Juventus

The owners of Juventus have donated €10 million (£9 million) to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in Italy.

A statement on the Juventus website read:

"The Agnelli Family has made a €10 million donation to the Italian Civil Protection Department, as it manages the emergency at national level; and to Specchio dei Tempi /La Stampa (a social assistance organization which operates in the Region of Piedmont), to respond to the local health and social needs in the city of Turin and Piedmont."

Additionally, the Agnellis have assisted in the purchase of 150 ventilators and "their immediate air transport to Italy."

Italy has been the hardest hit of all European countries by the coronavirus outbreak and is second worldwide to only China in terms of cases and deaths. 

According to CNN, as of Tuesday there have been 27,980 cases in the country and 2,158 deaths.

As with the rest of Europe, football has been shutdown in a bid to manage the spread of the virus. Serie A and the Coppa Italia have been postponed indefinitely.

Juve's last match, a 2-0 league victory over title rivals Inter Milan on March 8, was played behind closed doors at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

The victory extended Juve's lead over Inter to nine points, but Lazio remain just one point back in second:

This is the standing after Matchday 26.
#SerieATIM #WeAreCalcio pic.twitter.com/CXXMV1h77I

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) March 9, 2020

The Old Lady are attempting to win a ninth consecutive league title in 2019-20, and they are in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia against AC Milan, the first leg of which ended 1-1 at the San Siro.

Meanwhile, Juve trail 1-0 in their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie against Lyon after the first leg. 

Juventus confirmed on Tuesday Blaise Matuidi has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The Serie A giants released a statement on the club's official website detailing the midfielder's condition. 

Matuidi, who has been in "voluntary home isolation" since Wednesday, March 11, is said to be well and "asymptomatic."

The Frenchman is the second Juve player to test positive for the virus since the outbreak began. Centre-back Daniele Rugani tested positive for COVID-19, was isolated and later revealed on Twitter (h/t BBC Sport) he was feeling "fine."

Like Rugani, Matuidi is following the procedures put in place to help halt the spread of the disease. COVID-19 is a strain of coronavirus that can attack the lungs and airways of those infected.

Italy has been dealing with the outbreak since it became prevalent in the Lombardy region in the north of the country. Part of the response has involved suspending football in the Italian top flight, with all matches in Serie A on hold until at least April 3.

Juve were topping the table when play was brought to a halt, a mere point ahead of Lazio. Matuidi has played his part, but the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner with France has only started 13 league games, offering two assists in the process.

Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri has often opted for more technically proficient players in the engine room. Former Arsenal playmaker Aaron Ramsey has joined classy schemer Miralem Pjanic and burgeoning talent Rodrigo Bentancur.

Matuidi remains an important player, though. The versatile, box-to-box powerhouse has helped the Bianconeri win the last two titles since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Serie A has been called off as part of the nationwide shutdown of sports and mass gatherings, while Italy responds to the pandemic. More than 184,000 people have been diagnosed globally, across 155 countries, including over 27,000 in Italy, according to the World Health Organization.

Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has said he has not had coronavirus symptoms despite having tested positive for the virus.

The Italian champions announced that Rugani had been diganosed with coronavirus on March 11 and consequently stated that staff and players would self-isolate at home.

Rugani offered an update on his condition in an interview with the club's television channel (h/t Football Italia):

"I'm fine, I've been pretty good. I haven't had the symptoms you read about in the news. I was lucky despite it being a good hit, because I was the first in our environment to get it. I hope it will serve to raise awareness."

Rugani added, “I’m practically finished all of Netflix! I recommend ‘The Invisible Guest’, it’s a thriller that doesn’t last long and it isn’t that serious. I’ll also accept other recommendations from you!”

Rugani was the first Serie A player to receive a positive test, with the announcement made just three days after Juventus beat Inter Milan 2-0 in a top-of-the-table clash.

Both squads and the match officials involved in the game are in self-isolation, per Football Italia.

Juventus team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo sent a message of support to Rugani as part of a post on Twitter:

"I would like to send my thoughts to everyone who has lost someone close to them, my solidarity to those who are fighting the virus, like my team-mate Daniele Rugani, and my continued support to the amazing health professionals putting their own lives at risk to save others."

The coronavirus outbreak led to the suspension of Serie A until at least April 3, while the outstanding UEFA Champions League last-16 ties have also been postponed. European football's governing body will meet on Tuesday to discuss the next step.

