
Roma's Juan Iturbe: Big-Money Failure or Misused?
Roma's Argentine right-forward Juan Iturbe, 21, has yet to show signs he can overturn his burgeoning status as an expensive flop.
Haveย Roma mishandledย Iturbe, or was his transferย bound to be aย screw-up?
Why Roma Wantedย Iturbe
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Here is whyย Roma were so enamoured withย Iturbe.
Having watched the free-kick swing away fromย Francesco Bardi,ย Iturbe pulled off a knee-slide to celebrate his first Serie A goal forย Hellas Verona in aย win overย Livorno.
Iturbe deserved his look-at-me moment after enduringย disappointment and inactivity atย Porto, a move whichย Tim Vickery at SBS described as "clearly premature."
Veering intoย Bologna's half,ย Iturbe side-steppedย Frederik Sorensen, was a step ahead ofย Panagiotis Kone, and shot from outside the box beforeย Mikael Antonsson attempted a block.
Another goal, another knee-slide forย Iturbe, who netted inย Hellas Verona's 4-1 win overย Bologna.
Early in the year, an "overjoyed"ย Iturbe was putting a positive spin on escaping Europeย by being loaned out toย River Plate.

Eight months later, he was rectifying his dreams of making the grade in Europe, starring atย Hellas Verona.
Taking advantage ofย Juan Vargas jockeying from a distance,ย Iturbe unleashed a snap-shot, which was palmed into the net by Neto inย Hellas Verona's 4-3 defeat toย Fiorentina.
Get close toย Iturbe, he will blitz past you.ย
Give him too much space, he will blast a shot into the back of the net.
Federico Marchetti gazed at teammateย Lorik Cana kicking the ball into the net in frustration, making the net ripple a second time in quick succession.ย
The realisation probably sunk in forย Marchettiโhe had just conceded a long-range dipping free-kick from Iturbe inย Hellas Verona's 4-1 win over Lazio.
Leadingย Hellas Verona starters in fouls per 90 minutes (2.8),ย Iturbe's competence at gaining calls from referees coupled with his free-kick proficiency added another dimension to his game.
Stealing the ball fromย Danilo on the right flank,ย Iturbe surged towardsย Udinese's goal, cut insideย Thomas Heurtaux, wrong-footedย Zeljko Brkic, and rolled the ball into the unguarded net.
Iturbeย stoppedย Udinese from mounting a comeback asย Hellas Verona won 3-1ย and added another brilliant individual goal to his collection.
Bursting forward,ย Iturbe cut insideย David Pizarro, turned outsideย Gonzalo Rodriguez, and hit the ball pastย Neto in a 5-3 defeat toย Fiorentina.
Talk about theย consummateย showman.
Iturbe ended the Serie A campaign with eight goals after aย confident finish in aย 3-3 drawย against Lazio and a deflected free-kick in aย 5-1 defeatย toย Napoli.
Second in Serie A for dribbles per game (3.0), Iturbe freedย up space forย Luca Toni, who scored 20 goals last season.
Resuscitatingย Iturbe's transfer stock,ย Hellas Verona signed him fromย Porto, and sold him to Romaย for a swiftย โฌ7/ยฃ5.3 million profit.
Red Flagsย Roma Overlooked
Isย Iturbe a fun player to watch?
Yes, but his playing style is flawed, which wasย pointed out byย Hellas Verona managerย Andrea Mandorlini.
"Iturbe has incredible quality, but he must learn to play with the team more,"ย Mandorlini said, per Sky (h/t Football Italia). "We missed a couple of great chances due to [his] wrong decision-making."
Scoring eight goals from 72 shots at nine shots per goal,ย Iturbe was a volume-shooter atย Hellas Verona.
Not only wasย Iturbe trigger-happy, he wasย unreliable with a shooting accuracy of 37.5 per cent.
Iturbe is a highlight-reel footballer capable of match-winning moments, but he is generally missing in action.
Rafael, a goalkeeper, averaged more passes per 90 minutes (28.2) thanย Iturbe (24.2) last season.
Having failed atย Porto,ย Iturbe was realistic about the improvements he needed to make upon signing for Roma.
"I am here to learn. I'm still a young player,"ย Iturbe said, perย Omnisport (h/tย SBS). "I think that with [Roma manager] Rudi Garcia I will learn so many things I currently lack."
Iturbe is 0-29 in goals-shots taken and his shooting accuracy of 17.2 per cent exemplifies the struggles he is suffering at Roma.
"Every time I run out onto the pitch I'm determined to score. I've been unlucky, too. I tried absolutely everything against Napoli and Torino," Iturbe said, per ASRoma.it. "At the end of the day, the most important thing is that Roma win, regardless of who scores."
Underย Mandorlini,ย Iturbe was a big fish in a small pond.ย
"The difference between here and Hellasย Verona is that I had more space to get free,"ย Iturbe said, per Sky (h/tย RomaPress.us). "Everybody plays closed at the back against Roma."
Unable to produce on the field,ย Iturbe is just another option at Roma.
Garcia can fieldย Adem Ljajic, who scores (eight goals), andย Alessandro Florenzi, who is team-first and more coachable.ย
To compoundย Iturbe's issues, his body is not holding up.
September 19, 2014, perย Il Messaggero (h/t Football Italia): "Iturbeย picked up a complaint in his groin ... [he is] out for as long as 30 days." ย
February 1, 2015, per ASRoma.it: "Iturbe underwent tests this morning that revealed a distortive trauma to his right knee, with damage to the lateral collateral ligament. Iturbe also suffered a strain to his right ankle and potential ligament damage."
Explaining awayย Iturbe's non-existentย form,ย Garcia focused on the injuries.
"Iturbe is a different story, he spent a long time recovering from injuries," Garcia said, per Football Italia. "If he isn't at 100 per cent, he can't express his qualities in full."
Roma: Upside >ย Productivity
Reality: Productivity > Upsideย
Roma's investment inย Iturbe heavily slanted towards upside and the potential for him to develop into a world-class footballer.
Projecting potential is risky andย unascertained.
Bojan Krkic, Fabio Junior Pereira,ย Hidetoshi Nakata andย Jeremy Menez never metย Roma's expectations.
Iturbe is heading down that path.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.ย



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