Serie A Team of the Season 2020-2021: How many Juventus players made it?
Juan Cuadrado (RM)
You are looking surprised. Juan Cuadrado’s flawless versatility remains the reason why he is the right-midfielder in our team of the season. Despite occupying the right-back spot for the majority of the campaign, Juan Cuadrado produced a whooping tally of 10 assists and two goals, with both of those coming in a crucial game against Inter in the penultimate weekend of the 2020-21 season.
Yes, one of them was from a penalty. But if we consider the broader aspect, Juventus are in the next season Champions League because Cuadrado scored twice that night. Aged 33, Cuadrado still plays like a juvenile teenager, seething with confidence. Over the course of the campaign, Pirlo used Juan Cuadrado as a right-midfielder 13 times (per Transfermarkt). And there comes our reason for including him in our team of the season.
Franck Kessié (CM)
If not one of the candidates for the player of the season in Serie A, Franck Kessié should surely top the list of AC Milan’s most improved and crucial player of the 2020-21 campaign. He was effective, efficient, and assertive in the midfield for the Rossoneri.
In 37 appearances, the Ivorian clinched up 13 goals and 4 assists. But, it is always not about goals. When you gauge a player like Kessié, you comprehend the contributions he made with his bodily strength and sheer labour. And then, you say that yes, he has justified his point to be in the Serie A team of the 2020-21 campaign.
Manuel Locatelli (CM)
Another aspiring prospect, Manuel Locatelli was spectacular for a watchable Sassuolo side, who finished 8th in Serie A this season. Henceforth, it makes Locatelli the one and only member of this team picked from a side that finished their season outside the top four.
Playing mostly a deep-lying midfielder, Locatelli was integral to Roberto De Zerbi’s plans, dictating the flow of the game and living at the heart of everything going around the centre of the pitch for the Neroverdi. Being more inclined to defensive attributes, Locatelli was only able to record 4 goals and 2 assists from 34 games this term.
Federico Chiesa (LM)
Signed from Fiorentina on loan last summer, Federico Chiesa was thought to be a decent addition to the current Juventus side. But, his first season in Turin has proven to be awe-inspiring. Playing 30 matches (2,469 minutes of football, according to Transfermarkt) in Serie A this time, the hardworking individual scored 9 goals and provided 9 assists.
Apart from him being productive offensively, his pressing and defensive output have also impressed those monitoring his career for years. Juventus are likely to keep Chiesa under their rank, signing him permanently this summer. And it is hence needless to say that he should be the one around whom the club needs to build their future team.