In defense of Mr. Ordinary, Simone Padoin

How many people can say that they were there, in person, when Simone Padoin first wore the Juventus jersey? Around 19,000, give or take a couple hundred people. And how do I know this? That's because I was there, sitting a few rows behind then-backup goalkeeper Alex Manninger yell random ass things at one of the worst Juventus rosters in quite some time. What a memorable trip that was.

And clearly, i was witnessing the start of a great career in bianconero.

...

Okay, so maybe Simone Padoin isn't destined to greatness or anything really close to that.

Take a poll of anybody with any kind of knowledge of the Juventus roster and the general impression is that Padoin won't become a legendary figure durting this return to greatness in Turin.

Simone Padoin is starting a Champions League quarterfinal for Juve and is close to winning his second Scudetto. Incredible.

— Francesco (@FRANCESCalciO) April 10, 2013

So there's that. Again, the general viewpoint of a certain Simone Padoin isn't flattering. But then again, we already knew that. It's not like he took the world by storm once he first put on a Juventus jersey or will ever do that. And it's not like Beppe Marotta brought Padoin to be a starter. It was a signing for the purpose depth and depth only. Nothing more, nothing less.

So that first quote, takes us to this one from the Lazio-Juventus game thread.

Padoin's forte is his consistency. While he's average, he always does his job and his final product is a guarantee for Conte. Isla has the much higher ceiling as a player, but in comparison with Padoin, Isla's final product is a question mark for Conte, thus why Padoin always gets playing time.

First things first: That guy's smart. He should consider writing about Juve, maybe even for this here website. I wonder what he's up to these days.

Second: Jorid is right on the money.

Padoin isn't flashy. In fact, he's pretty much the complete opposite of it. His skill set is limited, and at 29 years of age, it isn't like he's going to suddenly become a drastically different player than the one he currently is. When you compare him to other players on the Juventus roster — not just those at the right wing-back position — his skills are just that much more restricted.

Would I like somebody like Mauricio Isla to play more than Padoin? Sure would. But it's not like I get the urge to grab my pitchfork and torches every time Padoin comes on as a substitute. (Although sometimes it seems like I'm alone in that notion.) Juventus didn't sign Isla to sit on the bench, but as the season has gone on that'e exactly what's happened.

And you have to think some of that has to do with the fact of Conte's trust level with Padon, which has been proven time and time again when an opportunity knocks for the Chilean to get a decent chunk of minutes. Conte feels a sense of security when Padoin is called into duty, be it off the bench of as an occasional starter.

That's because Padoin is what he is — an average player, but one who isn't bad enough to make Juventus worse when he steps onto the field.

Padoin doing non-exciting Padoin things isn't the worst thing in the world. I mean, it could be worse. Juve could still be handing over checks with Andrea Agnelli's signature on it to this guy.