Serie A Prospectus: Juventus
Juventus
Possession: 58%
Offensive Vital Signs
Deep Completions: Elite (1st)
Pass Difficulty: Easier Than Average
Completions Above Average: Elite (1st)
Field Position: Elite (1st)
Shot Generation: Elite (1st)
Good Shot %: Very Good (4th)
Possession Length: Very Long
Zones Progress Well Through: All
Zones Progress Poorly Through: None
Defensive Vital Signs
Deep Completions Allowed: Elite (1st)
Pass DifficultyAllowed: Average
Completions Above Average Allowed: Very Good (4th)
Field Position Allowed: Very Good (4th)
Shot Generation Allowed: Elite (1st)
Good Shot% Allowed: Elite of Elite (24%)
High Press: Strong (5th)
Zones That Are Easy To Progress Through: 4
Zones That Are ToughTo Progress Through: 2, 3, 6, 7
Zone Reminder
https://saturdaysoncouch.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/snip20180919_32-1.png?w=984
50 Pass Types Were Determined By a Clustering Algorithm, These Are The Types They Play at +/- 1 Standard Deviation from Average
Key Passing Combos: Blue=Alex Sandro-Ronaldo, Orange=Cuadrado-Dybala
Quick Summary
Juventus are by a large margin the best team in Italy. They have the best offense and best defense in the league. Ronaldo’s obscene shot volume (7.2 per 90) has boosted an offense that used to be somewhat middling for an elite team. He tilts the offense to the left but produces just outrageous numbers while you simply do not get good shots against Juventus. Defensively, you just do not get good shots against Juventus. At even game states they have outscored opponents 14-3, outshot them 108-28 and out xGed them 11.5-2.5. They don’t press especially high, you can see they let little passes get played around the halfway line. But overall they just don’t let you get into good positions with the ball.
Player Reports
Ronaldo’s shot volume and xG total (10.54 xG, next best in league is over 4 expected goals behind) are ridiculous, of course. But what makes Ronaldo, Ronaldo is the other stuff he does as well. A quick comparison of him vs a few of Serie A’s other shot monsters in percentiles, looking at shots, deep completions, and yards carrying the ball forward.
The difference between the 100th percentile and the 99th is Ronaldo takes 7.3 shots per 90 (4.8 in the box), Dzeko takes 5 (3.2). He’s does everything. One thing he really does that these other guys (and all mere mortals) don’t really do is come deep and create. Ronaldo turns deep receptions into shots about 60% more often per game than the Other 4, but he turns receptions outside the deep area (more than 30 meter radius from goal)into shots 330% more often than these Other 4 do on average. Ronaldo does it all. He’s a single-minded, pure-willed attacking machine. The more you look into it, you more in awe you become.
Juan Cuadrado, 30, right-sided player
I say right-sided player because that’s what he has been this year. Literally every possible position on the right side:
As he’s reached the age of 30 a trend that has been going on for a while has accelerated to the point of not return. Some bald, some gain weight, some stop dribbling at the highest level of soccer.
He’s always been a sort of frustrating player to watch because the ball seems to stick on his foot for so long but his game is changing. He dribbles less and intercepts more passes this year than ever before, and he’s become quite a difficult player to evaluate. Not heavily involved in finishing product (.15 xG, .20 xA) he’s a bit of a tweener. He’s 11thin deep completion rate, 8th in deep completion %, top 3 in carry distance and excellent at moving the ball forward into the edge of the deep zone and just outside it. Juve might not really have space for Cuadrado in the lineup with a more defensive fullback in Joao Cancelo and more attacking players like Bernadeschi and Dybala ahead of him but he’s a perfect, versatile reserve for a team like Juve.
Standouts
Deep Completions
99th percentile: Juan Cuadrado
98th percentile: Douglas Costa
95th percentile: Federico Bernardeschi
92nd percentile: Alex Sandro
90th percentile: Cristiano Ronaldo
85th percentile: Miralem Pjanic
78th percentile: Joao Cancelo
76th percentile: Paulo Dybala
Great Ball Progressors
Leonardo Bonucci, Zones 4-7
Mehdi Benatia, Zones 5-6
Miralem Pjanic, Zones 2-6
Paulo Dybala, Zones 2-3
Cristiano Ronaldo, Zone 2
Giorgio Chiellini, Zones 5-6
Joao Cancelo, Zones 5-6
Juan Cuadrado, Zones 3-4
Poor Ball Progressors
Mario Mandzukic, Zone 3
Sami Khedira, Zone 4
Defensively Active
93rd percentile: Rodrigo Bentancur
86th percentile: Mehdi Benatio
84th percentile: Alex Sandro
81st percentile: Blaise Matuidi
76th percentile: Emre Can
Shooters
100th percentile: Cristiano Ronaldo
87th percentile: Federico Bernardeschi
80th percentile: Mario Mandzukic
Ball-Carriers
100th percentile: Douglas Costa
99th percentile: Juan Cuadrado
98th percentile: Alex Sandro
97th percentile: Joao Cancelo
96th percentile: Cristiano Ronaldo
88th percentile: Leonardo Bonucci
76th percentile: Giorgio Chiellini
One-Touch Passers
94th percentile: Paulo Dybala
86th percentile: Mario Mandzukic
77th percentile: Emre Can
76th percentile: Joao Cancelo