Given some of the other last-16 ties at the 2016 UEFA European Championship, Italy and Spain can consider themselves unfortunate to have been paired against each other. The Azzurri in particular—after topping a difficult group containing Belgium and Sweden—could have reasonably expected a more favourable draw.
Yet they must now take on the winners of the previous two editions of the tournament in a mouth-watering rematch of the 2012 final, although Juventus supporters could be forgiven for another reunion grabbing their attention.
On Tuesday, just a few hours before Croatia’s victory over Spain resulted in the meeting with Italy, Real Madrid‘s official website announced that the club had re-signed Alvaro Morata after a two-year stint in Turin.
The possibility of an exit had always lingered over the 23-year-old, with Juve‘s own website revealing that his boyhood side had the option to do so from the outset. A buyback clause in the deal meant that they were able to pay the Bianconeri “up to a maximum of €30 million” to bring Morata back to his hometown club.
According to numerous reports—including one from Matt Law of the Telegraph—Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain would all like to sign Morata when the transfer window opens, handing Real Madrid a quick profit.
Whether that happens or not, the Liga giants have taken that first step, and less than a week later, he will likely have to line up against four former team-mates. Gigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will all be waiting for him at the Stade de France on Monday.
But it is when that quartet return to domestic action that the ramifications of the aforementioned deal truly take their toll, with the loss of Morata likely to be a major blow for Juventus in 2016/17.
On the surface, his goalscoring record with the Bianconeri was far from prolific, netting just 27 goals in 93 total appearances, including an average-looking return of just 15 Serie A strikes in 63 games.
But those figures—and a final tally of 14 assists over two seasons—fail to capture the impact and importance he had for the Italian giants. Whenever Juventus needed a big goal on the most high-profile occasions, Morata was always there, popping up at the perfect moment to deliver for the Old Lady.
That ability to deliver in important matches began back in January 2015, the Madrid native stepping off the bench with just 13 minutes of a Coppa Italia quarter-final clash with Parma remaining. He bagged the only goal of the game and Juventus went on to win the competition for the first time in 20 years.
The following month, Morata scored another match-winner, this time in their UEFA Champions League last-16 first-leg tie with Borussia Dortmund, netting in the return game for good measure. In the next round, he won a penalty against AS Monaco—subsequently converted by Arturo Vidal—that secured passage to the semi-finals.
Ironically, that would pit them against Real Madrid, but the youngster would remain unflustered, netting in the first leg and refusing to celebrate. At the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg, he would do the same again, the old stadium falling eerily silent before the home fans began to jeer his every touch.
“The situation was difficult for me,” Morata told Sport Mediaset (h/t Football Italia) shortly after the final whistle that day. “I didn’t celebrate, I just did my job, I am a Juve player and didn’t deserve that.”
He had fired the Bianconeri to their first Champions League final in 12 years, and he would net there too. But his goal was not enough to prevent Barcelona emerging triumphant.
Morata‘s incredible streak would continue into 2015/16, pouncing against both Manchester City and Sevilla to equal Alessandro Del Piero‘s of scoring in five consecutive games in Europe’s elite competition.
“Obviously doing what a legend of football like Del Piero has done in the past is a reason of pride for me,” Morata told the official UEFA website at the time. “I’m proud but I don’t want to stop here. I want to keep working hard to help the team winning and to score more goals.”
A goal in the next match—a Serie A clash with Bologna on October 4—would see him do just that, but it was then that adversity struck. Difficulties both on and off the field affected him and his form suffered immeasurably, as he explained in an interview with Marca (h/t Football Italia) on Tuesday:
It was tough this year to go three months without a single goal. It was a very difficult time for me, for a host of different reasons.
I’d parted ways with my girlfriend, my family had a few problems and I had an injury that most people didn‘t know about, a groin inflammation.
Anyone who experienced it knows that it’s among the most bothersome things you can have. It’s incredibly painful and it keeps you from shooting and crossing.
There have been games when I had to inject an anti-inflammatory directly into my pelvis in order to play.
The team was also struggling, but the player failed to help himself and an incident in November against Borussia Monchengladbach proved to be too much for Massimiliano Allegri. The Juve boss was infuriated as match officials forced Morata to change his socks for the standard issue ones.
“I can say that I am very angry about one thing, which is that we spent three minutes with 10 men while someone had to change his socks,” Allegri told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia) after the 1-1 draw.
“There are rules, the strip has to be uniform. We ultimately must learn that this is not a fashion show, we’re here to play football.”
After falling behind Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala in the pecking order, January would see Morata return with four goals in four days, netting twice in a clash with bitter rivals Inter Milan before adding two more against Chievo.
In February, he would come off the bench to transform a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, laying on a vital goal for Stefano Sturaro to help the Bianconeri grab a 2-2 draw before shining again in the return leg.
That encounter at the Allianz Arena showcased exactly what Juventus have now lost, Morata delivering a sensational all-round performance that put his side in a position where eliminating the Bavarian giants became a genuine possibility.
As the FourFourTwo StatsZone graphic above highlights, he took four shots—all of which were on target—completing four of his six take-on attempts and connected with 90 per cent of the passes he made.
Morata also appeared to have a perfectly valid goal ruled out for offside, but he turned provider for Juan Cuadrado, breaking away superbly before picking out the Colombia international with the perfectly weighted pass shown below.
That gave Juventus a 2-0 lead and from there the Madrid native worked tirelessly without the ball, winning one tackle while making two clearances and an interception before being withdrawn in the 71st minute.
The Bianconeri suffered instantly, becoming far too defensive without Morata‘s pace to stretch the Bayern defence. Juve collapsed, losing 4-2 in a desperate display that, in hindsight, encapsulates everything he brought to the team and what it will now miss in his absence.
Deadly in front of goal, Morata takes to the field with a direct approach and the pace to transition from defence to attack before opponents can recover, while also willing and able to deny space when tracking back or pressing.
It is fitting that his last touch came in May’s Coppa Italia final victory over AC Milan, scoring in the last minute of extra time to seal a second consecutive domestic double for the team he no longer represents.
Receiving a fee way below his current market value, replacing Morata will be an extremely difficult task for Juventus, but it is one they must now successfully undertake if the club is to continue to progress.
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