Why Mario Mandzukic Is the Juventus Player with Most to Prove After Break

The reasons behind Juve’s poor start to the 2015/16 campaign are plentiful, with the Bianconeri already having lost three times in Serie A, the same number of defeats recorded in the whole of last season.

As discussed in this previous post, the defence continues to be foremost among the concerns facing Massimiliano Allegri, but the coach also faces a number of issues further forward. Major questions have been asked over his use of Paulo Dybala, but given he has netted five goals in just 700 minutes of action, those doubts appear misplaced.

Indeed, when looking for a Juventus player with most to prove when club football resumes later this month, Mario Mandzukic would seem to be the perfect candidate. Arriving from Atletico Madrid this past summer, according to the club’s official website the Croatian striker cost €19 million and signed a four-year contract.

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Mandzukic netted against Manchester City in the Champions League and past Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana, but he has yet to prove value for money after scoring just two goals in nine Serie A appearances to date.

Looking largely out of sorts, the 29-year-old struck in encounters with Atalanta and Empoli, but offered very little to the side in clashes against more difficult opponents such as Inter or AS Roma, turning in a particularly woeful display against the latter.

In a 62-minute outing in the Italian capital, Mandzukic touched the ball on just 12 occasions, according to statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com. He completed an abject five of 10 pass attempts and failed to record a single shot on goal.

He fared little better in the recent loss away to Sassuolo, with the same source showing he managed a meagre 18 touches, taking only one shot as the Bianconeri chased the game. That is simply unacceptable for a player of his calibre, and the former Bayern Munich man must bring more in a Juventus shirt.

Even as he played a more prominent role against Empoli, the quality expected of Mandzukic failed to materialise. Despite WhoScored showing he managed a substantially higher number of touches (41), the tweet below highlights just how poor his performance at the Stadio Carlo Castellani was.

He took five shots, with his scuffed effort that resulted in the equalising goal being his only effort on target, lost all but two of the six aerial duels he contested and committed five fouls over the course of the entire game.

Things get little better when looking at his season overall, with the graphic below—courtesy of Squawka.com—showing Mandzukic has hit the target with just 31 percent of his shot attempts in 2015/16.

Squawka.com

That is a marked downturn from previous campaigns, with the same source showing that figure was 51 percent last term with Atleti and 69 percent with Bayern a year earlier. Mandzukic netted 26 then 20 times in those respective seasons, and he will need a dramatic improvement if he is to reach that figure this time round.

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Yet Allegri insists he is demanding more of the Croatian than simply getting on the scoresheet, as he told a press conference last week. “I’m asking a lot of Mario,” the Juve boss said. “He’s already shown what he’s capable of at the start of the season, now he simply needs to get back to doing what he knows best.”

But even seeing Mandzukic as a hardworking player who presses the opposition would appear to fall somewhat short of the mark. According to figures from WhoScored.com, his averages of 0.8 tackles and 0.1 interceptions are way below his previous defensive output, meaning he is contributing far less than his team needs.

When club football resumes, Juventus face difficult matches against Milan and Manchester City, and they will certainly need the real Mario Mandzukic on show at least once if they are to seal two victories.