3 Areas for Paulo Dybala to Improve on to Become a Juventus Great
With Juventus having clinched a fifth consecutive Serie A title, the thoughts of many in Turin have already turned to the future, wondering just how far the current side could go if it remains intact for the 2016/17 campaign.
Indeed, in a recent interview with Mediaset Premium, coach Massimiliano Allegri stated his belief that the Bianconeri could go on to achieve European success if the club resists offers for his best players.
“We must confirm this squad, because it’s a young group and we want to do well in the Champions League,” the Juve boss said (h/t Football Italia). “Our exit this time was rather hard to swallow. We made an impressive comeback in Serie A to win after that bad start, but we can still do even better.”
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No player has arguably done more to fuel the Old Lady's title push than Paulo Dybala, the striker weighing in with 20 goals and eight assists since joining the club during the 2015 summer transfer window.
According to their official website, Juventus paid Palermo €32 million for the Argentina native—a further €8 million could be paid if the player meets certain targets—and he has undoubtedly begun to repay that sum, with his new coach praising him in that aforementioned Mediaset interview.
“Dybala is a fine player and very intelligent," Allegri continued. “He enjoys himself playing in almost a trequartista role, connecting the forwards to the midfield. He has very clear ideas on what he wants to do.”
Such has been his impact during this impressive debut season in Turin that it is difficult to identify areas where the 22-year-old could improve, but his ability with his weaker foot in undoubtedly chief among them.
While Dybala has struck 15 league goals with his favoured left boot, according to Squawka statistics, his right has bagged just one—a close-range effort from a Sami Khedira cross against Lazio in April.
He has also struggled in the air and is yet to score with a header, having won just 0.1 aerial duels per game, according to WhoScored.com. That weakness is reinforced in the Squawka graphic above, highlighting that the forward has won just four of the 25 such battles he has contested in Serie A this term.
The same image also points to another aspect of the game in which Dybala could improve, showing he has won just 13 tackles in his 32 Serie A appearances for Juventus to date. Numbers from WhoScored.com support that notion, indicating the Argentina international has averaged just 0.5 tackles, 0.4 interceptions and no clearances per game.
As can be seen in the above table, that means he ranks last among Juve’s attacking players in two of three defensive categories. This is the one area where Dybala has yet to match the impact made by compatriot Carlos Tevez since replacing him at Juventus.
Of course, the younger man was brought to Turin for his attacking prowess, but looking to match the effort and tenacity of the former Manchester United man would be a major step toward realising his ambition of helping the Old Lady to even more honours.
“Playing for a great club like Juventus represents an important step for me,” Dybala told reporters at his first press conference as a Bianconeri player last July. “I hope to develop both as a player and as a person and to become a key member of the team. This is the perfect club to start winning things in my career.”
Now well on his way to doing just that, if he improves these three minor flaws in his play, Dybala could certainly become a genuine Juventus great in the years to come.
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