Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Just to finish off on Juventus, we have to talk about Dusan Vlawovic and we spoke about him a few weeks ago about how bad he's been. Should Juventus sell Dusan Vlawovic or does he just need to escape Allegri? I think that is the that is a big question because he was dreadful. Escape Allegri!
Speaker: Yeah. I love the framing and escape allegory. It's like some 1980s adventure movie like Indiana Jones and like do some of it and the escape from the allegory. Yeah, I mean, it's an escape from allegory, allegory across, across, across, allegory to us. Allegrothas. Allegrothas. Oh, my God. I mean, listen, this is this was.
Speaker: Love the drama! Well, one way or another, it was a dreadful performance against Lazio. I mean, the way that he failed to control the ball just seconds before that Lazio counterattacked the second goal, I think that just sunned up.
Speaker: Summed up Blauwitsch's career at Juventus. But if we look at his form, he's now gone eight games without a goal in Serie A. No assists in that time. And then I went a little bit further. And in his last 17 games for Juventus in Serie A, he's only scored in three of those games.
Speaker: I mean, it's Nimmer. I mean, it's abysmal. I mean, what is he offering? What is he offering? I think absolutely nothing. I think I keep saying that. I think it's it's also because of that he's he looks confused. He doesn't seem to understand what is required from him to play the kind of football or just to just just to play for you. He doesn't understand because, you know, he he always he's a fantastic finisher.
Speaker: But in the box, but if you want to be a world -class number nine playing for a big team, you have to be able to play with few touches in a game and also per game and also with your back against the goal. And Laowis just doesn't do that. And I'm really, he doesn't know how to do that. And of course, I think there are some, you know, there's an aspect of Allegri 2, I think, absolutely, when you coach a player for one and a half or now one year and two, three months.
Speaker: There is a big responsibility on the coach, but I think this is more, this is, I'm starting to, I look at, to do some large attitude and body language on the pitch and I'm starting to ask, does he even want to be at Juventus? That's the question I'm asking.
Speaker: No, he's broke. He looks totally bereft of confidence and I think absolutely he's got to be asking that question. Did he make a mistake joining the Juventus because Arsenal wanted him and he was very clear. He wants to join the Juventus and rejected them. The question is, why is he struggling? Is it
Speaker: down to Allegri, more of a reason down to Allegri, or is it a bit of both? You can't absolve Laovich of some blame. All of them, both of them. We've spoken about this before, so I won't go into too much of it. Allegri playing counter -attack football in a 3 -5 -1 -1 system, when you only have one other offensive player on the pitch, Di Maria, in this case, for the Lazio game.
Speaker: generally. He often has three defenders on one, marking him because so many teams in Italy play a three -man defence, so he's often three against one. I picked out this stat. This is unbelievable. Nine shots on target from the penalty box this season from open play. Nine shots. Can you believe that?
Speaker: 31 games in Serie A, nine shots on target from inside the penalty box from open play. How is that even possible? I don't know. I was actually going to DM you when I saw that on the script that today's show that is, are you sure that's correct? I know. I know. It just seems, it seems impossible. He come from a stats provider. So, no, I believe you. I'm not saying I didn't manually, I didn't manually add them up.
Speaker: No, I know you didn't. I was just wondering. It doesn't seem possible. It doesn't seem possible. That's the point. It feels completely like, what? That's my reaction to that. I think Allegri definitely has to be number one to blame because of the fact that we saw what he did at Fiorentina. He broke a 60 -year record. You can't go from that to this. Also, you look at his scoring record for Serbia,
Speaker: it's actually pretty good. He scored, even during the international break recently, he scored three goals, didn't he, in two games? I wonder if... if Laovich is a striker who simply just isn't good enough to play in a team that plays like this. He needs to play in a team that is like Fiorentina, or Arsenal even, that is on the front foot. That's more offensive, yeah. That's what I'm thinking, that he just can't play
Speaker: that in one of those. I think I've always said, though, that, you know, with young attackers, I feel like feel like when they're still developing, you know, playing in an offensive brand of football is so much, so much more help for the development. And it's the same, same problem I had with Shkamaka joining David Moyes at West Ham.
Speaker: Scottish allegory, as I call it, because they play such defensive, such dour counter -attacking football that how can you develop as a youngster? No, I'm sorry. I'm not letting you do that. I'm not letting you slander Allegry's name like that. I'm sorry.
Speaker: I saw some people though, I saw some people jokes aside, or maybe this is a joke. Yes, it is a joke. I've seen some people compare him to a Maui saying he's the newer Maui, you know, the Brazilian Italian that won the Juventus from Palermo, who after a brilliant season at Palermo in 2008. And he was also seen as a kind of this monster of a striker, big six foot two, six foot three, bullying players, you know, great in the air. And then he ended up being very technically limited and a total flop at Juventus.
Speaker: There are questions also about Wlawic's technique, his first touch is often very heavy. I've seen some people refer to him as a petania with better technique.
Speaker: Oh my god. Which I think is a little bit unfair. But look, I do think, I wonder if he's not, I don't think he's the kind of guy, I think he needs to play in an attacking team so that he's not the only focal point. I wonder if he's a little bit, you know, if someone like Ailing Horland will score no matter where he plays, and he has.
Speaker: But Vlauvic isn't that guy. He needs to have players and a system that caters to him to get the most out of him. Otherwise, he turns. Should Juventus sell him? That's the big question. Yes, I think so. I think he's a young player. You can cash in on him, bring in someone because Allegri isn't leaving. This is how Juventus want to play. And I think they should continue this identity and build from basically from ground zero and upwards. And I wonder if Vlauvic
Speaker: Is it worth it? Should Juventus drop him now for the end of the season? Big games coming up for Juventus now. They're seasons on the line. Same with the question we asked with Rafaleo, forget about the summer. I mean, they're getting nothing out of him now.
Speaker: I don't know man, I really don't know but I do think it's a completely bizarre situation because I still think there's a player there. There has to be a player, I'm sorry you don't break a new year record without him. No, you can have a wonder season in that or a wonder year but that's fine but no, I think there's a player there. I just don't think he's that striker today. Maybe he could be one day but I don't think he is that striker today that can play. He needs to play in an attacking minder team.
Speaker: with players around him who can create space and beat their man and do stuff like that. And at Juve, they play low and he doesn't seem to understand how he's supposed to interpret that role. To be honest, I find him struggling in all facets, whether they're pinning the team back and Crosses are coming to us. I don't see him very good from Crosses either.
Speaker: whether they're playing against deep defences or on the counter attack. I think he's struggling in every aspect.
