Juve unearth Pavel Nedved’s replacement in MiloÅ¡ KrasiÄ”¡
Juventus summer signing MiloÅ¡ KrasiÄ”¡ has already become one of Serie A’s most exciting players.
After arriving in Turin from CSKA Moscow this summer, the 25-year-old attacking midfielder immediately highlighted his determination to emulate the success of Juventus great Pavel Nedved.
The Serbia international, who cost the Italian club €15million, described being compared to Nedved as “an honour” and underlined his desire to “do everything to try and follow in his [Nedved’s] steps at Juventus”.
The comparisons were always going to be inevitable. KrasiÄ”¡ hails from Central Europe, possesses a wondrous dribbling ability and even sports similar blonde locks.
KrasiÄ”¡’s roaming style is similar to Nedved’s. The Serbian, like the former Czech international, often collects the ball out wide before darting in-field to cause problems for defenders drawn out of the safety of their allotted full-back positions.
He has shown a keen eye for goal, is unafraid to shoot from distance and displays a passion and aggressiveness essential to succeed in the game. His direct style and confidence to run at defenders, dip the shoulder and skip past lethargic challenges has added spark to Juventus’ offensive play.
In Moscow, he lived in the shadow of the much-admired Daniel Carvalho, but the Brazilian’s loan move to Atletico Mineiro in 2008 allowed KrasiÄ”¡ to blossom as one of the focal points of the team. Often deployed on the right wing, his agile touch and dribbling abilities ensured he became one of the stars of Russia’s top flight.
Improved performances in the Champions League pushed KrasiÄ”¡ into the spotlight. Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini admitted he tried to prise the Serbian away from CSKA but was beaten to the transfer by Juventus.
“He’s a player I have always followed; I tried to sign him when I was Inter coach and I tried again when I arrived at City,” said Mancini.
The Serbian has played a fundamental role in everything impressive about Juventus’ style of play this season. One particular display against Sampdoria accentuated his growing influence on a developing Old Lady team under the guidance of Luigi Delneri.
The right-footed winger showed confidence on the ball in all areas of the pitch. He tested Sampdoria’s defence and showed understanding with his fellow team-mates. Unlike some modern-day wide men KrasiÄ”¡ is not a lightweight – he strikes an intimidating figure at 6’1″.
His two assists against Sampdoria in early Semptember was an impressive start to his Juventus career, but it was bettered just weeks later when Cagliari visited the Stadio Olimpico. KrasiÄ”¡, in imperious form, stormed to a hat-trick in a 4-2 win.
And the Serbian’s performance that night even caught Nedved’s eye.
“I don’t know if KrasiÄ”¡ is equal to me”, said Nedved of KrasiÄ”¡. “It’s up to you to say so. But he is a good player and this is very important.”
Merely eight games into his Juventus career KrasiÄ”¡ is clearly still a long way from coming close to emulating Nedved, who spent eight successful years in Turin.
However, if KrasiÄ”¡ can continue to produce performances in the same calibre of those against Sampdoria and Cagliari then he may well become a cult hero in his own right.
