Blog: Juve left-back blues

Juventus still have a left-back problem and Dave Taylor can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel




With Reto Zeigler’s departure earlier this month, Juventus no longer appear to have a credible alternative for the left-back role. Then when Paolo de Ceglie was suspended for the Siena game, this glaring deficiency hit home like a Materazzi headbutt. This season is a make or break campaign for Juve and the lack of decent back-up is nothing short of disastrous, especially if they have to rely on Fabio Grosso as a reserve. Yet the situation is nothing new.

Ever since Claudio Ranieri became Coach in 2007, there has been little consistency in the club’s left back department. First it was Giorgio Chiellini, then Cristian Molinaro took over. The following season Primavera star De Ceglie became his reserve before displacing him. However, just as he showed promise, the youngster picked up an injury.

Ciro Ferrara took over in 2009 and brought in Grosso, but in due course he turned out to be even shoddier than Molinaro. After Alberto Zaccheroni replaced Ferrara, Grosso was dropped with De Ceglie back in the role. But it never lasted, as Grosso eventually took over again. Confusing? You bet.

When Gigi Del Neri was appointed, he returned to De Ceglie, who started to show attacking capabilities and a tactical intelligence not previously seen. Yet despite his progression he missed most of last season with another injury. This campaign his future depends on how much faith new Coach Antonio Conte puts in him. However, with the club being linked with several top full-backs already, it appears this faith is lacking.

Yet there is another alternative, 18-year-old Matteo Liviero. Del Neri used the teenager several times last year, giving him his first team debut in the Europa League 0-0 draw with Red Bull Salzburg, where he performed with great maturity. Last year he was an integral part of the Primavera team and has been called up for Italy’s U-17, U-18 and Alberigo Evani’s U-19 squad. But when the chips are down he has no real experience and, sadly for Juve fans, the chips will always be down with Grosso, while the injury prone and inconsistent De Ceglie is not the answer either.

The need for a top class terzino and a competent reserve is fundamental in any team looking to make headway in Serie A. So it remains a mystery why Ziegler was pushed out. Admittedly he was not the long term answer, but he has enough Serie A experience to be at least worthwhile cover material.

Conte prefers to have his wingers pressing up field, flooding into the opposition area as much as possible. This system sees a lot of responsibility fall on the full-backs and under current circumstances, at least on the left flank, there appears to be no-one strong enough to do the job.