Damiano Tommasi, the president of the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC), does not expect top-flight football in Italy to resume at the start of April:

🗣️ Italian Footballers' Association president Damiano Tommasi:

"It's clearly impossible to start playing at the start of April.

"If all goes well, we can resume in May or June. People think we're only ensuring the safety of players, but there's a whole world behind the team." pic.twitter.com/G7DQqxhA4r

— GOAL (@goal) March 16, 2020

A number of other Serie A teams have also been affected by the coronavirus.

Fiorentina recently announced that Dusan Vlahovic, Patrick Cutrone and German Pezzella had tested positive along with physiotherapist Stefano Dainelli.

Five Sampdoria players and club doctor Amedeo Baldari have also been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Italy is the second-most affected coronavirus country in the world after China and has reported more than 24,000 cases and in excess of 1,800 deaths, per CNN.

Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has given his take on Paulo Dybala's best position in the team. 

The Italian, who wore the No. 10 shirt in Turin and made 706 appearances for the Bianconeri, believes the Argentinian is best-suited to a similar role to the one he played once upon a time.

He told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Goal's Chris Burton):

"I think playing just off the centre-forward is the best position for Dybala, because he can assist, dribble and score goals.

"He has to be near to the goal, but I don't quite see him as a centre-forward, even if he can open up spaces for team-mates. I believe he's perfect uniting the midfield with the attack."

The 26-year-old signed for Juve from Palermo in 2015. His considerable potential has long been clear, although he perhaps hasn't kicked on quite as some might have hoped at Juventus.

He contributed 26 goals and seven assists in all competitions in the 2017-18 campaign, but last season he struggled to replicate that form following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. In total, he returned just 10 goals and two assists last season.

His form has picked up again significantly under Maurizio Sarri this term, however.

The forward has made 34 appearances, starting 23 of them and often sharing his place up front with Gonzalo Higuain.

He has scored 13 goals, most recently a superb finish after he came off the bench to help Juve record a 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Derby d'Italia on March 8:

🙌 An OUTRAGEOUS goal from Paulo Dybala!

😍 Incredible skill from the Argentine, and what a finish with the outside of his foot pic.twitter.com/NaMHLlIUy5

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) March 8, 2020

It was a fine performance from Dybala, despite him only coming on for the final third of the contest:

Paulo Dybala’s game by numbers vs. Inter Milan (37 minutes):

97% pass accuracy
89% final third passes
2/3 dribbles completed
1 chance created
1 shot
1 goal

Sensational finish from La Joya.💎🙌 pic.twitter.com/xSXRlkXO02

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 8, 2020

He also has 12 assists to his name, meaning that one third of all the assists he has provided at Juve have come this season.

Dybala showcased his playmaking qualities in the Bianconeri's 1-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Lyon on February 26:

Paulo Dybala’s game by numbers vs. Lyon:

Most final third passes (24)
Most dribbles completed (6)
Most chances created (4)

Juve’s best player on a frustrating night. 😤 pic.twitter.com/wl9jX0pwDl

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 26, 2020

As his numbers this season demonstrate, he's well-suited to a supporting role as it allows him to get on the scoresheet himself and create goals for others.

Higuain is 32, while Cristiano Ronaldo turned 35 in February, so it's unlikely either has a particularly long-term future at the club beyond this season.

Dybala should be at or approaching the peak of his powers, though, so he's the one the club should be looking to build the team around in the coming years.

Cristiano Ronaldo holds a refined reputation for treating his body like a temple, but Wayne Rooney recalled the forward using McDonald's Big Macs for weight gain while at Manchester United.

The two United legends spent five years as team-mates at Old Trafford; Rooney arrived at the club in 2004, one year after Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid for what was at the time a world-record £80 million in 2009.

Ronaldo, 35, boasts one of the most famous physiques in sports, but Rooney told The Times' Jonathan Northcroft (h/t MailOnline's Kieran Lynch) there was a time when he used a less stringent approach:

"With Cristiano, when I first got to United we used to go to games and train together. I remember the night before a game stopping off at McDonald's because he wanted a Big Mac. 

"He was trying to put weight on because he was so thin. I was driving the car, having to go through the drive-through to get him a Big Mac."

Rooney and Ronaldo were each part of the United team that won a UEFA Champions League and Premier League double under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008.

