Why Leonardo Bonucci Will Be the Juventus Player to Watch in 2016

Juventus’s resurgence over November and December contained a number of excellent contributions, from Mario Mandzukic’s rich vein of goalscoring form to Gigi Buffon’s evergreen brilliance at the other end of the field.

Paulo Dybala’s importance to the current winning run was discussed at length here, but perhaps the most important figure for the Bianconeri as they head into the new year is none other than defender Leonardo Bonucci.

The former Bari and Genoa man was superb last term, arguably Serie A’s standout player in his position as he performed consistently throughout the campaign. Indeed, just last month the 28-year-old was voted into the Team of the Year by the Italian player’s association, per the Gazzetta World website.

It was an honour he undoubtedly deserved, playing in 34 of Juve’s 38 league games last term and with the side failing to keep a clean sheet in any of the four games he missed. That should come as little surprise as he emerged as a genuine leader over the course of 2014/15, combining with a number of players to keep the back line as solid as possible.

According to statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, Bonucci did so while averaging 1.1 tackles, 1.9 interceptions and 4.8 clearances per game, also winning a career-high 2.2 aerial duels in each of those outings.

Squawka.com

He weighed in with some key goals too, netting in important league matches against AS Roma, Lazio and Milan, while a goal in the Coppa Italia against Fiorentina ultimately secured their passage to the final.

Yet despite relatively similar statistics this time around, he has undoubtedly not matched those same high standards over the first half of the current campaign. The same source shows Bonucci has maintained the same average number of tackles, an increased number of interceptions (2.9) but few clearances (3.6) and headers (1.6).

Marco Vasini/Associated Press

To watch Bonucci so far this term is to see a player with a little less confidence, as he showed in allowing Marco Borriello to open the scoring in Juve’s most recent match. The Carpi striker ran directly at his former team-mate, who subsequently backed up until a shot opened up and once again the Bianconeri conceded a soft goal.

The defender’s mistakes have not been as high-profile or as frequent as those seen from Giorgio Chiellini, nor has he been sent off yet as the latter was against Sassuolo in October. But Juve’s increased fragility—which arguably stemmed from their unsettled and injury-ravaged midfield—has undoubtedly affected Bonucci’s play.

As a result, the Viterbo native has turned into something of a bellwether for the side, and if he rediscovers his best form then it is likely the Bianconeri as a whole will follow suit. That narrow 3-2 win over Carpi also saw him net an own goal, but before that Juve boasted six clean sheets in Bonucci’s previous seven appearances.

Arguably the best of those came against Manchester City, helping the Old Lady to keep Sergio Aguero and Co. at bay in a 1-0 victory at Juventus Stadium. As the graphic in the tweet below highlights, Bonucci made one tackle, one interception, four clearances and completed 43 of his 50 pass attempts (86 percent).

But the man himself is quick to deflect credit to the efforts of the group, as he explained the reasons behind Juve’s improved cohesion in interviews with Sky Italia and Mediaset Premium back in December.

“The credit for the defensive solidity is down to the coach and the whole team that works to protect us,” insisted Bonucci (h/t Football Italia). “This system does give us more confidence and that solidity allows the forwards to express themselves better.”

The same is undoubtedly true for Bonucci, and it seems as he goes, so goes Juve’s form, making him almost certainly the player to watch in 2016.