Sergio's Grab Bag: Chaotic Energy

Yesterday at 01:10 PM

We talk Juventus making no sense, some things starting to click and capitalism reigning above all.

A few days back, I was in a taxi back to my apartment after a short business trip that took me to the Yucatan peninsula and their still remarkably sweltering heat in the middle of November. The trip from the Mexico City airport to my humble abode is about 50 minutes with good traffic conditions. Thankfully, my flight had gotten delayed for so long that I arrived near midnight and traffic was non-existent.

As I boarded the yellow car, the cabbie put on a playlist that was titled "Mis canciones mamalonas." I'll save you the trip to Google translate, as it roughly translates to "My dope ass songs."

To this driver's credit, there were some undeniable bangers in that playlist. He clearly liked classic rock — which I enjoy as well because there were a couple Beatles standards with some of the better songs from George Harrison's solo stuff sprinkled in there. I almost broke my rule of never talking during a taxi ride to tell the driver I was enjoying his playlist when a string of Mexican banda music started playing, which was a weird thematic choice.

Hey! That's "California Dreamin" back to the old classics and then ... some pretty hardcore electronic music. The rave was over and some generic hip hop started, followed by "Call me maybe" by Carly Rae Japsen! It's been a second, Carly!

The ride continued with this musical chaos going on, and once I got home I couldn't tell you what was that guy's favorite type of music because he took me on a whirlwind of emotions in 48 minutes flat.

Another entity that took me in a whirlwind of emotions was Juventus with their form the last couple of weeks. Crazy back and forth action against Inter! Controlled but disappointing draws against Lille and Parma! Whatever win against an improved Udinese team! Domination in the Derby della Mole against Torino!

What's real? What's not? It's absolutely impossible to tell, but there are some takeaways from the craziness that has been Juventus of late.

American Comeback

There's something about American players and unlikely comebacks as Juventus players, huh?

Between Weston McKennie being on the chopping block for two summers in a row only to end up sticking with the team and playing significant minutes to the guy I want to focus on right now in Tim Weah.

Weah was, for my money, the most disappointing player for Juventus last year. When he was on the field, he was ineffective; and when he wasn't, he was rehabbing in J Medical. Overall, it was a pretty bad year for a guy that was supposed to be a much more natural fit as a wingback in Max Allegri's system.

Now playing as a natural winger like he has before coming to Italy, Weah has stepped up and has been the most consistent player on the right wing for Juventus, outplaying flashy new signees Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Coinceicao.

(I know that both new players have had to deal with injuries, but still, who would have thought?)

He already has four goals in eight Serie A games this season and has been impactful beyond the scoresheet as well. A few months ago, if you had told me that Weah was surplus to requirements with Gonzalez and Conceicao signing on, I wouldn't have disagreed. Now I think he's playing too well to consider anybody else in that spot.

Midfield no longer ... mid

Speaking of guys having neat bounce back seasons: Manuel Locatelli is finding his groove.

I've mentioned it on a bunch on podcast episodes and in this space, but the thing I was most excited about this season was the new-look, retooled midfield. And while early returns have obviously been better than the performances we had seen in the last couple of years, I still hadn't seen precisely the massive improvement I thought we would be seeing.

A lot of it was influenced by injuries from key guys, underperformance from others — Douglas Luiz specifically — and just your general learning curve with a new manager. However, it seems that Thiago Motta has finally settled on a midfield rotation of Manuel Locatelli, Khephren Thuram and Teun Koopmeiners, and things are finally starting to cook.

Locatelli was always best used in a double pivot, but similarly to many other failed Juventus midfielders there just never was anybody that could partner him in that role that could complement the Italian international well enough. Enter Thuram, who has a skillset that compliments Locatelli beautifully and has managed to unlock the best version of the player Juventus acquired with the hope of solving the midfield a few years back.

Koopmeiners looks better and better every time he steps on the pitch, and his role as the nominal No. 10 in Motta's starting lineup. He is tailor made for everything they want to build and how they want to play.

Would I like Luiz to come true on his talent — hefty price tag — and potential? Sure. Should Nicolo Fagioli get more minutes in an ideal world? Absolutely. Is it fair for Weston McKennie to ride the bench after he was arguably the best midfielder for this team last season? Not really.

But what this team needs more than anything else is to start developing a cohesive identity, and the midfield trio of Locatelli, Thuram and Koopmeniers make the most sense together and are giving the best results for the team. Once Motta has their A1 lineup set in stone, there will be enough matches for McKennie, Luiz and Fagioli to get their share of minutes, but this first half is key for the team to start developing an identity and they are finally doing so. I would try and give them as many minutes together as possible and let the chips fall where they may.

Parting Shot of the Week

So, when I first started doing the parting shots of the week, they were supposed to be just random things to finish a piece. Then they sort of morphed into goodbyes with quick recaps or looking forward to next games. I will try to bring them back to what they used to be which is just dumb things I notice, either Juventus related or not

Did you see the brand new NASA and Juventus collab that dropped this past weekend? It sure is snazzy, huh? Look, I'm not going to complain about adidas and their clothing lineup this season — especially when they have produced one of the best kits we have seen in years with that incredibly sharp third kit that is sold out everywhere.

They are clearly doing a good job and I will not get precious about it. But can we just admit that the NASA collab, while admittedly cool looking, makes no damn sense? Does Juventus have absolutely any relation to NASA and or space? Is there any link there, other than the fact they wanted to use both logos together regardless of any narrative value? Has aerospace travel or astronauts ever featured in the history of the club?

Am I thinking about buying that stupid jacket anyways because I'm a slave to trends and spending money on dumb things? I'd rather not say.

See you next time.