Both players feature as some of the youngest to have scored 40 Premier League goals for United, per Sky Sports Statto:

📅Youngest players to reach 40 PL goals for @ManUtd:
W. Rooney – 21 years, 175 days
M. RASHFORD – 22 years, 72 days
C. Ronaldo – 22 years, 279 days
R. Giggs – 24 years, 16 days
A. Martial – 24 years, 21 days pic.twitter.com/QaCpZeB7Xp

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) January 11, 2020

Rooney has four sons and was in awe as to how his former team-mate—who also has four children—managed to maintain the regime he's come to adopt: "With four kids I don't know how he fits that in. You've got Ronaldo, who looks a million dollars, whereas I've never had the best body, but I can play 90 minutes, I can train every day. I have no worries physically. When I do, I'll stop."

Ronaldo's dedicated approach to maintaining his body and well-being is part of the reason he's scored at least 25 goals in each of his two seasons since joining Juventus in July 2018.

The Portugal captain has scored 53 goals in 75 appearances for the Bianconeri, and Rooney told CNN at the time of his move from Real Madrid that he would be a success at Juve:

Juventus last won the UEFA Champions League in 1996.

However the wait to win Europe's most prestigious club competition in football could be about to end, according to Wayne Rooney. He thinks Cristiano Ronaldo could make the difference. https://t.co/UmVMTGKjGA via @cnnsport pic.twitter.com/WhL5ZAup6Q

— CNN International (@cnni) August 23, 2018

Ronaldo's current diet methods are even influencing the next generation of superstars, such as Borussia Dortmund ace Erling Haaland, per Goal:

Could have played for England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Once wanted by Juventus 💰
Copying Ronaldo's diet 🍗

10 things you didn't know about Borussia Dortmund wonder kid Erling Haaland 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/uAYwvE54Vc

— GOAL (@goal) February 19, 2020

Rooney, 34, joined Derby County in January 2020 and could keep a playing role at Pride Park until the summer of 2022, when Ronaldo's current contract with Juventus is also scheduled to expire.

It's comforting to know a Big Mac on rare occasions is permitted for even a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, though it's fair to assume his weight-gain practices have since been updated.

In an interview with Marca's Pablo Polo and Sergio Fernandez in July 2019, Ronaldo indicated he's happy to play until the age of 40 provided his body allows for it.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has discussed the coronavirus pandemic on social media and expressed his support for team-mate Daniel Rugani while undergoing a period of isolation:

For information: https://t.co/rbDpMTcs6s pic.twitter.com/jWzDZX0GJK

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) March 13, 2020

The Italian champions have confirmed that all employees are "observing a period of voluntary home isolation" after Rugani tested positive for COVID-19.

Ronaldo is in quarantine in Madeira after flying back to Portugal to visit his mother, who had been in hospital after suffering a stroke, per Eurosport.

Rugani's positive test came just three days after Juventus' 2-0 Serie A win over Inter Milan, which was played behind closed doors because of the spread of the virus in Italy.

The defender was pictured celebrating with the squad after the game:

Inter will also suspend training and go into isolation due to Daniele Rugani testing positive for Covid-19. The defender was on the bench in the big match between Juve and Inter last Sunday. He’s the player circled on the right. pic.twitter.com/oJOrlnZsf1

— Mina Rzouki (@Minarzouki) March 11, 2020

The centre-back took to Twitter after his diagnosis to offer reassurance to supporters (h/t BBC Sport).

"You've read the news, so I want to reassure everyone who's worried about me, I'm fine. I urge everyone to respect the rules, because this virus makes no distinction! Let's do it for ourselves, for our loved ones and for those around us."

Miguel Albuquerque, the president of Madeira's regional government, has said there is "no possibility" of Ronaldo having been infected with the coronavirus, per Alvise Cagnazzo at MailOnline.

Meanwhile, Juventus have denied speculation that Paolo Dybala has tested positive, according to ANSA (h/t Football Italia). Dybala also wrote on Twitter (h/t Football Italia) that he is "fine" and in "voluntary isolation."

Italy has been severely affected by the coronavirus, which has seen Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte introduce emergency measures throughout the country.

All sporting activity in Italy, including Serie A and B, has been called off until at least April 3.

UEFA have also confirmed Juventus' UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg against Lyon has been postponed. A meeting is due to take place on Tuesday to discuss domestic and European competitions.

Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has said he's "fine" after testing positive for the coronavirus, encouraging the public to "respect the rules" in staving off the respiratory illness.

The Bianconeri released a statement on Wednesday via their official website confirming Rugani had been diagnosed with COVID-19, though it specified the player was "currently asymptomatic."

Rugani, 25, wrote on Twitter (h/t Omnisport, via Yahoo): "You will have read the news and that's why I want to reassure all those who are worrying about me, I'm fine. I urge everyone to respect the rules, because this virus makes no distinctions! Let's do it for ourselves, for our loved ones and for those around us #thankyou."

