UEFA Euro 2016 came to a dramatic end on Sunday, with Portugal clinching a late 1-0 victory over host nation France despite captain and key man Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the game before half-time due to injury.
That surprising triumph drew the summer tournament to an end, with the focus now shifting back to domestic football. Juventus are among many clubs to have already started their pre-season training camp, last week seeing a large group of players report for duty at their Vinovo headquarters.
“Enthusiasm is always important,” coach Massimiliano Allegri told Juve‘s in-house channel JTV—per the club’s official website—before going on to discuss the objectives for the 2016/17 campaign.
Allegri said:
Winning the sixth Scudetto is our primary objective this season, as well as having a good Champions League campaign. And when I say a good Champions League campaign, I mean our objective needs to be to go as far as possible and win it. That said, we need to take it steady, work every day and lay the foundations for a great season between now and 31 August, when the campaign gets underway.
Allegri also revealed that the players who had been away on international duty would not return until August 1, “apart from [Mario] Mandzukic, Dani Alves and [Stephan] Lichtsteiner, who will be here from 26 July.”
That early start could prove hugely important to the first of that trio, with the Croatia international seemingly set for an even more prominent role following Alvaro Morata‘s return to Real Madrid.
As discussed in this previous post, the exit of the 23-year-old Spanish star leaves a major void in the Juventus attack, with the club now only having three recognised strikers available for first-team selection.
With Paulo Dybala recording a staggering 22 goals and nine assists in his debut campaign for the Old Lady, it is almost certainly a question of who starts alongside him up front. That role became Mandzukic‘s with increasing regularity last term, something he must ensure continues when action resumes next month.
When he joined Juventus in July 2015, the striker told Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia) that he chose the Bianconeri “above all because Allegri really wanted me,” before discussing his relationship with the coach in further detail.
“After a little time we started to understand each other better and better, and now we understand each other perfectly,” Mandzukic continued. “He’s a great guy, and that’s an important quality for me. I like to talk with him, and we joke a lot. He’s a great coach too, he knows so much about football. We have a super relationship.”
Watching him play for any period of time makes it easy to understand why Allegri has such an appreciation for the 30-year-old, his play a study in how to harass defenders and score important goals with equal aplomb.
But with Juventus having paid a fee of €19 million, according to the club’s official website, Mandzukic struggled to repay that investment with his performances on the pitch. He broke the deadlock in the club’s 2-0 Supercoppa Italiana triumph over Lazio in late August, before a fine goal against Manchester City in the Champions League showed a great understanding with Paul Pogba.
That game in September was won 2-1 by the Bianconeri, with the Croatian’s goal helping his new side clinch three vital points. By the time Serie A took its traditional winter break, he had already scored six league goals while also netting in the return clash with City at Juventus Stadium.
Yet that deadly touch in the opposition box would desert him after Christmas, Mandzukic failing to hit the target until an early April win over Empoli. That was quickly followed by strikes in key clashes with AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina to maintain their successful bid to retain the title.
In the latter of those three clashes, the striker was singled out for praise by Allegri, the coach telling Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia) just how important the man in the Juve No. 17 shirt was to his side’s success.
He said:
People maybe don’t realise, quite a few in fact, but Mandzukic is a very technically-gifted player. He rarely gets a pass wrong and gave a fantastic assist to Paul Pogba, as he did to Sami Khedira the other day.
Paulo Dybala catches the eye because he’s quick and agile, but watch Mandzukic timing his runs and choosing his passes.
With the Scudetto secured, however, the striker would again endure a goalless streak, playing out the rest of the season without scoring, and he also failed to make much of an impression at Euro 2016.
Making three appearances for Croatia for a total of 268 minutes, he was unable to help the much-liked side progress beyond the last 16, eliminated 1-0 by winners Portugal at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens.
According to statistics provided by WhoScored.com, he averaged 2.7 shots per game yet failed to score a single goal. As can be seen in the Squawka graphic above, Mandzukic missed the target with three of his total of eight shots, seeing two of them blocked and three saved by opposition goalkeepers.
That sustained period of poor shooting form is something he must quickly bring to a close, with Juventus likely to need him firing immediately next term. Yet to replace Morata, the club will be counting on Mandzukic’s blossoming partnership with Dybala, who was another to sing the praises of his team-mate last season.
“We’re getting to understand each other better with every match and I’m starting to learn where he wants the ball and when,” Dybala told Sky Italia after Mandzukic set up his goal in a 2-0 win over Lazio in December (h/t the club’s official website).
“Mario’s physical attributes are crucial,” the young Argentina international continued. “He occupies defenders and drags them out of position for me to attack the spaces that are left behind.”
They clearly worked well together, but when he returns to training at the end of the month, Mandzukic will need to prove he still belongs in the starting XI. Juventus are widely expected to add another striker before the start of the season, with no shortage of potential targets being discussed by the media in Italy.
Calciomercato has linked them with a shock move for Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi, while the agent of Jackson Martinez told the same source that Juve “would be a fantastic option” (h/t Football Italia) as his client looks to leave China.
His 13 goals and five assists were a strong start to life in Turin and may help stave off competition for his place in the team, but there is little doubt that Mandzukic will be Juventus‘ player to watch as their pre-season preparations continue apace.
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