In two years, Arturo Vidal has shown that the €10.5 million Beppe Marotta paid for him has turned out to be quite the bargain. Maybe not in the same category of Andrea Barzagli-to-Juventus kind of bargain, but paying that kind of price has proven to be one heck of a value signing for the two-time defending champions.
And now, Vidal has been recognized for his incredible 2012-13 season and was voted Juventus' Player of the Season. Shocking? Not at all. Other than a slight dip in form in the early part of the season, Vidal has been completely extraordinary. Here's the official announcement from Juve's website.
Having beaten off stiff competition from Paul Pogba and Mirko Vucinic to receive April's title before the team's title-winning clash with Palermo, the Chilean will again be pitchside to collect an award at Juventus Stadium, this time in recognition of his efforts across an entire campaign.
The 25-year-old has netted a total of 15 goals in all competitions and played a crucial part in the Bianconeri's final spring to Scudetto glory, finding the target in recent meetings with Lazio, Milan, Torino and Palermo to lift the club to its 31st title success.
If you want a bigger breakdown of Vidal's numbers, cruise on by his WhoScored player page. It's beautiful, all of it. Just when you thought his debut season in a Juventus jersey couldn't get any better, it did. And he just seems to be getting better and better. Not bad.
Arturo Vidal: One hell of a footballer. And he's only 25 years old, folks.
Now, just two questions on the way out:
1. Was Vidal the best player in Serie A this season? You all can discuss. (I know what my answer is.)
2. Where the hell is Andrea Barzagli's name in that story from Juve's website? I guess the Juventus Members who voted on this watched completely different games than I did. And I know he wasn't going to win because of Vidal's brilliance this year, but the Great Wall of Barzagli had to be in the conversation for the Top 3 at the very least. AT LEAST.