The Old Lady Clings to Nick Woltemade
“Ifs” and “buts” won’t get you anywhere in soccer either, but if Juventus had managed to finalize the transfer of Federico Gatti to Porto, they most likely would have lost Sunday night’s match against Milan at Allianz Stadium: the defender scored the equalizer in stoppage time, answering a goal by another substitute, Cissé. Speaking of substitutes, the latest addition, the towering Nick Woltemade, also saw action starting in the 76th minute. The German gave it his all but couldn’t find the back of the net; however, he certainly didn’t lack effort, and the Old Lady’s fans appreciated him, not least for his determination. Now, they’re expecting goals from him, as Kolo Muani continues to struggle to find the net.
The paradox of the evening is that the difference was made by two players Juventus would have gladly let go this summer. In addition to Gatti, Teun Koopmeiners was also decisive, delivering the perfect cross that found the defender’s head for the equalizer in the 92nd minute: The Dutchman, formerly of Atalanta, had come on in the 64th minute, and right up until the last day of the transfer window, Vincenzo Italiano’s Besiktas had been knocking on Juventus’ door to bring him to Turkey, but failed to reach an agreement with CEO Carnevali. It’s a scenario we’ve seen before this season: the same thing happened in Frosinone, where Juventus’ goals were scored by Nico Gonzalez and Koopmeiners himself—two other players who had long been linked with transfers.
For Gatti, in particular, his fate seemed sealed. Porto had made a concrete offer for a loan with an option to buy: the Dragons would have included the Juventus center back directly on their Champions League roster. Juventus, however, had rejected the proposal outright, wanting to cash in immediately. Even earlier, in the preceding weeks, Massimiliano Allegri’s Napoli had also made inquiries about the defender, whom the Old Lady valued at around 25 million euros. None of these moves materialized, and his 92nd-minute goal against Milan now seems like the best possible response to those who thought he was on his way out.
On the refereeing front, the match was not without controversy. Cissé’s goal came after a controversial challenge by De Winter on Kolo Muani: a contact that last season would likely have been reviewed by VAR, but which the referee chose not to review, in line with the new guidelines imposed by referee coordinator Daniele Orsato. DAZN’s video analyst Luca Marelli was cautious; while he agreed with the approach, he issued a warning: “I’m fine with this use of VAR, but my hope is that they don’t overdo it.” In the 28th league match, Marelli pointed out, the interpretive guidelines remain difficult to define with certainty.
With this draw, both teams move up to 7 points in the standings, alongside Como, two points behind Inter and Roma. For Juventus, it’s a point that feels like a win, snatched in stoppage time thanks to a player who had already packed his bags over the summer.
