Juventus: Grading each of the defenders in the 2019-2020 season

RB Juan Cuadrado

The experienced Colombian right back has transitioned wonderfully to this role at Juventus and is a crucial part of the team’s success. Cuadrado is unselfish and excellent at ball-carrying, as no player had more distance carried with the ball forward per 90 minutes than him in 2019-2020 across all competitions.

And only Dybala had more passes into the penalty area (by a mere .06!) than Cuadrado last season. Dybala is the primary creator in attack, so Cuadrado’s creative numbers are comparatively excellent.

Cuadrado isn’t much of a defender, but the right back’s aggression and work rate more than make up for some of those deficiencies.

Grade: A-

CB Merih Demiral

The Turkish international could only play in five games due to a torn ACL, but when he was on the pitch, he was excellent. Merih Demiral ended up being the most impressive 2019 summer transfer acquisition and is a promising young center back in his own right.

Just 22, Demiral showed world-class potential. He scored once and assisted once in Serie A, averaging more tackles per game than any other defender in the team, per WhoScored.com. Demiral won a jaw-dropping 71.4 percent of his tackles against dribblers, per FBRef.com. He also blocked the most shots on target per 90 and provided the second-most clearances per 90.

Based on the numbers, Demiral has superstar written all over him.

Grade: A