annual salary as high as his. However, in a build-up of a long pass from Joao Mario to Vlahovic and then to Yildiz, the final pass of the sequence finally turned into magic as Juventus barreled down the pitch. If there were any worries about late-match Thiago Motta-verse goal concessions against Parma, Vlahovic was the man to stomp them out.
This goal, while impressive and a generally good sign for the club, will have to be one of many if the striker will attempt to combat nearly three years of bad press in his final season at the club.
Você está com saudades de mim?
Gleison Bremer has returned. It’s that simple.
However, one of the biggest fears going into this new season was the Brazilian’s condition, and if he can come back strong after his devastating ACL injury in the Champions League match against RB Leipzig last season. Because, as so many know, it’s hard to bounce back from that as an athlete. Just ask Derrick Rose.
As for Bremer, not only did he come back, he came back swinging.
Highlights will show a clip of Bremer blocking a shot that was almost certain to fly into the Juventus goal, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. In the course of the match, the Brazilian phenom completed two long balls, a tackle and an interception. But as stats would tell anyone, the captain was clearing balls for fun in this first match of the season, totaling eight clearances, or 1 every almost 12 minutes.
Aside from his performance, the return of Bremer means the world to the fans. There has been no player as consistent over the last few years as the Brazilian, who has led by example through good times and bad, good management and poor, victory and heartbreak. The defender can hold his head high and confidently know that he’s back, with millions of fans behind him wishing only the best.
The Bad
Cambias-ouch
Every season, there is one ridiculous red card that shocks everyone. Last season it was Yildiz throwing an elbow to the face of a Monza player, and this season the ridiculous red has been completed early courtesy of Andrea Cambiaso.
As Cambiaso and Parma’s Edoardo Corvi both attempted to receive a long ball that eventually went out of bounds, Cambiaso’s hand reached out and struck the face of Corvi, maybe in a fit of frustration, maybe in response to something Corvi had said. Either way, a straight red card was flashed, and the match ended early for poor Andrea.
It’s odd, really, every time a straight red card occurs in that way. Some red cards, like Arkadiusz Milik’s against Udinese in the 2023-24 season, are somewhat easy to call as fans watching on the television, even if the intent was understood.
But smacking someone out of the blue? There must have been more at play that could not be heard by the mics.
The Ugly
Superstition ain’t the way
Juventus has fallen into a dangerous pattern. In the past 4 years, the first goalscorer of the season has departed the club in the following summer. First it was Paulo Dybala, then Angel Di Maria, then Federico Chiesa, then finally Samuel Mbangula.
Naturally, it’s a scary prospect to see David net the first goal of the season, with such an interesting history. As for now, one can hope that he’ll remain scoring goals for the old lady, and break the curse come May of next year.
Gatti Yellow
In an old trailer for EAFC that was showing how the game’s mechanism for yellow cards was improved, Federico Gatti was the lucky individual to be selected. In a career that started as a bricklayer in Serie D, Gatti has seen his share of match winning headers, decisive clearances, own goals, and more yellow cards than he knows what to do with.
Though this isn’t bad or ugly, it just seemed all too perfect that the first member of the Juventus squad to receive a yellow card in the new season was Gatti. You can put him in a Juventus kit, have him play against European powerhouses and Italian midtable teams all day long, but deep down there is still the necessary aggression of a guy who scraped and clawed for everything he has.
Never change, Gatti.
Liam’s Analysis
An easy buono to start the season, but at this point in my footballing spectator career, I have begun to disregard the first week to save my hopes from coming crashing down. If last season’s opener convinced me that Juventus would have a great season, then the match against Parma on Sunday also could, and I want to take a more pragmatic approach going forward.
After all, I was the guy claiming that Motta, Douglas Luiz, and Teun Koopmeiners were the salvation of Juventus at this same time last year. Sometimes you call them wrong. In a nutshell, Juventus did everything right against Parma, and accumulated a well deserved three points to kick off the season. With the exception of that absurd red card, everyone can hold their heads high.
This past two weeks, I was in Ireland and the UK, a trip capped off with Chelsea at West Ham and Leeds at Arsenal. I noticed a few things as a Serie A fanatic when watching live some of the best the Premier League had to offer. The first was how incredible Riccardo Calafiori would look in black and white, that’s easy. But the second thing that hit me, and made me appreciate Juventus all the more, was watching Viktor Gyokeres turn Leeds inside out. All summer, he was the talk of the transfer window, with bids coming from everywhere, finally settling in as a Gunner. An already great player goes to a historically big club, the rest is history.
What made me appreciate Juventus is the club’s ability to give opportunities to players that aren’t already well known, with one obvious exception that yells “suiiii” a lot. Bremer was a good defender at Torino before he became world class at Juventus, Yilidz was an unproven youngster who is now one Europe’s most watched young players, Gatti was in Serie B until Max Allegri called him up, and last season alone Gatti pocketed one of the world’s most gifted strikers, Erling Haaland.
Many players have walked through those black and white doors, and at least to me, many players are better off for it, made better by it, and proud of it.
As always, Fino Alla Fine. Here’s to a great season.
