For the first time in a good amount of time, Juventus manager Max Allegri has a conundrum when it comes to who to play in the center of the park. It's not a bad one like having to worry about not enough players being fit to fill the required positions. Instead, Allegri has too many midfielders to choose from right now, which means the easy decisions have gone by the wayside.
Paul Pogba needed all of two training sessions with the full squad before making his return to the starting lineup over the weekend. Both Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal were rested against Cagliari on Saturday evening. Claudio Marchisio and Roberto Pereyra started, with the former being subbed off being the 60-minute mark even arrived. And then there's first-leg hero Stefano Sturaro, who got the unpredicted start against Real Madrid last Tuesday night yet certainly answered the call in impressive fashion.
Dare we say ... Juventus has a full-strength midfield going into their biggest game in years?
Oh, yeah, we can say it. At long last we can say it.
And we can also say there's one heck of a decision for Allegri to make entering the second and decisive leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu.
According to #GdS only 1 spot is up for grabs for Juve's lineup vs Real; in midfield, competition between Pogba, Sturaro & Pereyra.
— Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) May 11, 2015
I'll just go ahead and try to step into Allegri's head for a second here to pull out the notion that it's more on how he thinks Pogba feels compared to anything else. Pogba played 62 minutes in his return to the starting lineup in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Cagliari. It was, of course, capped off with his eighth Serie A goal of the season while Pogba also got some much-needed game time after such a long time away from the field.
The thing hinging on Pogba playing from the start against Real Madrid on Wednesday will be Allegri's evaluation of how the Frenchman responds to just a few days rest after making his long-awaited comeback from a thigh injury sustained against Borussia Dortmund back in March. In the time between he has returned to training and opening kickoff in the second leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday, Pogba will have still had just five or six training sessions under his belt.
But, if Pogba is good to go, then let him loose. If Allegri didn't feel Pogba was ready, I highly doubt that he would have played as many minutes as he did over the weekend. If anything, the game against Cagliari was a testing ground for Pogba's match fitness as well as his game as a whole.
He passed it, and now looks to step into the Champions League spotlight once again.
That, in turn, would mean Sturaro and Pereyra would start from the bench. Those are two very good options to have available — especially in the second half and Juve need to defend a late lead or want to ramp up the pressure against Madrid. Just think about a midfield of Sturaro/Pereyra, Vidal, Pogba and Marchisio and the kind of high-energy pressing they would be able to put on an opponent.
It's not the worst thing in the world to have those kinds of options at the manager's disposal. Yes, even if it means having good players start from the bench.
And much like Allegri said before the first leg, a shutout is highly unlikely. And then when you throw in how Real Madrid are going to be pushing bodies forward in search of flipping Juventus 2-1 aggregate scoreline in the favor of the defending European champions. That means having tactical flexibility will be key to allow Allegri to adapt to whatever situation presents itself in the all-important second leg.
Basically, there are plenty of ways for Allegri to go even if it isn't from the opening whistle. That's something he hasn't been able to do much of lately. Just one of the benefits of everybody finally getting healthy and available at the same time.