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With all the hype about Cristiano Ronaldo joining record Seria A winners Juventus on record transfer for a 30+-year-old surrounding the Old Lady of Turin it was easy to forget the squad traveling to the US for their pre-season. With Maximiliano Allegri leaving out World Cup finalists Mario Mandzukic, Marko Pjaca and Blaise Matuidi the Italian has decided to call up 4 teenagers from their youth setup as he aims to gain them first team experience and imbibe in the Juventus winning mentality.
Without further ado let's take a look at how these 4 promising teenagers have panned out their footballing journey till date.
#1 Alessandro Di Pardo
Allesandro Di Pardo was born on the 18th of July 1999 in Rimini Italy and started his footballing journey at the Rimini F.C 1912 Youth Academy before swapping his native club to join SPAL in the 2016/17 season. The youngster displays for SPAL U19 side was quickly noticed by the scouts of the reigning Seria A champions, Juventus as the Turin based side wrapped up a deal for the then 18-year old to join the Old Lady of Turin initially on loan before permanently signing the youngster on a 5 year contract as he joined the Juventus U19 side.
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The coming 2018/19 season will see Pardo playing for the Juventus B side. His performance for the U19 side has seen the youngster earning a place in the Juventus International Champions Cup side, debuting for the record Italian Champions in the MLS All-Star match. Rimini born lad till date has appeared in 4 matches and has scored 1 for the U19 Juventus side in the UEFA Youth League.
Alessandro Di Pardo is one of those highly talented versatile midfielders who are capable of playing through the centre, right or left of the midfield with the central midfield positioning being his specialist position.
#2 Pietro Beruatto
The oldest of the four teenagers involved in the squad Pietro Beruatto was born on the 21st of December 1998 in Trieste, Italy and started his footballing career in the famed Fiorentina Academy, learning the game for 7 years before moving onto to the Seria A champions Juventus in the summer transfer window of 2014, joining the U17 side. The young talent was quickly noticed by the coaching staff of the Old Lady of Turin as Buretto was promoted to the U19 side in just one season before a nasty shoulder injury hindered the youngster's progress ruling him out for most of the 2016/17 season.
A loan move in the 2017/18 season to Seria C side Vicenza followed helping the teenager gain much needed first team experience as he made 14 appearances for the Seria C side before earning a call-up to the International Champions Cup squad for Juventus first team and moving into the Juventus B side in the coming 2018/19 season. Beruatto has already made Juventus debuted coming on as a substitute for the record Seria A champions in the match against MLS All-stars.
Standing 1.84m long the Buretto is the son of former Lazio and Torino star Paul Buretto and just like his father, the youngster occupies the left-back role. The young defender due to his attacking prowess can also be drafted into the left midfield.
#3 Nicolo Fagioli
One of the youngest players in the squad for any of the teams participating in the International Champions Cup, aged 17 years and 5 months, Nicolo Fagioli was born on the 12th of February 2001 in Piacenza, Italy and started his footballing journey Piacenza Academy before joining the US Cremonese Giovanili Academy in the 2011/12 season. It didn't take long for the big boys of Italian football to stand up and take notice of the youngster as the Old Lady of Turin swopped in on the then 14-year old prodigy, signing the Piacenza born youngster in the 2015/16 season. The Journey up through the Juventus Academy was gradual for the youngster as he took 2 to move up from the youth team to the U17 side before being promoted up to the U19 side for the upcoming 2018/19 season.
The 17-year old already has already had a taste of first-team match experience when he came on as a substitute in 2 of the International Champions Cup fixtures for Juventus while also coming on as a substitute in the MLS All-stars match. The 17-year old also had his UEFA Youth League debut in 2017/18 season, losing out against eventual winners Barcelona. The youngster was also part of the Italian U17 squad that lost the 2018 U17 Euro Championship recently to the Netherlands.
The 17-year old style of play has seen coaches and pundits alike comparing him with the Real Madrid attacking midfielder Isco. Just like the Real Madrid star Fagioli is blessed with great dribbling skills and is very good in taking set pieces while also being very good at tight spaces. The young lad is also cool as a cucumber under pressure, his penalty in the 2018 U17 UEFA European Championship is an example of that.
Nicolo Fagioli is a right-footed player who plays mostly as an attacking midfielder just behind the striker but is also capable of playing as a defensive playmaker as well as in the right of the midfield.
#4 Leandro Fernandes
The only non-Italian teenager in the squad Leandro Fernande was born on the 25th of December 1999 in Nijmegen, Netherlands and started his footballing journey in the NEC Nijmegen Youth Academy before joining the talent churning out famous PSV Eindhoven Youth Academy in the 2013/14 season. The youngster quickly rose through the PSV youth setup as he moved from the youth teams to the U19 side in just 3 seasons. The young Dutch prodigy then made the huge decision of joining the record Seria A winners Juventus moving to Turin on the final day of the 2017/18 winter transfer window.
The youngster made his first professional appearance as early as 2016, aged 17, when he was brought on the 14th of October 2014 for Jong PSV, the reserve side of the Dutch powerhouse PSV Eindhoven, against Almere City FC in the Eerste Divisie, making a total of just a single appearance in the third tier. The youngster made 6 appearances and scored 1 goal for the U19 PSV side in the UEFA Youth League in the very same season. The Fernandes then had to wait 2 years for his next call-up to the first-team experience, coming on as a substitute in both matches for Juventus in the International Champions Cup while also coming on as a substitute in the match against MLS all-stars.
The 18-year old Fernandes is a typical modern-day midfielder capable of combining excellent technical qualities with very tactful intelligence allowing Dutch prodigy to perfectly slot himself into all the roles available in the midfield. The Dutch midfielder has an average appearance but makes up for it with his movement with the ball and a low centre of gravity as well as excellent pace with the ball at his feet. Nijmegen born lad is usually deployed as a defensive midfielder but is also capable of playing as a centre midfielder or an attacking midfielder.
