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Juventus’ Juan Cuadrado Continues to Thrive Away from Chelsea and Mourinho
- Updated: October 27, 2016
It must be something about Italy. All across the peninsula, Colombian stars are thriving, with Carlos Bacca perhaps the most prominent example of a player from the South American nation enjoying life in Serie A.
His deadly scoring ability is routinely on display at AC Milan, but the striker is not alone. Luis Muriel has already netted five goals in all competitions for Sampdoria, while Duvan Zapata has four for Udinese; both players are looking impressive in the early months of 2016/17.
Jeison Murillo is one of Inter Milan’s best defenders, but Carlos Sanchez may be the most surprising of all. Shrugging off the struggles he endured with Aston Villa, the midfielder has consistently impressed on loan at Fiorentina as coach Paulo Sousa quickly made him part of the Viola starting XI.
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Before scoring against Chievo on his full debut (see above), the 30-year-old arrived in early August and was happy to tell reporters at his first official press conference how he made the decision to move to Italy.
“I talked to [Juan] Cuadrado who told me to come here because it’s a family club, and that was important for my decision,” Sanchez said, citing the decisive input from his international team-mate.
Given his own wonderful time with the Tuscan club, the fact the winger spoke highly of Fiorentina should come as no surprise. Cuadrado spent two-and-a-half seasons with La Viola, contributing 20 goals and 15 assists in just 85 Serie A appearances, seemingly smiling the entire time.
Keen to break into dance whenever he scored, the man who also spent time with Udinese and Lecce gave Fiorentina fans many reasons to celebrate during his tenure with the club but never more so than on October 20, 2013.
That Sunday saw Juventus travel to the Stadio Artemio Franchi, where they quickly jumped into a 2-0 lead over an opponent who had not beaten them in 15 years. But Fiorentina were inspired in the second half, with Giuseppe Rossi netting a hat-trick and Joaquin adding a stunning fourth goal.
But the true driving force in that clash was none other than Cuadrado, his pace and direct approach repeatedly causing problems for the Bianconeri. According to WhoScored.com, he ended that game having created one goal, completed three take-ons and being fouled six times, the visitors left with no choice but to repeatedly hack him down.
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That match and Cuadrado’s subsequent performances at the 2014 FIFA World Cup—where he had one goal and four assists in five appearances—paved the way for a January 2015 move to Chelsea.
But like Sanchez at Villa, he would not enjoy his time in England. The Stamford Bridge outfit spent £23.3 million to sign the player per Matt Law of the Telegraph, but he was never truly given a chance by …
