Liam Brady, Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Paolo Nedved – it is fair to say Juventus have been blessed with some truly wonderful playmakers down the years, who were all integral figures in shaping the clubs illustrious, success riddled history.
The Turin giants crossed the finish line in one of their most successful seasons of their 117 year existence, completing a first domestic double in 20 years and falling agonisingly short of recording the clubs’s first ever treble, going down to Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
With the silly season now upon us, the Old Lady will be aiming to further strengthen what is an already impressively assembled squad to not only continue their domestic dominance, but to reaffirm their status as a current European powerhouse by looking to replicate its heroics in the Champions League next season, with the hope of going one better.
Juventus boss Masmiliano Allegri has made it no secret that he is in the market for a No.10 to inject more creativity in the final third, and in a recent interview with La Gazetta dello Sport the Italian sounded out Chelsea’s Oscar as his primary target.
“It’s true that I asked for a number ten,” said Allegri.
“I like Oscar a lot. He’s a player who can make the difference on the European stage as well, which is great as it’s not a given that a great league player can perform in Europe”.
The Brazilian, like many of his Chelsea counterparts, had a productive first-half of the season when the Blues were playing some scintillating football – racking up seven assists. But he seemed to loose his way towards the back end of the campaign as Jose Mourinho curbed the Londoners early expansive style, ending with six goals and eight assists in total.
Despite his impressive numbers during the early portions of the season, he was often criticised for his poor ball retention and his inability to penetrate defences. The Chelsea No.8 only created a total of 36 goal scoring chances and had a passing accuracy of 82%, both are relatively low numbers in comparison to opposing playmakers in the Premier league.
Something Oscar has in his locker is a terrific work rate both with and without the ball. He has duly received plaudits for his willingness to track back and defend, a role he has become accustomed to since the return of Mourinho at the helm.
The increased workload eventually took its toll as the 23 year ran out of gas, significantly decreasing his offensive output and eventually loosing his spot in the starting lineup. In fact, from mid-January until May, he failed to complete the full 90 minutes of a single match.
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It does seem that a change in environment could ignite the Brazilian’s attacking mojo, as under Mourinho you do get the sense that his playing with the shackles on, inhibiting his ability to express himself.
Since the change to a 4-3-1-2 system, Allegri has not been able to call call upon an out-and-out play maker to fulfill the role, with box-to-box midfielders Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba taking up positions in between the lines.
Oscar first came to the attention of Juventus back in 2012, where he netted twice, including a wonder strike from distance in what was a breakout game for the former Internacional man. A performance that Allegri was eluding to when he described the 23-year-old as someone who can prove to be a match winner on the European stage.
Juve see adding a top class ‘trequartista’ as an important ingredient if the club are to get their hands on the Champions League trophy again. A diamond midfield that already possess power, dynamism and potency in spades, Oscar’s defensive obligations will be limited somewhat, meaning he could situate himself in more threatening areas in the final third, with more of a licence to pull the strings.
The slow tempo of Serie A would suit Oscar more then the helter skelter pace of the Premier League, as he is not the quickest of players, more reliant on his technical ability to get him out of tight spaces.
Whether Chelsea are looking to sell or not is another question, but Oscar still possesses some untapped creative potential that is still waiting to be unearthed. He still has age on his side and will continue to develop as a player. If that is with Chelsea or Juventus, we will find out in due course.
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