Juventus have completed one of their most interesting seasons to date. After much tumult, exemplified by massive overhaul in both players and coaches, meaningless draws and unexpected defeats, us Juventus fans can breathe a sigh of relief after narrowly beating Venezia on the eve of the 2024–25 Serie A season to mark our participation in next year’s Champions League.
One of the more cogent emblems of the club’s headache of a season was their defense. Marred by an injury crisis, Juventus’ backline was subject to change, tinkering, and overhaul no matter if it was through Thiago Motta or Igor Tudor.
Only this year’s season could see this blog’s player ratings consider multiple players in various categories. Weston McKennie played everything short of goalkeeper, and Manuel Locatelli looked like one of our best defenders at the height of the injury pandemic.
Regardless, this post will try, arduously, to present an image of normality. McKennie and Locatelli, while we’re grateful for their service, will be in their natural position in midfield, while the great and mighty Gleison Bremer or the outcast Danilo — who played just a handful of games during the first half of the season for very different reasons — will indeed be included here.
Genoa v Juventus - Serie A Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Gleison Bremer — s/v
2024-25 Stats: 8 Appearances, 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 1 Yellow Card, 0 Red Cards
Bremer played just six Serie A games and two in the Champions League, yet he remained a consistent emblem throughout the early parts of the club’s campaign.
Usually, when a player goes down early in the season, with their return indefinite and seemingly perennial, they fade into obscurity, with the memory of their impact only revived when reports of their return to training start to emerge.
Bremer has been different. While the man himself has been quietly undergoing rehab for his ACL tear, a large Bremer-shaped hole was glaringly apparent in the defense throughout the season.
Since joining the Bianconeri from Torino in 2022, Bremer has represented a commanding, disciplined, and consistent figure in defense — and his eight appearances this season were no different. With his injury, and the string of others that followed, any hope Juventus fans had of winning Serie A were quickly quelled.
Juventus v Venezia - Serie A Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Danilo — 5
2024-25 Stats: 16 Appearances, 0 Goals, 1 Assists, 1 Yellow Card, 1 Red Card
Another Brazilian that failed to make an impact this season was Danilo — but for different kinds of reasons than Bremer. While we Juventus fans should certainly take umbrage with the undignified way the club offloaded the now-former captain, it’s not hard to see the logic behind the decision.
Early in the season, Danilo, once an important figment of the club, and a player who helped hold us together in our darkest times, looked like a shell of his former self. When Thiago Motta rarely decided to play him, he was clumsy, uncomposed, and frequently outpaced.
However, given the injury crisis that ensued both before and after his departure and the mind-boggling acquisition of Lloyd Kelly — which will be lamented later — Danilo could have certainly stuck around for longer and proven quite useful. Yes, his wages were cumbersome, but he’s an experienced player whose departure in retrospect reads more as a meaningless statement of change from a coach who failed to effect any.
Danilo was flawed, and maybe after the Bonucci-Barzagli-Chiellini dynasty ended was simply the best of a bad bunch, but he deserved better.
Cagliari v Juventus - Serie A Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Federico Gatti — 7
2024-25 Stats: 42 appearances, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Yellow Card, 0 Red Cards
Gatti is a tough one to write about. Namely, because he lacks the trappings of a modern defender. Freakishly tall and just as wide, he often looks gawky, awkward and uncomfortable on the ball. His passing ability does not inspire faith, and nor does his first touch.
Yet, for some reason, it just works. Gatti is a player who seems to relish in his contradictions. Someone who, despite looking like the kid with no football experience who you plop in defense at school lunch time and proceeds to hack at every attacker and ball that comes at him, was also the focal point of a Motta defense that championed ball-playing defenders.
Apart from being incredibly solid off the ball with his dog-like conviction to retrieve it at the expense of his health and safety, Gatti was also, often, a goal threat.
Physically imposing and uncharacteristically clinical in the final third, Gatti delivered Juve fans with some special moments this season — of which, lamentably, the club has few.
From bricklayer to somebody who wore the captain’s armband at Juventus in the early part of the season, Gatti is a player who seems to thrive off of criticism. While certainly flawed, he embodies the — much too elusive these days —Juventus spirit, and is to be kept, protected, and respected.
Football, Italian Serie A: AS Roma vs Juventus FC Photo by Elianton/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Lloyd Kelly: 5.5
2024-25 Stats: 15 Appearances, 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 1 Yellow Card, 0 Red Cards
Kelly is one of those unfortunate cases where what he represents overshadows his genuine ability. Kelly is the poster boy for the seemingly chaotic season of Cristiano Giuntoli transfers.
Kelly was ultimately unequipped for the level that Juventus, even at its worst, calls for. Giuntoli took a bench-warming defender from a league where attacking is king and plopped him in another where defense is doctrine. Kelly simply could not keep up.
However, that said, he does have some redeemable qualities, and the criticism he receives is more so a reflection of the sheer futility of his transfer.
Not only did Giuntoli and Co. classlessly throw away Danilo who could have easily provided some relief at the height of the injury crisis, but he offloaded one of the best young defending talents in Dean Huijsen for just €2 million more than Juve will have ultimately spent on Kelly.
Atalanta v Juventus - Serie A Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images
Pierre Kalulu: 6.5
2024-25 Stats: 39 Appearances, 1 Goal, 0 Assists, 3 Yellow Cards, 1 Red Card
Kalulu, surprisingly, given the haste with which we signed the deal with Milan, was one of our better defenders this season. While perhaps best at fullback, Kalulu spent most of his year in the center of defense — a lot of it out of necessity after Bremer’s injury.
Versatile and composed, Kalulu was well suited to Motta’s short-lived system. While still only 24, Kalulu brought an air of experience to the Juventus backline that was well needed after Bremer’s tear. He was strong and confident on the ball and did well to facilitate some attacks. Kalulu also rarely turned over the ball and was solid at recovering.
That said, the Frenchman is, unfortunately, brittle. Although this season’s injury setbacks were nothing compared to his time at Milan, he did miss a significant chunk of January due to injury, and he sometimes had to be managed closely to protect him from further damage.
If we’re to keep him next season given his loan — which is expected to happen when his buy option is activated — Juventus must make sure to bolster the defense to give him room to thrive without overstraining him.
SS Lazio v Juventus - Serie A Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images
Renato Veiga: 6.5
2024-25 Stats: 15 Appearances, 0 Goals, 1 Assist, 2 Yellow Cards, 0 Red Card
Never fall in love with a loan player, they say.
Well, easier said than done.
Just imagine a back line of Veiga, Gatti, and Bremer next season — a tall, physically imposing back to complement our more skilled and dynamic fullbacks.
While he’s young and shows his inexperience in turning over the ball, the player has immense potential and will certainly represent a force to be reckoned with wherever he lands next season.
Although Juve had some shaky moments at the end of the season, with Veiga unimmune to an error or two, he was one of the team’s more solid defenders, and certainly, although it’s not a difficult task, outplayed and overshadowed our other winter acquisition in Lloyd Kelly.
If Juve tried, in some way, to secure his services for next season, he’d be a great addition to the squad. Someone young, dynamic, and ready to learn — but also, more importantly at this stage, it would save Juve fans from the headache of another transfer window marked by hasty and poorly thought-out acquisitions.