Isn’t Dusan Vlahovic a coincidence? Maybe not, because attackers go in periods. They may not score for a while, their powders may be wet, the important thing is that it is not a trend that repeats itself season after season. Last season he did well with 16 goals, still far from top scorer Lautaro Martinez. With Thiago Motta there was the idea and the impression that he could really score many, as the lone striker in the 4-2-3-1, but for now it has worked in fits and starts. Only two goals, against Verona, then the others took care of it. In particular the defense which has avoided conceding goals and, therefore, losing in the last three games without breaking the deadlock.
However, Vlahovic currently costs 40 million euros a year. 23 for the salary and 16.67 for amortization (it had cost 75 million, to be divided over four and a half years of the contract): total 39.67. The historical cost in January will be around 25 million and if it were to be renewed until 2029, the amortization will go from 16.67 to 5 per year. Juventus would therefore “save” almost 12 million euros per season, while keeping Vlahovic at 23 gross. Of course, “spreading” it further and finding an agreement around 10 million net per year would be a victory across the board. “Is renewal a problem? No, a player like him with still important prospects can never be a problem, renewal is an objective, we will do it. A player who is worth a lot and earns a lot represents an asset for us.” This is what Cristiano Giuntoli spoke yesterday. Of course, if he doesn’t score he starts to become one.
A year and a half ago we were wondering if our children will see the new San Siro. The answer these days is clear: no. Obviously it is incredible, as with the project on the Strait of Messina, how things are cyclically proposed which then never come to fruition. The fault lies with bureaucracy first and foremost and politics secondly. Everyone can have an opinion on everything and block the project for this or that quibble. Can we, sooner or later, create real rules that give a certain result? A simplification on the construction/modernization of stadiums? With two or three rules, not easy but not impossible to satisfy. Otherwise Pallotta leaves Rome because they won’t let him build the stadium – go and look at the phrases from the times, they’re funny – Commisso can’t try to build one of his own, De Laurentiis talked about a sports center and stadium in 2006, when he was still in Serie B .
The truth is that Italy is immobile on this front because there are too many interests. Of those who eat on it, of those who want to maintain the status quo. So everything remains still, bogged down, crystallized. There will never be anything new in this nation until things are made easier instead of making them absurdly complicated. It took Atalanta 5 years to get the stadium ready. Five years. The Coronavirus was involved, this is true. But five years is such a long time that it’s almost absurd to think so. How can we believe that there will be new stadiums with these situations? 2032 seems so far away, but it’s just around the corner. Who knows if Italia 90 taught us anything? (The answer, here too, is no).
Instead last week if the Club World Cup was in danger of being cancelled. Now we have a more concrete answer and it is: yes. Rodri, candidate for the Ballon d’Or, spoke of a breaking point. “Yes, and I think we’re close. I think all the players have the same idea, ask whoever you want. There will come a time… but I don’t know what will happen. It’s something that worries us. I can only talk about Spain and City. It’s something we’re worried about. Obviously, the situation isn’t the same for everyone, because not everyone gets to play 60-70 games per season, but the idea is shared.” In the meantime, Rodri got hurt and will miss the entire season, almost as if it were proof that something should be redone in the way we experience football. Now, more about understanding whether he risks falling out or not, there is one last question to ask: will FIFA cancel him?