All eyes on Ronaldo ahead of Serie A debut
FAMOUS AS the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Verona will play host to a different worldwide spectacle tomorrow: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus debut.
Ronaldo stunned the football world when he moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in a Serie A record 112 million euro ($131.5 million) deal which the Italian media labelled “the swoop of the century”.
And he is sure to be the focal point when the Italian champions open their title defence at Chievo Verona.
Hordes of people are expected to descend on the small city – which has a population of just over 257,000 – and extraordinary safety measures have been put in place around the Stadio Bentegodi, including anti-terrorism units as a precaution.
How do you follow up winning a record-extending seventh straight Serie A championship, including a fourth consecutive league and cup double? By signing the best player in the world, of course.
Last year’s title battle was one of the most exciting in years, with Napoli pushing Juventus before, somewhat inevitably, the Bianconeri successfully defended their crown.
With the addition of Ronaldo, many think another repeat is a foregone conclusion.
“Juve’s aims never change,” said vicepresident and former player Pavel Nedved. “The only word that counts, which the president always says, is winning. Winning everywhere, winning every match. That’s what matters for us, and we want to show that right from the first match against Chievo.”
OTHER JUVENTUS PLAYERS
Even more worryingly for the rest of Serie A, Ronaldo was not the only signing Juventus made during the offseason — although the Portugal international’s arrival did overshadow shrewd deals for the likes of Emre Can and Joao Cancelo.
“Bringing him (Ronaldo) to Juve was something exceptional and confirms Juve’s move into the big teams in Europe, but also Emre Can and Cancelo, together with the others, are top signings,” Nedved said.
“They will be very useful for the team.”
GOALS GALORE
Ronaldo was Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer with 451 goals in 438 matches.
He took just eight minutes to score his first for Juventus, in the traditional preseason friendly against the team’s “B’’ side on Sunday.
Ronaldo also scored against Juve’s under-23 side on Wednesday and is odds on to find the back of the net in his competitive debut.
However, his arrival is also expected to boost other players’ scoring statistics.
While in Spain, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi pushed each other to ever greater heights as they were constantly measured against one another.
Ronaldo could have the same effect in Italy. Gonzalo Higuain broke a 66-year-old Serie A scoring record in 2015-16 with 36 goals for Napoli, leading Juventus to pay a then Italian league record 90 million euros ($99 million) for the Argentina forward.