Giorgio Chiellini Underlining Importance to Juventus with Displays at Euro 2016

Unfancied and unlikely to win, even Italy's comfortable 2-0 victory over a widely respected Belgium in their opening game had done little to convince most observers that they could overcome holders Spain at UEFA Euro 2016.

The squad chosen by coach Antonio Conte was widely criticised before the tournament even began, and losing to the Republic of Ireland in their final Group E fixture only increased the belief that La Furia Roja would progress to the quarter-finals at their expense. 

The clash at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis brought to mind Spain’s emphatic 4-0 triumph in the final four years ago, but this time the Azzurri would take the lead with just 33 minutes on the clock.

Having already caused problems at earlier set pieces, they would do so again as Leonardo Bonucci and Eder stood over a free-kick just outside the opposition penalty area.

It would be the latter who took aim at David De Gea, the Manchester United goalkeeper—who was otherwise superb—only able to parry the shot into the space in front of him and while his team-mates stood still, Emanuele Giaccherini reacted quickest to prod the ball to an unmarked Giorgio Chiellini who tapped home.

Wheeling away to celebrate, he clearly enjoyed his seventh goal for the national team, a tally that surprisingly makes him the second-highest scorer among all 23 Italy players. Only Daniele De Rossi (18) has netted more, but the rugged defender—whose career has been about stopping others rather than getting his name on the scoresheet—would soon return to a far more familiar role.

“We showed on the field our determination, aggression and willingness to work for one another,” Leonardo Bonucci told reporters shortly after the final whistle, per UEFA.com, and nobody would embody that more than Chiellini.

As can be seen in the FourFourTwo StatsZone graphic below, the 31-year-old won one tackle, three interceptions, made three clearances and blocked one shot. Never one to back down, he also won two of the three aerial duels he contested and—knowing a yellow card would cause him to serve a suspension—played all 90-plus minutes without committing a single foul.

Yet he also stepped forward comfortably once possession was won back, connecting with an impressive 38 of his 48 pass attempts (79.2 percent) as the Azzurri refused to just sit back and defend, much to Conte’s delight.

“Xavi gave us the best compliment, as he said Italy reminds him of a mix between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid,” the coach told Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia). “It proves those who play football understand.”

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

What also became clear is that Chiellini still has a major role to play for his national team, with the same holding true at club level, and the player discussed the difference between his two bosses with Sport Mediaset last year.

“The change of coach gave Juventus something more, because in the first two months of the season we wanted to prove that we were still the best,” he said (h/t Football Italia). “We are grateful to Conte and recognise everything he did here, but we also want to prove to everyone and above all to ourselves that we are a great team.”

With the arrival of Miralem Pjanic from AS Roma and Barcelona’s Dani Alves—the latter confirmed by Juve’s official website on Monday—there has been much speculation about how the Bianconeri will do just that in 2016/17.

As discussed in this previous post, the presence of the Bosnia international provides coach Massimiliano Allegri with a wealth of tactical options, his versatility allowing him to take up any number of midfield roles.

If using Pjanic in an advanced role—perhaps in a 4-3-1-2 formation—is to signal a shift away from the three-man back line, last season arguably showed that it could well be Chiellini who sat out in the biggest matches.

WhoScored.com

While both Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci continued to shine, their long-time ally had certainly appeared to fading somewhat. Compiled using statistics from WhoScored.com, the table above shows that the man who joined the Bianconeri from Fiorentina back in 2005 has begun to contribute much less to the cause.

The same source shows that Bonucci made more passes per game (63.6) than any other member of the squad, firmly establishing himself as a crucial part of Juventus’ attacking approach and leaving just one place alongside him in a four-man defence.

As can be seen in the Squawka.com graphic below, Chiellini did not lead that trio in defensive interventions (tackles, interceptions, clearances and blocks) per game, or in percentage of challenges won.

squawka.com

Yet to distil what he brings to the team down to mere statistics is a great disservice to the contribution of a man who arrived in Turin over a decade ago. Since then, he has matured from a clumsy and rather average full-back into a fine central defender, making 401 appearances in all competitions for Juventus.

In that time he has won five Serie A titles, lifted the Coppa Italia twice and helped the side reach the 2015 Champions League final.

Chiellini explained his role to Paolo Bandini of the Guardian in a recent interview:

"

I am the most aggressive one, I go hunting for my opponents high up the field, and I put stock in physical one-on-ones and winning individual duels. Leo is our defensive regista, who helps us to launch attacks and to close down the time and space that the other team gets on the ball. Andrea is our professor. He’s always in the right place at the right moment.

"

That is a succinct analysis of how the trio—known collectively as the “BBC”—work in perfect harmony, and their performances at Euro 2016 may make Allegri reconsider any decision to abandon it moving forward as they again prove to be almost impenetrable.

“The BBC guys are the best defenders in the world and opposition teams don’t want to play against them,” former team-mate Alvaro Morata told Marca (h/t Football Italia) on Saturday. “When those three and Buffon are back there, it is almost impossible to score past them.”

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Their cohesion does not show in any stat sheet or scoreboard, yet it is an intangible attribute that has been at the centre of so much success for both club and country. It is a difficult decision, but even if they remain in a four rather than a three-man back line, Chiellini’s displays in France would make omitting him extremely difficult.

Of course injuries, suspensions and the need to rotate—while also integrating promising youngster Daniele Rugani—will all be taken into consideration, giving Allegri the kind of selection dilemmas all coaches crave.

“The good stuff starts now,” Chiellini told reporters (h/t ESPN FC) shortly after Italy defeated Spain and began to look ahead to a quarter-final meeting with Germany on Saturday. He could well have been talking about his own career.