2024 will undoubtedly be a special year for Federico Chiesa: he will marry his Lucia, the model with whom he is a regular couple, after the romantic proposal with the inevitable ring in Venice. First, however, there will be a European Championship in which to defend the title of champions and, even closer, a season finale with Juventus in which the number 7 wishes to carve out a leading role for himself. As happened at the beginning of the championship, when he scored 4 goals in the first 5 games, and much more than what happened in the last period, between physical problems, fluctuating performances and a modest scoring streak. With just 2 months to go until the end of 2023-24, the time has come for Chiesa to put himself back at the center of the Juventus village. Juventus hopes so, as it desperately needs its big names to avoid the risk of failing to qualify for the next Champions League (missing it would be a bloodbath from an economic point of view, as well as a sporting failure) and to try to get back to smooching a trophy. Chiesa wants it, who knows all too well what it feels like when you win and how long it’s been since it happened, given that he was the one who won the last triumph, the Italian Cup won in 2021. The goal is to return to being a leader, as it was in the past both in Juventus and in Italy, to convince the Lady to focus on him again, for the present and for the future.
anger and leadership
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Fede is the first to be angry when he isn’t able to give his best on the pitch. The boos at the Allianz Stadium when he was replaced by Genoa hit him deeply, because he has always had a warm relationship with the fans. A year ago, after the goal scored against Freiburg in the round of 16 of the Europa League (the second of the season), he apologized to the Juventus people: “I want to be there, I want to help the team and the club for what they have given me in the past “Unfortunately, in the last two years I haven’t been able to… even now that I’m back from injury, I’m not at my best,” he said. He isn’t even now although he is clinically okay, as stated by the data that Fede examined in detail with the staff. He knows he has to give more and doesn’t want to disappoint the club that believed in him more than anyone else, investing 60 million to take him away from Fiorentina. Chiesa is instinctive, someone who sometimes gets caught up in the urge to want everything immediately. However, on the pitch you need patience, especially when your condition is not at its best and even the simplest things can become complex. However, it is enough to stop and think with a cool head to realize that the season is not all to be thrown away: Fede scored 7 goals all in the championship and only one year (2020-21) had he scored more in the black and white shirt (8 more one with Fiorentina before the transfer). It means that 2 are enough for him to beat his championship record and 3 to reach double figures and equal his record (10 in 2019-20).
return to the past
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Who knows if Igor Tudor, who was Andrea Pirlo’s second when the former Viola landed at Continassa and will make his debut on the bench with Lazio tomorrow, will be able to reawaken ancient and beneficial sensations. With the pair of former Bianconeri at the helm, Chiesa experienced his season of grace, with 14 goals in total (best result ever) and heavy goals also in the Champions League which had made him the new darling of the fans. Exactly what he wants to be again, to demonstrate how much he cares for his Lady and how much the promises that are made at the moment of saying yes matter to him.
ghosts and the future
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Juventus, who have come from 7 points in their last 8 games, need a driving force: Vlahovic won’t be there tomorrow (suspended) but Chiesa will be and the Italian wants to leave his mark against Lazio. To exorcise the ghosts of the Olimpico (where he broke his cruciate in January 2022) and to send a message to clubs and fans: I am here, today and tomorrow. The number 7’s contract expires in 2025 and the renewal also takes place at the end of the season. Juventus is ready to extend even just for a year but at the same figures (he currently earns 5 million net per season) so as not to run the risk of losing him for nothing, but much will also depend on the answers that arrive on the pitch, which has always been the sole judge and supreme.
