Why Giorgio Chiellini Is Juventus' Most Disappointing Player so Far in 2014/15

While currently enjoying an enviable position as the only remaining Italian representative in the Champions League, the 2014-15 season has been far from perfect for Juventus. Indeed, even given their three-point lead over AS Roma at the top of the Serie A table, there is still much room for improvement for the Bianconeri.

Massimiliano Allegri deserves huge credit for his continuation of Antonio Conte’s success, but there remains much work for the coach if he is to win over a fanbase which remains largely skeptical of his tenure. The same can be said of Beppe Marotta, the director general who brought the likes of Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba to the club, but is still viewed as aimless in his transfer market dealings by many.

Even on the field, a number of players have failed to live up to their previous high standards, with perhaps Fernando Llorente as the most obvious example. The Spanish striker has netted just four times this term, with two of those coming in November’s rout of Parma, although he is far from the only underperformer.

Arturo Vidal is seemingly over his own spell of poor form—discussed in detail here—but Andrea Pirlo still appears off-the-pace in a number of games, yet Giorgio Chiellini has been even more culpable. There is no escaping the fact that the Pisa-born defender may be the biggest disappointment of the season thus far.

At first glance, the Juventus defence appears in fine shape, conceding just nine goals in the first 18 league games and keeping an impressive 10 clean sheets. Add a further three shutouts in the Champions League and—given that Chiellini is the linchpin of that back line—any criticism may at first appear unfounded.

However, as WhoScored.com pointed out in the above tweet when Miguel Britos scored for Napoli on Sunday, those figures are skewed by the team’s bright start to the campaign. The club’s recent penchant for conceding has become concerning, with the play of Chiellini central to those worries.

Indeed, it was he who was charged with marking Britos ahead of Dries Mertens’ corner that brought an equaliser for the Partenopei, a task he failed summarily to adhere to. The previous outing had also seen Chiellini inexplicably caught up-field following a substitution, his absence providing all the room Mauro Icardi needed to capitalise for Inter.

His lack of attention to his man-marking duties was also to blame during Juve’s eventual Super Cup loss to Napoli, with Gonzalo Higuain scoring twice, with the first almost entirely due to Chiellini’s poor positioning. Having established himself as perhaps the finest Italian defender of his generation, it is an alarming slump that the 30-year-old must quickly address.

It is also one which cannot be masked by numbers, a genuine case of what is seen on the field being backed by statistics. According to WhoScored, he is averaging just 1.7 tackles per game compared to 2.5 last term, a huge drop-off in such a small period of time since Italy’s embarrassing World Cup exit.

He has also picked up four yellow cards already in 2014-15, just one short of last season’s tally and many have been as a result of clumsy challenges and poor timing. Further evidence comes from Squawka.com, figures there showing the former Fiorentina stopper has made a staggering 88 fouls in just 15 league appearances to date.

While the absence of Andrea Barzagli—plus Martin Caceres’ own lengthy layoff—have been highlighted as issues, the displays of Chiellini remain a far more pertinent problem. He has proven that at his best, few strikers can expect to enjoy success as his direct opponent, and he has been every inch as good as his reputation suggests.

Almost a year ago he became one of only 38 players to make 300 appearances for the Bianconeri, a wonderful achievement that was rightly honoured by the club. His displays over the past decade have seen Giorgio Chiellini become one of the most feared and accomplished defenders on the planet, and that is the player Juventus so sorely need him to be today.