Juventus: 3 possible captains with Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini injured

Juventus will be without center backs Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, so who should captain the team while they are out?

Although Juventus are getting young star center back Matthijs de Ligt back from a shoulder injury that cost him the first seven matches of the 2020-2021 Serie A campaign, they now have two more significant injuries to worry about at the position with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini both out.

The timetables for Bonucci and Chiellini’s injuries are unclear, but they could miss some weeks. And since Chiellini and Bonucci are the usual captains for Juve, it means there’s a question as to who the team’s captain will be.

Here are three possible options.

GK Wojciech Szczesny

Arguably the best goalkeeper in Serie A, Juve’s Wojciech Szczesny is a safe bet to be the captain with Bonucci and Chiellini injured. He has been with the team for a few years and has played at the highest level in Serie A since joining Roma from Arsenal in 2015.

Szczesny can command the back three (or four) and be a vocal leader for Juventus without their experienced center backs available. He’s a safe option to be the captain while the defenders recover from their injuries.

FW Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo’s role with Juventus is interesting to track, because he was a left winger under Maurizio Sarri in his preferred position. Now, he is a left striker in many of Andrea Pirlo’s set-ups, as Pirlo has been using a 3-5-2 frequently. Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata have a great partnership, which could prove to be one of Europe’s best tandems as the Champions League campaign continues.

It has been impressive watching Ronaldo lead the team by example on the pitch with his goals. He scored a brace off the bench against Spezia and one earlier this season against Roma to save a point at the Stadio Olimpico. In Juve’s last Serie A game, the Bianconeri drew 1-1 with Lazio after Ronaldo’s early goal, as Ronaldo left the pitch as a precaution due to a possible injury.

Ronaldo doesn’t need the armband to be a leader on the pitch for the Bianconeri, but he’s another possible captain for the club.

CB Matthijs de Ligt

But for me, the best pick to be Juve’s captain in the upcoming matches against Cagliari, Ferencvaros, and Benevento (or however long both Bonucci and Chiellini are out) is returning Dutch center back Matthijs de Ligt.

Even as a teenager, he looked like a natural leader for Ajax, who were the darling team of the 2018-2019 season due to their incredible Champions League run. They had a lot of talented players – such as Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, and Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek. But nobody could quite measure up to the center back de Ligt, who is now Juve’s gem.

De Ligt played like a superstar again this summer en route to Juve securing their ninth straight Scudetto. He is the future captain and soul of this team. He is the next great center back in Turin and is capable of exceeding even the heights of Chiellini and Bonucci themselves.

So put the armband on him. Give him that responsibility to lead from the back. It is definitely worth it for Juventus and Pirlo to do this in the long run.