The match of the missing stars. Because on the pitch yesterday in Inter-Juventus, there were Lautaro Martinez and Dusan Vlahovic. The highest paid in our Serie A who, gross, are worth a mid-table team. Toro receives 9 net, 17.5 gross, plus bonuses. Vlahovic, on the other hand, is at 23 gross, 12 net, also by virtue of a signing bonus spread over the last two years of the contract and which now becomes an important issue in the renewal. In short, the two best players in our football receive 40.5 million between them. An enormity.
In the most exciting and fun Italian derby ever, however, they hid. They didn’t show world-class value, although Vlahovic then scored his fifth away goal of this season: a two-step touch and a compressed celebration given that it was “only” the one in the first draw. Then he no longer got into the heart of the game, with his teammates having opportunities and sadly him not. Maybe it’s not entirely his fault, but at least he managed to get enough, even just for the goal he scored.
Instead, Lautaro almost seems to suffer from Thuram’s extravagant form. Even yesterday, Toro tried to make its mark, but its game was marked more by the ball lost during the 1-2 draw than by what was seen on the pitch. Really too little for someone who could receive the Ballon d’Or today for a season, last year, bordering on the phenomenal. But that probably won’t be enough for him.