CNN reported United States President Donald Trump has imposed a 30-day travel ban, beginning Friday, from 26 European countries—including Italy, the worst-affected area on the continent so far.

Italy's Civil Protection Agency said the total number of recorded cases in the country had increased to 12,462 as of Wednesday evening. The increase of 2,313 cases was "the biggest recorded jump since the outbreak began," though that didn't include full data from Lombardy, described as "the worst-hit region" by CNN.

Rugani has made seven appearances in all competitions this season but has been an unused substitute on 28 occasions, including Sunday's 2-0 win over rivals Inter Milan in a behind-closed-doors match:

Daniele Rugani has tested positive for corona virus. Quick recovery to him.

Second photo was taken on Sunday just after Juventus beat Inter Milan 2-0. Entire staff, management and players of both teams could be infected as well. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/zEAgT6g8A5

— Usher Komugisha (@UsherKomugisha) March 11, 2020

The prime minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, confirmed on Monday that Serie A, along with all other sporting competitions, would be suspended until at least April 3, per Football Italia.

All shops in Italy except pharmacies and food stores have closed in an effort to limit the spread of the illness.

Fixtures in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League have also been played behind closed doors or postponed already.

AS Roma announced that their Europa League round-of-16 first leg away to Sevilla would not take place as planned on Thursday after their plane was refused permission to land in Spain:

🔴Breaking news: #ASRoma will not travel to Spain for the @EuropaLeague match against @SevillaFC_ENG after the plane from Italy was not authorised to land in Spain. More details from UEFA soon. pic.twitter.com/vnVmJLkeRC

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) March 11, 2020

Rory Smith of the New York Times expressed doubt as to whether this season's European tournaments would conclude:

Juventus and now Inter go into isolation after Daniele Rugani tests positive for Covid-19. This isn't an important element of a public health emergency but genuinely hard to see how either the CL or the EL get completed at this point.

— Rory Smith (@RorySmith) March 11, 2020

The World Health Organisation has said more than 800 people in Italy have died as a result of COVID-19 as of Wednesday.

The WHO (h/t BBC News) also classified the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic on Wednesday.

Juventus announced Wednesday that centre-back Daniele Rugani tested positive for the coronavirus, though he is currently showing no symptoms.  

Per that press release, Juventus is "currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him."

Rugani, 25, has appeared in just seven games for Juventus this season after making 20 appearances a year ago. He hasn't registered any goals or assists in the 2019-20 campaign. 

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted European football, and sports around the globe, in a major way. Serie A has been playing its matches in empty arenas, with supporters banned from the stadiums because of the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. 

In England, Arsenal and Manchester City postponed their scheduled game for Wednesday as a precautionary measure after several Gunners came into contact with Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who was diagnosed with the illness. 

Danish club Brondby quarantined 13 players and staff members after Denmark international Thomas Kahlenberg was diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Timo Hubers of Hannover 96, a club in the second division of German football, also tested positive for the illness. 

The coronavirus was classified as a global pandemic on Wednesday and has infected over 115,800 people worldwide, leading to over 4,200 deaths. 

Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus move back to the top of Serie A after a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Derby d'Italia on Sunday.

Aaron Ramsey scored the opener then assisted Paulo Dybala for the Bianconeri's second at the Allianz Stadium to put Maurizio Sarri's team a point above Lazio. Meanwhile, Inter stay third, with the Nerazzurri now nine points adrift of Juve, although Antonio Conte's men have played a game less than the leaders.

Juve made the brighter start in a stadium left empty of fans amid the Italian authorities' ongoing response to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The game's first chance went the way of Matthijs de Ligt, whose header prompted a fine save from Samir Handanovic. It was the first of three stops he would make, with the Inter goalkeeper also denying Ronaldo and Blaise Matuidi.

Samir Handanovic is gargantuan.

For me, one of the very best keepers in Europe and has been for some time now.

— Matt Santangelo (@Matt_Santangelo) March 8, 2020

Inter were content to strike on the counter, a ploy that almost paid dividends when Lautaro Martinez teed up Marcelo Brozovic with a clever touch. Brozovic aimed for the bottom corner, but Juve stopper Wojciech Szczesny was equal to the shot.

Brozovic had wasted an excellent chance, but it was Juve who still looked the most likely to eventually break the deadlock. The hosts' moment came nine minutes after the restart when Ramsey guided a shot beyond Handanovic.

