What Arturo Vidal can bring to Bayern
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
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"If I was going to war, I'd always take him with me," a Juventus team-mate said of Arturo Vidal; UEFA.com reporters ponder the midfielder's move to Bayern München.
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Bayern München coach Josep Guardiola likes versatile midfielders, something that should make Arturo Vidal a perfect fit after the club confirmed the 28-year-old's arrival from Juventus.
"If it was up to me, I would have 1,000 midfielders," said Guardiola recently, and he was not entirely joking. Even with Bastian Schweinsteiger's switch to Manchester United, he had no fewer than ten players capable of operating as defensive midfielders: Philipp Lahm, Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcántara, Javi Martínez, David Alaba, Sebastian Rode, Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, Joshua Kimmich, Gianluca Gaudino and Jan Kirchhoff.
The arrival of an 11th in Vidal will not delight Bayern's Bundesliga opponents; the Chilean international is well known in Germany from his four seasons at Bayer Leverkusen, where he scored 15 goals in his last term before heading for Turin in 2011. Given Bayern already possess a squad the envy of all their rivals, the only question being asked in Germany right now is how early next spring they will claim the title.
Vidal's reported €40m signing, though, may have more to do with the fact Bayern have bowed out in the semi-finals of the last two UEFA Champions League campaigns. With Vidal – and fellow newcomer Douglas Costa – Guardiola has two more valuable tools at his command; two more ways to make life difficult for any opponent and two more ways to tailor his side to big matches at the season's climax.
Juventus, meanwhile, may feel they have had the best of the former Colo Colo man. Vidal helped the Bianconeri win the 2014/15 Scudetto and became the first Chilean to play in a UEFA Champions League final, yet few would disagree that this last term was his worst in northern Italy. Despite playing most of the campaign in a more advanced position, just behind the forwards in Juve's 4-3-1-2 system, the midfielder netted only eight goals in all competitions, having hit 33 over the course of the previous two seasons.
Some of that might be down to the knee surgery he underwent ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, some feeling he was a bit too eager to return to action with Chile at the finals. Last autumn there were questions asked about Vidal's fitness, though he sharpened up as the campaign went on, coach Massimiliano Allegri eventually inspired to say: "Vidal is no longer running behind opponents – he is finally running at them."
If the UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona presented an opportunity to silence detractors, the occasion seemed to get to Vidal, and there were fears during the first half that he could receive a second yellow card. Off-field issues, with Juventus and during Chile's triumphant Copa América campaign, may have persuaded the club that the prized asset they refused big offers for last summer needed a change.
Not that his team-mates will be happy to see him go. "If I had to go war, I'd always take him with me," Juve captain Gianluigi Buffon said of Vidal. Bayern can only hope he is hungry for battle as he returns to Germany.
