At the moment, things are lively in Turin. Not at Torino, but at Juventus who recently decided to part ways with their second coach in a year. After Thiago Motta, it was Igor Tudor who took the door. The Croatian left an Old Lady in eighth place in the Serie A standings and did not shine in the Champions League either. After two draws (against Villarreal and Dortmund) and a defeat (against Real Madrid), the Bianconeri are 25th in the standings and therefore temporarily out of the play-offs. But yesterday, while waiting for the imminent arrival of Luciano Spalletti on the sidelines (Massimo Brambilla was acting in the interim, editor’s note), the Turinese regained color during the match of the 9th day of the championship against Udinese.
8 months without playing
Winners 3 goals to 1, the Piedmontese climbed one place in the ranking and are only three lengths from the top 4 synonymous with C1 next season. A good evening for the club of president Damien Comolli, even if a certain Edon Zhegrova (26 years old) once again remained glued to the sidelines. After three and a half seasons spent at LOSC (26 goals, 18 assists in 107 matches, all competitions), the 26-year-old Kosovar winger wanted to give new impetus to his career. Not easy when an adductor injury has deprived him of official competition since December 14, 2024. Announced in the sights of Olympique de Marseille, Zhegrova finally bounced back in Italy in exchange for €15 million.
“I am very happy and proud to be at Juve. The feedback from these first days is positive. Was it David who convinced me? The club and the project. And then, of course, I also know David. I know the team has a lot of quality and that’s why I chose it. I think this team wants to win every game. We’re just at the beginning, so we’ll take it game by game. When I played against Juve with Lille, we played very well, but those days are over. The work is different, and I’m happy to be a part of it», Declared the former Lille resident last September. Since then, it hasn’t really been a joy. Unsurprisingly, his very long unavailability prevents him from being 100%. On September 16, he came into play to play three minutes. It had been almost exactly 8 months since he last played an official match.
“He has this problem: every time he tries to push, it starts again.»
Since then, Zhegrova has only appeared three times. Once in C1 and twice in Serie A. But each time, it was only parts of the match (7 minutes against Hellas Verona, 26 minutes against Atalanta). On the eve of the match lost in Como (0-2) on October 19, Tudor confided at a press conference that his player was not yet ready due to pubic pain. “I’ve been using this gaming system for a few years, but I think it’s possible to consider other options. We’ll see, everything is still open. Zhegrova is not in good shape, he will not be called up.» Five days earlier, the Turin daily Tuttosport title: “Three months after arriving at Juventus, Zhegrova has become a case”adding that Comolli had not brought him in to make up the numbers but to strengthen an offensive sector very well stocked with advanced attackers but without too many players of the ex-Dogue’s profile.
Unfortunately for Zhegrova, Tudor was more vocal about his case just before facing Lazio on October 26 (1-0 defeat). “Edon arrives after a year without playing, we brought him in twice, then, when he returned from his commitments with the national team, he had to stop following a training that was a little more intense than usual. Unfortunately, he has this problem: every time he tries to push, it starts again. We will have to be careful with him, training him in the right way. I don’t know when he will be back in top form. For now, he can help us with his brilliance in the last 20, 30 minutes. But it’s impossible that he can play as a starter“. Will Zhegrova manage to put an end to her ordeal? Soon coached by Luciano Spalletti, the Kosovar can at least say that he will play under the guidance of a coach who knows him since the future boss of Juventus wanted him when he managed Napoli. And given the work accomplished by Spalletti with his Neapolitan wingers, including a certain Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Zhegrova has reason to be optimistic. His body still needs to finally leave him alone.
