Angelo Ogbonna – now at West Ham – also came in as defensive cover, playing 25 games as back-up to the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini. The club exercised their option to sign him back, and he scored eight times before being loaned out to West Ham and eventually joining Valencia. Coman played 20 times in his debut year as he introduced himself to the world, before being loaned out to Bayern for the next two seasons. Each team in the main tournament plays three or four matches in a variety of grounds across the two continents, earning £1million-plus per game. ‘We were an open team. ‘We didn’t strengthen,’ recalled Sherwood. ’ The agent didn’t know what they were talking about. When he heard they did he didn’t want to go anywhere else. And veteran forward Nicholas Anelka also flopped after returnign to his former club for the season from Shanghai Shenua, not registering a goal and playing twice. Paratici found the spiritual successor to Llorente, a big target man who could hold up play and also fire the club towards a big goal tally, as Mario Mandzukic came in from Atletico Madrid.
Against Barcelona, Juventus was without injured defender Giorgio Chiellini, forward Mario Mandzukic and midfielder Sami Khedira. Another forward came in to assist Tevez as Alvaro Morata arrived from Real Madrid for £18m. Paratici continued his knack of free transfers as goalkeeper Neto came in from Fiorentina, and pulled off another coup by snapping up midfielder Sami Khedira from Real Madrid. But the club will likely forgive his failed transfer dealings as one diamond came in out of the rough bunch – with Paul Pogba signed on a free from Manchester United. That game also saw another new signing start the match in Patrice Evra, who arrived on a free transfer from Manchester United. His striker signings varied in success – Fabio Quagliarella joined for around £15m and scored nine times, while Mirko Vucinic, a £13.5m signing from Roma, struggled initially but went on to prove his worth with 10 goals to contribute towards their title charge. New season, new manager – same success. Tottenham’s hunt for a new manager might be a way off completion, but a deal for a new technical director is on the cards – with former Juventus chief Fabio Paratici said to be on his way to north London.
The Croatian was one of three signings up front – the second was Simone Zaza, juventus jersey ronaldo who the club had signed years earlier in a co-ownership deal before he was sent to Sassuolo. Other signings were forward Sebastian Giovinco, who chipped in with 11 goals, bit-part playing midfielder Mauricio Isla and Kwadwo Asamoah, who proved to be a valuable asset down the left flank. The Argentine remained the focal point in attack, but Morata’s presence was much-needed in the squad as he chipped in with 15 goals – starting alongside ‘Carlitos’ in the 3-1 Champions League final loss to Barcelona. Not all those years of finishing 17th or even seventh, but those standout campaigns, a final or a rare night in Europe. He was unproven at the time, but Juventus would go on to ensure it was one of the best deals in recent years as he quickly became indispensible at Juventus and contributed towards their second Serie A title win – playing 27 games in his first season and going on to make 178 appearances. But the team were sorely lacking a reliable goalscorer to maintain their title charge – with midfielder Vidal becoming their joint-highest goalscorer in the previous season alongside Vucinic.
The current team has a lot going for it. Both current managers played that day, with Gareth Southgate starting for England and Di Biagio featuring off the bench for Italy. Earlier Prince William, who is the current president of the FA, spoke out against the European Super League project, saying it risked ‘damaging the game we love’. The first came free of charge – as he pulled off the signing of Milan icon Andrea Pirlo, who had an immediate impact in helping the club reclaim the league crown, missing just one league game. Paratici has masterminded some stunning free transfers – including for Andrea Pirlo. Should he make the switch to Spurs, he will have a big say on transfers while working with Levy and director of football Steve Hitchen – with the club hoping to kickstart a new era in their hunt for a new manager, and possibly without Harry Kane. From the outset, Paratici’s second year at the club looks like a misfire as far as transfers are concerned. So for now, our concepts are just possibilities for the design but definitely no final leak.