Samuel Mbangula and the sweetness of the feint

Weekend football, midweek football, cup and league football, international football. To find a breather in the calendar, the overworked teams are looking to June, when not even the Nations League will be coming after them. And with the heavy schedule, squad rotation kicks in – for those who can afford it. After all, Harry Kane would not have scored seventy goals in twelve months across all competitions without an exceptional season or the lack of any equally talented alternatives to him in the Bayern and England attacks.

The future Sir has finally seen justice done for a gruelling and unfulfilled career, and it is high time that even at Juventus they finally realised that the root of all their mistakes – the ones that, in quick succession, led to the lacklustre 2–0 defeat at the hands of Genoa – was the sacking of Thiago Motta and the dismantling of the squad of hungry, foolish youngsters he had backed. It might not have caused the same stir as Cesc Fàbregas and his transfer fee, but that is the ‘cantera’, and that was his Bologna.

It is not merely a consequence of the poor results under Igor Tudor and Luciano Spalletti, the rapid succession of strikers sacrificed, the confusion over formations, tactics and the roles entrusted to Weston McKennie, or the decision to announce two strikers only to start with two attacking midfielders on the wings. No, Juventus’s problem also lies at the desk – with those who deluded themselves into thinking that two excellent transfer market figures like Giovanni Carnevali and Ricky Massara would be enough to make the club almost competitive again, on a par with Inter and Roma.

A flashback to Leipzig, October 2024: Thiago’s Juventus side, down to ten men, take the German stadium by storm, putting on a dazzling display that showcases their individual talents. Nicolò Savona shines at the back, Nicolò Fagioli directs play in front of the defence, and Samuel Mbangula provides the necessary cover on the wing: all products of the youth academy, just like a certain Matías Soulé, the star signing Dean Huijsen or midfield maestro Enzo Barrenechea. All sacrificed on the altar of transfer profits, once they were left without their manager.

Being ‘widowed’ in football is a nasty business. Not only does it force you to look in the rear-view mirror, but it sometimes prevents you from seeing the reality of the situation: you can find yourself ‘widowed’ from a particular style of play, from tactical approaches, or from the special chemistry between a given manager and one of his star players. In Bologna, there have perhaps been moments of longing for the Italian-Brazilian manager, or even for Vincenzo Italiano, who replaced him, securing the team’s place in Europe and gifting them a cup that will go down in the record books.

However, if Raffaele Palladino, the serial substitute currently in contention for the aforementioned players, has any chance of remaining in the hearts of the Rossoblu for a while, he will also have to thank Mbangula – yes, the one dropped by general manager Damien Cobolli along with the rest of the group: the Belgian winger, fielded somewhat unexpectedly due to Nicolò Cambiaghi’s precarious condition, single-handedly decided the away match at San Siro, plunging even Milan into the unprecedented vertigo of a league defeat.

In particular, his second goal of the match – making it 2–3 to the Emilia-Romagna side for the time being – became the headline story of Wednesday’s Serie A fixtures, amidst expected results, resilient performances (Torino against Como, Cagliari in Rome, Venezia facing Inter) and the aforementioned defeats, which were by no means unexpected. In the 61st minute, with the match level, Sam received the ball from Ferguson in the central third: he played it straight to Cambiaghi, who opened up the channel for the tireless Juan Miranda down the wing, ready to deliver an immediate cross.

In the middle, Jens Odgaard plays his playmaking role to perfection, creating space in the style favoured by Pep Guardiola, a former Blaugrana teammate of both Fàbregas and Motta. The move, with precise passing on the ground, is set up perfectly for Mbangula: it would be a penalty in the making, were it not for the fact that the almost 23-year-old has to shake off the marking of Koni de Winter and Sankhoun Diawara. They appear to have the upper hand, with at least one of them closing down the ball and making an early challenge.

The Bologna number 11’s feint is imperceptible, gentle, instantaneous. A dance-like minuet, which the shots from behind capture in all its flamboyance: the defenders left in the lurch, just like their counterparts at Reggina and Ajax out of step with Zinédine Zidane. Mbangula’s braids come into view in front of Mike Maignan when it’s all already over; all that’s missing is the shot under the crossbar. To win the match, avenge the Thiago boys and make Madama regret that ill-advised deal with Werder Bremen.