Mario Mandzukic Will Score Goals for Juventus, He Just Needs the Service

As a way to make friends and influence people, scoring a classy last-minute winner in your club’s second pre-season friendly of the summer is a pretty good way to do it.

And that’s exactly what Mario Mandzukic did on Wednesday against Lechia Gdansk in Poland, where his clever control and emphatic finish turned what could have been a mildly embarrassing 1-1 draw for Juve into a 2-1 victory.

Of course pre-season friendly results matter little in the grand scheme of things, but Mandzukic netting so quickly after first donning Juventus colours—another rather fetching pink away kit in this case—will give the Croatian forward a huge amount of confidence. Also, the manner in which he took his strike will have pleased his new supporters.

If, as expected, Fernando Llorente is to leave Juve, then Mandzukic will be viewed as his replacement. The well-travelled former Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid forward is showing that he should prove to be a better fit for Massimiliano Allegri’s men than the Spaniard one year his senior.

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Whilst Llorente largely watched from the sidelines as Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata formed the partnership that thrillingly took Juve to the Champions League final last season, plenty saw his regular omissions as down to a lack of pace and a failure to be constructive with the ball at his feet—plus of course the quality of Morata.

Although certainly weakened by the loss of Tevez this summer, Juve have recruited impressively in forward areas. They brought in Paulo Dybala and Simone Zaza as well as Mandzukic, who will be able to slot into Allegri’s plans a little more impressively than Llorente did, given his proficiency when the ball is on the ground.

Having become used to playing with quick, nimble players such as Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Antoine Griezmann in the past few seasons, Mandzukic has thrived when he has players running off and around him—scoring 22, 26 and 20 goals in all competitions in the last three campaigns.

If he is to be successful in Turin—and all signs point to him being so—then it will be the service from these types of players around him that defines how he is perceived. Keeping Paul Pogba this summer, then, has proven to be crucial.

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The Frenchman—who scored Juve’s other goal in Gdansk—will be required to get forward as often as possible and perhaps play off Mandzukic now that the midfield thrust of Arturo Vidal has gone.

However, if Dybala is viewed as a “Tevez-lite”—and, thanks to his nationality, there will be many who’ll see him that way—then a partnership of the former Palermo man and Morata might prove to be fruitful. However, the pair are just 21 and 22 years old respectively. Over a long season, they’ll need some help.

Zaza will also be around to help shoulder the striking burden, of course, but the guaranteed goals of Mandzukic will be needed throughout the campaign.

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That means that giving the Croatian the service he requires should be uppermost in Allegri’s mind.

Serie A history is littered with stories of players who have struggled to adapt to Italy following successful periods elsewhere—especially goalscorers—but there is no reason to believe that Mandzukic’s will be a name added to that role of dishonour.

He might have to get used to periods on the sidelines on occasion, but his goal threat is a significant addition to Juventus at a time when they are in need of a few of those. There is every reason to believe that his classy effort in Gdansk is the start of a beautiful friendship.