The Curious Case of Juventus' Alberto Aquilani
From the next big thing of Italian football to yet another flop signing of Rafa Benetiz era at Liverpool, the 26 year old Alberto Aquilani, nicknamed "Il Principe" (The Prince) by the Roma faithful, can be faulted little for his demise from the former to
the latter.
The Roman is now back enjoying football under the watch full eye of Del Neri at Juventus. Having scored a thunderbolt from 25 yards at the weekend which must have had a more severe impact on the hearts of Liverpool fans than the back of the net, Aquilani
has built on his impressive showing against Inter Milan a fortnight ago.
With Liverpool floundering at the bottom of the table, a fully fit Aquilani might just have been the player who could have provided Liverpool with the spark that they have been missing since the start of the campaign.
Earlier, Rafael Benitez was heavily criticised for splashing 20 million Euros on the crocked Italian and rightly so. Liverpool, having sold their best player from the previous campaign in Xabi Alonso needed someone who could straight away step up and deliver
right from the word go.
Aquilani, undoubtedly talented, was bought with an injured ankle that delayed his Premier League debut by nearly two months. The damage had been done by that time with Liverpool sitting at a lowly 7th in the table. Liverpool fans were viewing
Aquilani as their saviour. The burden of expectations was too much for the young Roman who had left the capital and his hometown for the first time in his career.
Niggling injuries for most part of the campaign restricted him to substitute appearances. Lack of confidence and the stubbornness of Rafa to stick with Lucas combined to hamper Aquilani’s Anfield career. He scored his first goal in a Liverpool shirt on 15th
March 2010 and in the same game, set up Fernando Torres to score Liverpool’s fourth goal of that match. He was named Man of the Match, which lead to a couple of regular starts in the first team where he showcased his talents and showed why Rafa Benitez paid
20m for his services.
The end of the season might have been encouraging for Aquilani but the club finished at a disappointing 7th place, which eventually cost Benitez his job. The disappointment of not making it to the Italy’s World Cup squad was too much for the talented
Italian to bear. He was determined to make up for the lost time and the 2010/11 season was considered to be the season where he would prove his worth.
It’s funny how things can change so quickly in football. Liverpool fans, which always had shown faith in their number 4, were left bemused when the new manager, Roy Hodgson allowed Aquilani to leave on loan to Juventus. Bianconeri must have been wondering
how on earth have they managed to sign a player worth 20m Euros on loan and let go one of the worst midfielders to have played at Stadio Olimpico during last decade in the shape of Christian Poulsen for 5.5m Euros.
Since his move to Juventus, Aquilani has been gradually drafted into the Bianconeri’s first team. His recent form demonstrates that if he can stay fit, he can certainly be a world class midfielder for the Turin giants. The former Romaman is finally enjoying
his football again and with a potential call up to the national team lurking, it seems he has no plans of returning to Anfield. His agent has been quick to defend his man and has told reporters that the Italian has long term plans with the Old Lady.
“We will only speak with the management in the spring: March or April, and not any time prior”, Zavaglia told a website.
He added, “He is playing well, and as long as he does this, Liverpool will not be giving us a discount. I had told the press he was not a waste. Everyone has now realised how good a player he is.”
This news will pour more salt on the wounded Liverpool fans, who can only pray for an unlikely return of the hit man. As Aquilani’s season begins to flow in the right direction, Liverpool seem to have no direction whatsoever. Their change in ownership and
management has failed to result in the change of fortunes on the pitch, and to the dismay of Liverpool fans, there seems to be little light at the end of this long tunnel. This certainly isn't the best time to be a Liverpool fan.
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