Motta's last week and the importance of Weah and Thuram: Juve is back

Great news for the Juventus coach, the two sons of art towards recovery: ready to return with a view to the Champions League

Thiago Motta is living his last week as a “vintage” coach with the away match in Empoli in sight . Yes, vintage because it will be the last of the season during which he will be able to work without having to take into account the midweek commitment, be it the Champions League (starting next week with PSV at home), the league round or the Coppa Italia (without forgetting the final four of the Italian Super Cup which will probably be played at the beginning of January). Which is not so much vintage, considering that clubs like Juventus are plundered by the national teams even during breaks. This time, however, from this point of view, things went well for Thiago Motta, considering that Koopmeiners and Vlahovic (but also Douglas Luiz and Bremer , for example) even skipped the call-ups despite not being injured and were thus able to train at full capacity: not a detail, considering that the understanding between the two elements on which the “magnificent and progressive fortunes” of the black and white team will depend most needs to be refined.

Here are Thuram and Weah again

But they, well, they were and are fine while what more than intrigued, to use a euphemism, Thiago were and are the conditions of the two injured players in the process of recovering, namely Khéphren Thuram and Timothy Weah . The two sons of art had started the season with a notable impact in the first half of the debut against Como (even with the "lame goal" for the American winger) only to then both stop during the match due to a muscular problem. Injuries that have triggered interesting consequences off and on the pitch. The former have triggered an acceleration in the market to get to the attacking wingers who have long been in Juve's sights, from Nico Gonzalez to Francisco Conceiçao (who then also got injured, but that's another story); the latter have induced Thiago Motta to make some changes to the formation which, even without changing the tactical structure, has still caused some problems.

Why are they so important?

Because if everything went well in Verona , even with Savona 's goal certifying the "touch" of the Italian-Brazilian coach who had already christened that of Mbangula on his debut, against Roma at home Juventus inevitably appeared a little more blocked and forced into some forced solutions in midfield, with Locatelli once again less supported. Here, then, is that the return of Thuram there in the middle would allow to propose again in front of the defense that "two-man" midfield capable of protecting the defense without asking too much sacrifice from those who support the offensive phase behind Vlahovic . Yes, because the combined arrangement of Locatelli-Thuram was very convincing, capable of covering and moving up alternately, with a good physicality and a decent quality in both phases of the game. Just as Weah on the right flank had guaranteed, thanks to his progression in the narrow, an effective change of pace during the slightly blocked phases of the game. Without forgetting that his position, up there, allows Cambiaso to roam towards the center, thus contributing to determining the numerical superiority and the unpredictability of midfield solutions from the three-quarter line up. Important returns, in short, to which are added the better conditions of Koopmeiners and the others not called up that will allow to widen the solutions. Because the next challenge is called Empoli, but in the background the Champions League advances.