Former Arsenal playmaker Ramsey has been searching for consistency during most of his debut campaign in Turin, but the Welshman is steadily becoming a player Sarri can trust:

Aaron Ramsey has scored in back-to-back league games for the first time since October 2017.

⚽️ Spal
⚽️ Inter

Finding his feet in Turin. 👣 pic.twitter.com/lI7VCGEYVF

— Squawka (@Squawka) March 8, 2020

Ramsey's burgeoning value was underlined when he played in Dybala to double Juve's advantage on 67 minutes. Dybala took his goal well to continue a habit of punishing Inter:

2 - Prior to Paulo #Dybala, the last #Juventus player to have scored in both matches against Inter in a single Serie A campaign was Arturo Vidal in 2013/14. Joya.#JuveInter #SerieA pic.twitter.com/u5HWnUEUDK

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 8, 2020

The away side's hopes for a comeback came and went when Alexis Sanchez teed up ex-Tottenham Hotspur schemer Christian Eriksen, who promptly put his effort over the bar.

Inter's frustrations boiled over when Brozovic was booked for bringing Matuidi down. Amid the protests, Handanovic's backup Daniele Padelli was sent off from the bench.

There was still time for Ronaldo to nearly scored a brilliant solo goal. Sadly, the 35-year-old's radar deserted him after a deft backheel presented him with a shooting chance.

Ultimately, Juve didn't need the luxury of a third. The Bianconeri had already comfortably kept Inter at arm's length and proved there is more to the attacking prowess than Ronaldo's goals.

     

What's Next?

Juve will be away to Bologna on Friday, while Inter host Getafe in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League last 16 a day earlier.

Not for the first time this season, Matthijs de Ligt was trending on Twitter. But this time, it was nothing to do with a shaky performance.

After team-mate Alex Sandro accidentally trod on his head in the first half of Juventus' recent UEFA Champions League clash with Lyon, De Ligt was left with blood streaming down the right side of his face. Images of the blood-splattered youngster getting patched up at the side of the pitch quickly proliferated on social media. To make matters worse, Lyon midfielder Lucas Tousart scored the only goal of the game while he was off the field receiving treatment.

The 1-0 defeat in the round-of-16 first leg was a bitter disappointment for Juventus, for whom Champions League success is this season's primary objective, but in the postgame analysis, De Ligt was spared criticism.

The focus instead fell on manager Maurizio Sarri's complaints about his team's slow passing and an argument between Leonardo Bonucci and Blaise Matuidi that took place during the warm-up, while the Italian sports newspapers reserved their most cutting remarks for Miralem Pjanic, Rodrigo Bentancur and Juan Cuadrado.

It is an indication of the difficulties that De Ligt has already encountered in his fledgling stint in Turin that being absolved of blame for the Lyon result represented a form of progress. Because up to now, his adaptation to life in Serie A has been far from plain sailing.

---

De Ligt's problems started on August 30, a little over a month on from his €75 million transfer from Ajax, when Juve's veteran captain Giorgio Chiellini suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training that would keep him out of action for close to six months.

Juve's plan had been to ease their new recruit into action gently, and De Ligt himself seemed aware of the need to take a slower approach to life in Italy, posting on Instagram that he was taking things "step by step." Chiellini's injury forced Sarri to change tack. De Ligt found himself thrust straight into the starting XI—and straight into the firing line.

His debut performance in a 4-3 home win over Napoli on August 31 was a calamity, and he continued to encounter problems over the weeks that followed, conceding penalties for handballs in a 2-1 win at Inter Milan and a 1-1 draw at Lecce.

Although he scored the winner in his first derby against Torino in November, an underwhelming display in Juve's 3-1 loss at Lazio in early December cost him his place in the team. He started five successive matches on the bench around the turn of the year and did not return to the starting lineup until Merih Demiral, who had taken his place, was struck down by a knee injury in mid-January.

In an October interview with Fox Sports Netherlands, the 20-year-old said he no longer felt "invincible" in the way that he had at Ajax and admitted that he could not say why he was underperforming, vowing simply to "continue to work, to do my best and to try to learn from my team-mates."

As one of the emblems of Ajax's stunning run to the Champions League semi-finals last season, De Ligt arrived in northern Italy accompanied by a huge sense of expectation that his massive transfer fee only served to inflate. While some might have questioned the wisdom of the move after he faltered on his first outings, those who have been in his shoes knew it was best to reserve judgement.

"He had more difficulties at the beginning than people expected," former Juventus defender Jonathan Zebina told Bleacher Report. "But how old is he, 20? He's gone in at the deep end, so it strikes me as completely normal. What isn't normal is that people expected extraordinary things from him straight away."

