Juventus stars fully deserved the three official Serie A awards
As the champions, Juventus were unsurprisingly well-represented in Serie A’s end-of-season awards.
Juventus won their ninth straight Scudetto, and while they ended up winning the title by one point in the table, their championship was never really in doubt. They could have done better when Serie A returned, but, as a whole, many of the best players in the league were on the Bianconeri.
Via JuveFC.com, the Old Lady of Turin was well-represented in Serie A’s official end-of-the-season awards, and the biggest honors went to Paulo Dybala, who won the league’s MVP ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Dybala’s award was the most surprising, no doubt. Ronaldo had nearly half of the team’s goal contributions and is one of the world’s biggest stars. But for those of us who watched Juve throughout the season, we know how valuable Dybala has been to Juventus. His dribbling ability, penchant for a spectacular goal from nothing, and chance creation are unparalleled in the team. Dybala is a joy to watch, and it is wonderful to see him get this kind of recognition.
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The other two awards won by Juve players are less controversial, but it is worth noting that a player on the team would have won the MVP either way.
Wojciech Szczesny was Goalkeeper of the Year, winning the award ahead of Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma.
While Donnarumma is an excellent keeper, Szczesny’s stats are on another level to everyone else. He was the only goalkeeper with a save percentage over 79 percent, per FBRef.com, and he also led the league with the highest percentage of clean sheets (37.9).
Finally, a player not playing for Juventus but on the Bianconeri’s books won the award for the Best Young Player in Serie A. And that was, of course, Parma’s Dejan Kulusevski, who should be a game-changer on the first team alongside Ronaldo and Dybala.
Kulusevski kept getting better and better throughout the season, eventually becoming one of Serie A’s most dangerous players. The wide playmaker scored 10 goals with eight assists, which is just a jaw-dropping attacking output for a 20-year-old player in Serie A. Kulusevski had 2.1 dribbles per game and 2.2 key passes per game to emphasize his playmaking ability.
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Juventus have work to do this summer, yes, They need another attacking player and midfielder, and they should also make a couple of defensive upgrades. But the Bianconeri are Serie A’s best for a reason, and they already have a known upgrade in Kulusevski when he returns from the Parma loan.