Colombian Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, The Juventus winger, was again decisive this Sunday with a pass for the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo to open the victory with 3-1 in the field of Cagliari and already has fifteen winning passes this season: no one has given more decisive passes than Necoclí in Italy.
Cuadrado, 32, is one of the most important elements for Juventus’ offensive dynamics. If Cristiano is dealing with goals – already thirty this season – the Colombian is the king of assists. Without their presence on the field, Juventus suffered a lot this year to create danger.
He lacked the change of pace, the ability to dribble and the contagious intensity of Cuadrado, a real “ace” for his coaches in recent years. Be it Massimiliano Allegri, who lined him up as a high-end in a 4-2-3-1 or as a wing in a 3-5-2, Maurizio Sarri, who lined him up as a right defender, improving in especially his defensive skills, or Andrea Pirlo, who in this course has already used him as “every camper”, as a right, left or high defender in both teams, Cuadrado is still essential for Juventus.
This Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo, with an excellent corner kick hanging over Cristiano’s head, was the seventh assist of his Serie A season, to which is added one offered in the Italian Super Cup won in January against Napoli, one in the Italian Cup and another six in the Champions League.
Juventus’ European path collapsed against Porto in the European Cup in the round of 16, in a match in which Cuadrado provided excellent assistance for Federico Chiesa’s 2-1 moment and overcame 30 suspended centers. He is already adding more than double the number of assists last year, when he gave seven. Two years ago he made three, while three seasons ago he stayed at nine.
Of course, the Colombian is still looking for his first goal of the season after scoring at least one in the last five seasons. His goal record dates back to the 2013-2014 season, when he scored eleven with the Fiorentina shirt. In addition to his great performance on the field, Cuadrado is also the leader in the Juventine locker room and did not hesitate to show his face last Tuesday to comment on the European elimination.
“This is football, we have to raise our heads, we are professionals, we are a great team and even great teams have these things,” said the Colombian at the time, lucid and objective, despite the extraordinary effort made in 120 minutes. His Juventus, already Super Cup champion and Italian Cup finalist, will now try to fight until the end for the league title, although he is currently third and ten points behind the leader of Inter Milan.
In his career, Cuadrado has won five Serie A titles, three Italian cups and two Italian supercups with Juventus. He was also a Premier League champion and won an English League Cup with Chelsea.
EFE