While the upcoming Serie A campaign will bring with it fierce clashes, hope and heartbreak, one Juventus player will become the man to watch as he begins his third full season with the club. This player, who during the 2024-25 campaign faced injury, management mishaps, and Premier League headhunters, is set to come out swinging.
This player is, of course, Andrea Cambiaso, the product of the Genoa youth system who only days ago scored a surprising brace in a 2-1 preseason friendly victory against Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga. Cambiaso, who is mostly seen as a reliable, if sometimes sporadically shaky player, has gone through the proverbial footballing woodshed in the past few years. But as the dust clears from the mishaps and mayhem of the Thiago Motta administration, there has never been a better time for the young back from Genoa to prove his worth.
In what seems now like another decade, Cambiaso first got his Juventus start under decorated Serie A manager Max Allegri, only it was part of Mad Max’s second and highly controversial tenure. Still, in his early 20s, Cambiaso was immediately loaned to Bologna, who was undergoing turmoil as head coaches became a revolving door of the dearly departed Lazio alumni Siniša Mihajlović and interim manager Luca Vigiani, before finally settling on the Motta.
In his season wearing red and blue, Cambiaso found mild success in what can only be described as a development year, but only started 12 matches by the turn of February 2023, causing Juventus to explore an ultimately ill-fated recall. The season wrapped with Bologna in ninth position domestically, and crashing out of the Coppa Italia in the Round of 16.
As the next season started and Cambiaso returned to Turin, he became a more permanent fixture with La Vecchia Signora. Although soon the 2023-24 season would be revealed as more of a “Last Dance” scenario where the young defender was in a fight to the top. A mix of aging Juventus veterans such as Danilo, Alex Sandro, and Daniele Rugani compiled in with a seemingly endless pile of youngsters such as Nicolo Fagioli, Kenan Yildiz, Fabio Miretti, Samuel Illing-Junior, and Matias Soule.
Despite a number of players eager to prove something, Cambiaso proved his potential and ability to remain consistent, even netting himself goals against Hellas Verona and Atalanta domestically, and against Salernitana in the Coppa Italia. Under Allegri, Cambiaso was able to establish himself as a primary starting option, and as one of the top dogs among the youngsters. The season closed with Juventus finishing 3rd in the Scudetto race, as well as taking home their first Coppa Italia trophy since the 2020-2021 campaign.
With Allegri’s departure and the arrival of Motta — as well as a number of new signings — this past season seemed like it would be another banner year for Cambiaso. And for a while it seemed possible. Until rumors began about Manchester City targeting him in the January 2025 transfer window, and something strange happened. Though he was facing sporadic ankle and hamstring problems that made him unfit for a number of domestic and European matches, these transfer rumors seemed to have a profoundly negative effect on Cambiaso’s performances. Errors, low-effort performances, and even one flubbed clearance against Fiorentina in the last match of 2024 that caused an equalizer, plagued the youngster.
Though he had some brilliant moments, everyone could tell something was off.
So now, with injuries, transfer rumors, and management debacles in the rearview mirror, it’s prime time for a season of Cambiaso masterclasses. While Juventus isn’t where it should be transfer-wise yet, and Igor Tudor may not have the longest tenure as gaffer, one revelation that was made during the Club World Cup was that players were having fun again. At least against Al Wydad and Al Ain. It seemed that this squad was actually enjoying their time in the USA, Cambiaso included.
Whatever happens in the upcoming season, be it in Serie A, the Champions League, Coppa Italia, or whatever miniscule and controversial tournament FIFA/UEFA decides to drop on players out of the blue, make no mistake … it’s time for Andrea Cambiaso to shine again.
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