While currently out injured, the importance of Paulo Dybala to Juventus simply cannot be understated.
The young striker has been with the Bianconeri for almost 18 months, and in that time he has become an essential figure in coach Massimiliano Allegri’s starting XI and a vastly different player to the one who arrived from Palermo.
November 15, 2016, marks his 23rd birthday—a perfect time to take a look at the development of Dybala, from his early years to becoming the prominent star he is today.
The forward was born in Cordoba, Argentina, and his father played a major role in allowing him to develop a strong love for the game, ferrying his son to wherever he needed to be before dying of cancer when Dybala was just 15 years old.
“There was no training session he didn’t accompany me to,” the striker told La Repubblica (h/t Football Italia). “The disease was long, I knew death was coming months before it arrived. I miss him very much, but his absence has given me strength and maturity.”
Indeed it did, and Dybala almost immediately took up an offer from Instituto and moved out of the family home into a team-owned hostel. He netted 17 goals in 40 appearances, his first strike seeing him break Mario Kempes’ record as the youngest goalscorer for the club. However, his career then took a strange turn.
Rather than follow the natural path of joining either River Plate or Boca Juniors, he signed a four-year contract with Serie A side Palermo. Rosanero president and owner Maurizio Zamparini insisted in an interview with Corriere dello Sport (link in Italian) he had brought the “new Sergio Aguero” to Sicily.
He would not make an impression immediately, scoring just three times in 27 games as Palermo were relegated to Serie B and netting just five more as they secured an immediate return to the top flight.
While coaches came and went at Palermo, former midfielder Gennaro Gattuso routinely joined in training sessions as Dybala explained in an interview with El Pais.
"Gattuso helped me a great deal because he was one of the guys who would kick me," Dybala said (h/t Goal). "He used to give me advice on how I had to position myself to dodge the blows. In more than one practice he would kick me just to teach me how to defend myself.”
The 2014/15 campaign would see him finally break out, developing a wonderful understanding with Franco Vazquez as the pair put the league on notice.
Juventus had certainly paid attention, pulling out all the stops in order to bring him to Turin, as Dybala explained to Sports Mediaset (h/t Forza Italian Football):
Juventus are the team that I wanted to join the most. They made great efforts to sign me and it helped convince me in making my choice.
When I came here [to Palermo] everyone said Maurizio Zamparini was crazy to pay €12 million for me; now I am worth a lot of money to him. Now it’s the same with people saying Juventus paid too much for me.
Over time I showed my quality for Palermo and I will try to do the same to repay Juventus.
According to Juve’s official website, the Bianconeri paid a fee of €32 million for the striker—who signed a five-year contract with the club—while a potential further €8 million would be paid “if certain performance-related targets are met.”
He contributed an impressive 23 goals and nine assists last season, his Serie A tally of 19 trailing only his compatriot—and runaway Capocannoniere—Gonzalo Higuain, but Dybala’s goals were vital in deciding the destination of two trophies.
The striker’s first goal came on his competitive debut for the Bianconeri, helping to seal a 2-0 Supercoppa Italiana victory over Lazio last August. However, with Juve struggling in the early weeks of the Serie A campaign, his goals against AS Roma and Chievo Verona were not enough to secure wins.
The team returned to winning ways after Week 10 and Dybala bagged a match-winning effort in a 1-0 victory over AC Milan on November 21, the goal (shown above) proved vital in seeing the Old Lady build momentum.
More goals would follow in wins over Lazio, Torino and Fiorentina as Dybala became one of the few Juventus players who shone creatively throughout 2015/16.
According to statistics from Squawka.com, he created a total of 73 scoring chances for his team-mates, which the graphic below shows was a staggering 20 more than any other member of the squad.
He also routinely used his skill and technique to confuse opposing defenders, figures from WhoScored.com showing that only Paul Pogba (2.9) completed more dribbles per game than Dybala (2.7).
That often led to him being hauled down or kicked, with the same source showing he suffered 2.1 fouls per game, a tally only topped by Juan Cuadrado’s average of 3.1, while he also impressed in the UEFA Champions League.
Netting a goal against Bayern Munich in the first leg of Juve’s round-of-16 clash, he missed the second leg and his absence due to injury in that match arguably highlighted Dybala’s importance more than any other fixture.
Yet, if the man himself is to be believed, then there will be many more opportunities to win in Europe with the Bianconeri.
Dybala told Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia) that he would love to spend the coming years replicating the achievements of some iconic figures:
Could I become like Alessandro Del Piero and Gigi Buffon? Yes, I can picture that. Their story fascinates me: 20 years with the same shirt makes you a monument. I cannot promise it, because this is not only up to me, but it would be wonderful to win what they’ve won and stay at Juventus forever.
He continued his good form into the current campaign, delivering performances that will push the Bianconeri hierarchy to keep tight hold of the man dubbed La Joya (“The Jewel”) for as long as possible.
The next megastar in world football? Paulo Dybala turns 23 today