Why Diego Was Better at Juventus Than Many Fans Remember

Last week, this writer recalled the time Amauri spent at Juventus, discussing his career in Turin throughout this previous post as he celebrated his move to NASL side Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

In promoting the post on Twitter, Amauri was dubbed “perhaps the worst signing in Juventus history,” to which many supporters of the Bianconeri shared a common response; what about Diego?

Ah yes, Diego Ribas da Cunha. A name synonymous with the failed teams who ran out in Bianconero during the 2009/10 campaign, a year that supporters of the Old Lady would like to pretend never happened.

Before that season, manager Claudio Ranieri had steered the club to second- and third-place finishes, his final campaign also including home and away UEFA Champions League wins against Real Madrid.

In a move that will shock no one, Claudio Ranieri has been sacked by Juventus.

— FourFourTwo (@FourFourTwo) May 18, 2009

Juventus were only just back in Serie A following the Calciopoli scandal and the current Leicester City boss had done remarkably well in those circumstances, but the club deemed his results to be not good enough.

Ranieri was sacked, and while fans of the Turin giants may not like the comparison, what followed was no different to what AC Milan have done in recent years. Juve turned to an iconic former player, one with little coaching experience and put him in charge of the first team.

Just as Clarence Seedorf and Pippo Inzaghi did at the San Siro, Ciro Ferrara struggled. Just like those Rossoneri greats, he was not properly supported in the transfer market but would still shoulder the blame for the club’s failings.

2011: Inzaghi & Seedorf win AC Milan title under Allegri.2014: Allegri sacked, Seedorf in then out, Inzaghi now boss pic.twitter.com/I5AQjFtQOg

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) June 9, 2014

But back to Diego. Where Ranieri favoured the same 4-4-2 he now uses in the Premier League to great effect, Ferrara was adamant his Juventus would use a trequartista, ideally within his preferred 4-3-1-2 formation.

The club obliged in some style, their official website revealing they had agreed to pay Werder Bremen €24.5 million for the Brazil native, with a potential further €2.5 million in performance-related bonuses.

“After an experience in Portugal and in the Bundesliga, I will be able to prove my worth at a high level but difficult competition,” Diego told a press conference after the deal was announced. “It is the right time for me to take this important step and I am convinced that at Juventus I will be able to achieve great results.”

Elano, Diego e Robinho #FotosHistoricas pic.twitter.com/NAdHpGRyE0

— Fut_Santos (@Fut_SantosFC) April 23, 2015

That belief was rooted in a career which had been superb until that point. He broke into the team at Santos while only 16 years old, helping them win the Campeonato Brasileiro alongside famous team-mates Robinho, Elano and defender Alex.

He would initially struggle to …

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