Should Juventus sign Ciro Immobile???

By tdf, May 10, 2014

Before looking at the Immobile in terms of solely goals, we must first look at the system which Conte has painstakingly adjusted and drilled into the squad.

We do not play with a pure prima punta, which is what Immobile seems to be. Is he special enough to change the whole Conte philosophy to accommodate?? I do not think so. At least not yet.

The nearest we have to a prima punta is Llorente. Yet his game is hugely about bringing others into play from other areas, mainly midfield, but also the overlapping wingbacks. He can play well with his back to goal, winning the ball in promising areas and laying it off to foraging team-mates. Tevez has a similar role though is far more direct and focused on working his way into the box. Conte demands of every single player to play first and foremost for the team. No player has a singular, blinkered vision that a pure prima punta inherently must possess and express.

Vidal has 18 goals this season. Which in itself suggests our formation is nowhere near a static 3-5-2. Our furthest players forward are often Asamoah and Lichsteiner. The chances we create fall perhaps even more often to our midfielders than strikers. Though this could change with quality balls delivered into the box.

The other thing to focus on tactically speaking, is the huge difference between playing as a striker for Torino and doing the same for Juve. Torino’s forwards are afforded considerably more space and therefore time in the final third. They are nowhere near as well man marked. This is due to the large differences in quality between the sides. Opponents fancy their chances against Torino, so play a more open game, whereas these same opponents, when they face Juve, will more often than not put more players behind the ball, even when they are counter-attacking, hope to soak up the pressure and hit us on the break. This results in the need for Juve to work harder and with more patience and talent to open up the blockade, or as Mourinho puts it ‘open the gate’. Its the same thing, which many top sides face when playing against teams inferior in talent who set out to stifle, block off all obvious space and man mark every offensive player on the opposing side.

Our forwards, courtesy of our success and reputation, are forced to be far more crafty than a forward operating at Torino. This point cannot be expressed loudly enough for many who assume that all those goals Ciro scores, will flow as frequently were he leading the line at Juve. At best, they would be much harder to come by. This greatly lessens the accuracy of direct comparisons between Immobile and his nearest counterpart at Juve, Llorente. The formations of the opponents, man marking, players behind the ball and also the job asked of a striker by the manager are all very important factors. Stats are useful but on many an analysis they are rendered close to useless, just data for pretty graphs and pictures on whoscored and the like.

Step by step Conte and Beppe(with Paratici) have put this winning machine together. To step up to a level where we can be seriously competitive in Europe there remain two key areas which are in need of major improvement. 
1. Top drawer quality on the flanks, especially in the offensive department. Players who can beat a defender, dribble, put in a quality cross, if not drive in and score themselves.
2. Natural leaders, especially in defence. (surely many noticed how in the sticky period after Barzagli’s injury earlier this year, at times, our defence became shambolic when hit with pace and directness??)

The majority of our apparent targets are all wide men. Menez, Nani, Sanchez, Pereyra, Cerci, Kolarov, Coentrao, Di Maria, Lulic, Silva. This is clearly not mere co-incidence. Conte has isolated those areas as our greatest need of improvement, not the prima punta position, and I agree. Asamoah and Lichsteiner are brilliant players, yet their crossing is commonly wretched. Asamoah is a natural central midfielder who does a solid job on the wing, whereas the swiss locomotive is a natural fullback whose engine carries him well enough on the wing. By natural talent, neither of them are impressive at dribbling, beating a man or crossing with accuracy.

As seems likely, if we are to move to a 4-3-3, I see Immobile as useful solely for the point role, the prima punta role. Which places him up against llorente and Tevez. For me, he loses out to both when all are fit and match sharp. On experience and proven talent at the top level.

Also worth considering is our interest in Hummels and Cerci. Two players who meet our needs more readily than Immobile – has up until now – suggested he could.

I am well aware that Ciro is maturing, his game is developing, but we are in a position as a club where the top scorer in serie a is not our prime objective. Winning the league has become a habit. It is Europe which Conte must now conquer. Were the price of Immobile much cheaper I would be thinking differently. Yet as things stand, I would much prefer to see Berardi arrive as well as 2-3 of the wide men we have been chasing. At least the volatile Sassuolo genius can operate in other positions. Yet at the same time, since he plays for a team who at least half the league expects to beat when they face them, he is afforded even more space and time than Immobile at Torino. As mentioned, the advantage of Berardi is that he meets more of our needs.

For me, the focus is the attacking flanks. Also, if we are to revert to a flat back four, we are fine and dandy on the right, where I would expect to see Lichsteiner flourish in a natural fullback role. Caceres can back him up competently, in fact I see Martin as safer in the fullback role than in the middle at the back. As he can also back up whoever our LB turns out to be. I hope its Lulic. We need to sign a natural LB (where Caceres is solid for his country). Which would add Asamoah to the CM options. Leaving Pogba, Vidal and Pirlo backed up by Marchisio and Asamoah. Baselli is an interesting player, yet still needs to cut his teeth elsewhere before been seriously considered for our senior squad. A co-ownership seems sensible, with another season at least at a top flight club other than Juve. Perhaps our good friends at Udinese would provide fertile ground…

Llorente will be better next season after a full term on the field and in the thick of the action, as well as acclimatizing to italian football and Conte’s style.

In conclusion, I see more pressing issues elsewhere on the field than where Ciro seems presently at his best. He could well prove brilliant as our point man in a 4-3-3, but we have invested heavily in Llorente and Tevez, who both have more experience at a higher level and I have great faith in them. I see no pressing need to focus on bringing Ciro into the fold.