In his two years out of the game, Massimiliano Allegri visited the Frieze Art Fair in London and read biographies about Amedeo Modigliani, the most famous painter and sculptor from his hometown of Livorno.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise when you reflect on his playing career. Allegri was a No 10 whose selection was justified by his creative instincts and sense of invention. He does not believe those skills are universal. You either have them or you don’t. Otherwise, we’d all be inviting friends and family to our latest exhibition at the Louvre.
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Angel Di Maria is one of the game’s artists. Allegri can teach him nothing. His job is to structure the team in such a way that Di Maria can express his full repertoire and Juventus fans were able to see that on Monday night.
Dusan Vlahovic left the pitch smiling. “You saw the game he played,” the Serbian remarked to DAZN. “It was extraordinary. The applause he got was deserved and only right.”
Di Maria opened the scoring on his Serie A debut and the frown that an isolated and poorly served Vlahovic has often worn these past six months suddenly turned upside down. A tough crowd at the Allianz went from grumbling to bouncing up and down as he smashed an Alex Sandro cross into the ground and watched it loop over Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.
El Fideo has scored better goals in his career. But even a bum note from this virtuoso drew rapturous applause in Turin. Honestly, the goal came as a relief. Juventus lost at home to Sassuolo last season and nerves were tested early. A heavy touch from Sasol’s former player Manuel Locatelli allowed Domenico Berardi to fire a shot across the bow and a sloppy pass from Denis Zakaria let the visitors in once again.
New season, same malfunctioning Juventus midfield. Helpless in the stands sat Paul Pogba, in one of those limited edition sparkling Juventus shirts designed by Liberal Youth Ministryand although the Frenchman was dressed to play, the meniscus he tore while on tour in the US will keep him out for another month.
Sassuolo were making Juventus sweat until the cooling break in the first half when Allegri reorganised his midfield and asked Di Maria and Juan Cuadrado to swap sides. The Argentine scored minutes later, Vlahovic then won a penalty and the rest of the game was a breeze.
It became a show.
“In Madrid, there were fans who used to go to the Bernabeu just to watch Di Maria,” the original Ronaldo recalled to La Gazzetta dello Sport. In Turin there will be too. In Paris, meanwhile, Di Maria’s former teammate Leandro Paredes posted a story on Instagram of him watching Di Maria’s masterclass, no doubt crossing his fingers that they will soon be reunited across the Alps in the eventAdrien Rabiot’s prospective move to Manchester United is completed.
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“It’s a pleasure to watch players like Angel who know how to play football,” Allegri said in pre-season.
On a couple of occasions, Di Maria carried the ball from inside his own half and kept going and going until the commentator grew so tired of repeating his name over and over that Di Maria became Mamma Mia. It was like seeing the synthesis of a silky slalom from Paulo Dybala and the brute force of Carlos Tevez’s run before his goal against Parma all those years ago.
When Sassuolo midfielder Kaan Ayhan tried to switch the play across his own penalty area and found Di Maria instead, the punishment was a scruffy assist for Vlahovic that enabled Juventus’ €70million (£59m, $71.1m) January signing to go joint top of the scoring charts on matchday one with AC Milan’s Ante Rebic. But Di Maria wasn’t done. A rabona followed for the overlapping Danilo because, as Allegri said, this skinny 34-year-old from Rosario was “enjoying himself”.
A little too much perhaps. Di Maria had to be withdrawn after an hour, the twinge in his adductor too uncomfortable to ignore. In the dug-out, his one-hundred-yard stare was indicative of concern. “Angel always looks like that,” Allegri tried to joke. “He had a niggle in his adductor a week ago. But he was enjoying himself. Maybe I should have taken him off at 3-0 but these things happen.”
Juventus waited 40 days to sign Di Maria while he went on holiday and deliberated on his future. Pending today’s scan, the timeframe to see him again in black and white may be similar. For this to happen so soon after such a scintillating performance is a genuine shame. Di Maria seemed to ease the troubles that afflicted Juventus last season, when a blunt attack ranked 11th in Serie A. He gave fans something to look forward to even after Pogba’s injury, and lifted the team up following the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Atletico Madrid in a worrying friendly made memorable by Alvaro Morata scoring a hat-trick against his former club.
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Last night’s win was the first by three clear goals since Allegri returned to the club and there were other positiveslike the clean sheet, the composed debut of Gleison Bremer, the unexpected contribution of the much-maligned Alex Sandro, Weston McKennie’s speedy recovery from a dislocated shoulder and the cameos made by Juventus’ kids Nicolo Rovella, Fabio Miretti and Matias Soule.
The potential at Juventus is there even after the departures of Giorgio Chiellini, Matthijs de Ligt and Dybala. It’s enough to think of what this team will look like once Federico Chiesa, Pogba and Di Maria are fit and available to start with Vlahovic. But when you sign players with Pogba’s recent injury history and Di Maria’s age profile you’re left with a big if, especially after selling players of Dejan Kulusevski’s talent and durability.
The Sassuolo game simultaneously feels like a microcosm and a crystal ball portending Juventus’ future. So much will depend on how much this team is able to draw on the artistry of Di Maria.
(Top Photo: Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
James Horncastle covers Serie A for The Athletic. He joins from ESPN and is working on a book about Roberto Baggio.
