The Role of the Returning Alessandro Matri Shows Improvements Made by Juventus

While a deal taking Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea and Inter’s capture of Lukas Podolski and Xherdan Shaqiri dominated the headlines, January was a low-key month for reigning champions Juventus. In truth, the Bianconeri needed to add very little to their squad, once again dominating the domestic scene in Italy as they pursue their fourth straight title.

Questions remain over whether the Turin giants possess the quality to succeed in the Champions League, but those needs are more likely to be addressed in the summer. Indeed, Giuseppe Marotta made the club’s position clear as he told Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia) that “the January window is to repair squads and we do not need repairing.”

After Sebastian Giovinco brought forward his move to Toronto FC, the one gap the director general did need to plug was in attack. Writing on his own website, transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio had constantly linked Juventus with Pablo Osvaldo over the last week, but it was another former Juventus striker who would eventually return.

Alessandro Matri was welcomed back to Turin by the club’s official website, arriving on loan from Genoa. He will remain with Juventus for the rest of the season. The move reunites the striker with Massimiliano Allegri for a third time, the pair having worked together at both Cagliari and Milan, with his spell at the former catching the attention of the Bianconeri back in 2011.

Having grown up in the youth sector of Milan, Matri spent time with Prato, Lumezzane and Rimini before moving to Sardinia. His first two seasons would pass quickly, but he exploded in the third to net 13 goals and followed that up with 11 in the opening 22 games of the 2010-11 campaign.

Juventus would make their move, signing him for a fee of around €18 million, per their official website, and he quickly established himself as their first-choice striker. Netting nine times in just 16 appearances, he would add 10 more goals in the subsequent campaign, helping the club end their six-year title drought.

He was a key figure in that triumph and also netted in the knockout stages of the Champions League, but he would struggle to make an impact in the following campaign. Antonio Conte looked for alternatives in attack, and despite starting only 10 games, only Arturo Vidal and Mirko Vucinic scored more goals than Matri.

The arrivals of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente in the summer of 2013 signalled the end of his time with Juventus, and Milan would spend €11 million to secure his return. He would score just once before Allegri was sacked, which meant it was once again time to move on, his struggles continuing during a loan spell at Fiorentina.

Sent to Genoa this summer and desperately needing to rediscover his best form, the 30-year-old did just that, weighing in with seven goals and five assists. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side began this season at an incredible pace and currently sit in ninth place, though they've climbed as high as third in recent weeks.

Wins over Juventus, Lazio and Milan showed their ability, but now the player’s return to Juventus simply highlights the increase in quality the Bianconeri have enjoyed in his absence. Despite his close relationship with Allegri, Matri is likely to be the fifth-choice striker this time around, with the current squad far superior to the one he played on.

As well as Tevez and Llorente, Alvaro Morata has quickly established himself as a key figure this term, supplanting his compatriot for a regular place in the starting XI. Kingsley Coman has shown flashes of his talent and possesses the raw speed and potential to be increasingly influential as the campaign continues.

Yet as he showed at Cagliari, Genoa and under Luigi Delneri at Juventus, Matri is at his best when playing on the counter-attack. That could prove a vital quality, but he is still likely to be a reserve, backing up the aforementioned names who now form the club’s attacking options.

Fans of the Bianconeri may lament the lack of a higher-profile signing, but Matri's place at the bottom of the club’s pecking order shows how much Juventus have grown.