On top of the usual process of adaptation that a player must observe when they move to a new country, De Ligt has had to contend with the fact that Sarri's arrival as head coach prompted an overhaul of the way that Juventus defend. Where Juve used a man-oriented marking system at set pieces under Massimiliano Allegri, Sarri has switched to a strategy of zonal marking. And the shift has not been without complications.

"Juventus have let in a lot of goals from corners because they're using zonal marking rather than traditional, man-to-man marking, which was a big part of Allegri's defensive strategy," explained Filippo Conticello from La Gazzetta dello Sport. "The players have been making a lot of mistakes, and in the middle of all these defensive problems, you find De Ligt. I don't think it's all his responsibility."

De Ligt has also encountered a different set of expectations for when he is on the ball compared to his time at Ajax. While Sarri has, as expected, turned Juventus into more of a passing team than they were under Allegri—with average possession per game and average number of short passes per game both climbing between last season and this—De Ligt is still seeing much less of the ball than he did in Amsterdam.

In the Eredivisie last season, he would complete an average of 67.2 passes per game. In Serie A, that figure has fallen to 53. For a player who recently revealed to the UEFA website that he played as a playmaker in the Ajax youth teams until the age of 15, his more limited involvement in build-up play will take some getting used to.

Back home in the Netherlands, there has been conjecture as to whether Italy was even the right country for De Ligt in the first place, with influential television pundit Johan Derksen declaring in December that the former Ajax captain "chose the wrong club."

Very few Dutch centre-backs have enjoyed success in Serie A. To illustrate the point, in the past 25 years, the only central defender to have gone to a major tournament with the Netherlands while on the books of an Italian club was Jaap Stam, who was a Lazio player when he reached the semi-finals with the Oranje at Euro 2004.

"In Holland, the defender is the first stage of the attack," Jan-Hermen de Bruijn, editor-in-chief of Dutch football magazine ELF Voetbal, told Bleacher Report. "In Italy, a defender is a defender, which is a completely different concept.

"In Holland, every attack starts with six or seven passes in defence, and then they come forward in a good position. So for this reason he would have touched the ball a lot more [at Ajax]. Defenders in Italy are expected to win the ball and give it to a midfielder, and that's where the attack starts. It's a very different culture."

De Ligt was not at his best in the Netherlands' final Euro 2020 qualifying matches at the end of last year, but national coach Ronald Koeman defended him and backed him to recover from his difficult start at Juventus. Although Inter's Stefan de Vrij is a potential alternative to partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Dutch defence at Euro 2020, there is no suggestion that De Ligt's place in the side is under threat.

Unsurprisingly, given the vast sums of money invested in him, there has been vocal support from senior officials at Juve as well. Fabio Paratici, the club's chief football officer, described the Dutchman as a "monster" in a December interview with Tuttosport and said that he represented "the best investment in a youngster that we've ever made." Sarri told Sky Sport Italia that De Ligt would become "the best defender in the world". 

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Zebina was not always the most popular player in the eyes of Juve's fans during his six-year stint in Turin, but he says that although the club's global renown brings with it a significant level of scrutiny, De Ligt will benefit from the fact that the life of a footballer in the Piedmontese capital is generally hassle-free.

"There's more attention, and he'll have to adapt to that," said Zebina, who played for Juve from 2004 to 2010. "You're representing an extremely significant club, so you're obviously perceived as an opponent to beat. But the great advantage of playing at Juve is that life in Turin is very peaceful. You don't feel the kind of pressure you might feel in Rome or Milan or Florence. That's a big, big advantage."

For his part, De Ligt has thrown himself into his new life in Turin, having moved into the city centre with his fiancee, Dutch model AnneKee Molenaar, and their dogs. The pair have been spotted sitting at outdoor cafes on Piazza San Carlo, and the defender has shown a diligent approach to his Italian studies.

"He's learning Italian, and that's very important because we've had players who came from South America, for example, who couldn't speak Italian after many, many years in Italy," Conticello said. "He prefers to speak in English, because he's not comfortable yet in Italian, but I asked him a question in Italian in the mixed zone recently, and you could tell that he understood everything."

Chiellini's comeback means there is now more competition for places at centre-back, but in keeping with his display at Lyon, De Ligt's form since he returned to the starting XI in January has been solid. While there will inevitably be more bumps along the way, the future remains his for the taking.

Stats via WhoScored.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MhyToyUfks