Jorginho: From Verona Debutant to Pirlo’s Heir
To be a successor of Andrea Pirlo, you’ve got to be pretty good at football. If there’s one guy in the beautiful game that’s got the inherent ability to subvert these fundamental expectations; look no further than this man.
A path through Italian football is often synonymous with succcess, despite being simultaneously disheartening for others, although it hasn’t been a particularly amiable journey for Jorginho. The Brazil-born Italian regista, known to global football fans as Jorginho, moved to northern Italy with his family when he was a teenager; Jorginho immediately joined Verona’s youth setup and progressed through the ranks. 2010 was a particularly integral year for the starlet as he was loaned out to Serie C2 team AC Sambonifacese for a brief taste of senior football. The quality of Jorginho reciprocated in his one-year spell at the club, who were undoubtedly struggling before the arrival of Jorginho, as he registered 10 assists in just 31 appearances.
Returning to his parent club Verona the following season was unquestionably Jorginho’s greatest challenge, however, the dynamic Italian prevailed as he helped Verona to reach the Serie B (the second tier of Italian football for those unfamiliar with the hierarchical system)promotion play-offs, falling at the final hurdle. Despite this, Jorginho had illustrated significant levels of development in not only his technical ability as a footballer, but also his persona had exponentially enhanced during his first season with Verona. In addition, the 2012/13 season saw a Jorginho-inspired Verona team establish themselves as second-best in Serie B, instrumentally resulting in their promotion to Serie A.
Jorginho conspicuously demonstrated his impressive ability for Verona, as his debut Serie A season snatched the attention of many clubs, after scoring seven goals in just 18 appearnces. As the season progressed, interest and rumours encompassed the 22 year-old, until the registra was taken in January by Napoli (managed then by current Newcastle Utd Head Coach Rafa Benitez) in order to aid their midfield quandary, and the rest they say, is history (too soon? Probably).
Jorginho’s Role:
I believe there are a few misconceptions and incoherencies regulating amongst football fans, or simply just general curiosity as to what Jorginho’s role exactly is. The answer is: its quite complex, the opted dynamism of the Italian makes it almost burdensome to pinpoint his exact role.
Jorginho acting as a deep-lying registra is quite odd in the revolutionary generation of less-specialised player roles. My advice is to think Andrea Pirlo and Xabi Alonso, though perhaps a more slender stature, and with a minimalist passing style similar to Sergio Busquets. Jorginho’s inherent qualities lie in his eagle-eyed vision and significant passing ability, modelling his playmaking abiity after Pirlo himself, without the glorious beard and the philosophical mystique. In particular, the Italian’s distribution is sensational, possessing the ability to ping long, diagonal balls or simply unlocking the defense with an intelligently placed throughball (perhaps reflecting Real Madrid’s Luka Modric or Manchester City’s David Silva).
Jorginho is, simply, one of the best passing midfieders in Europe. His current pass accuracy remains at around 90%, rarely loosing possession- perhaps the major reason why Jorginho has attracted specialist interest from Pep Guardiola. His slick one-touch passing and his football IQ are perhaps his two substantial attributes; his preliminary instinct to predict offensive plays is one of those intangible aspects of football that is impossible to teach. Being one of the most accurate passers on the continent, Jorginho currently rates highest in Europe’s top 5 divisions in terms of average passes per game (94.7). Unsurprisingly, three Manchester City players also find themselves in the top 10 in this category: Nicolas Otamendi (3rd), Fernandinho (4th), and David Silva (7th), respectively.
Jorginho is universally recognised for his composure and dynamism, allowing him to be deployed in various midfield positions (you probably don’t want him out wide though). Resultant of his tenacious work-rate, Brazilian-born flair, and passing accuracy, Jorginho is capable of playing either in a central box-to-box role, or in a defensive role as a ball winner, but often favouring a creative role, as a deep-lying playmaker.
Jorginho at Napoli:
Throughout his time at Napoli, Jorginho played as the deepest central midfielder, usually in a three-man midfield anchored on either side by a player who adopts more of a “destroyer” role in Allan, and ostensibly a “deep-lying 10” in Marek Hamsik. Sarri’s set-up allowed for not only the necessary fluidity and positional play that he desires, but also identifiably left Jorginho in a classic registra role, enabling him to constantly dictate the tempo of the game. He often dropped between the two centre-halfs (usuallly Albiol and Koulibaly) in the initial build-up play, providing a conspicuous metronomic outlet, whilst enabling Napoli’s high press and high defensive line to encompass. This myriad system almost replicates the stylistic philosophy of Pep’s Manchester City- meaning that Jorginho wouldn’t require drastic positional alterations if the transfer to City does occur.
Jorginho’s ability to effectively undertake his defensive responsibilities is often overlooked, despite not being the most physically imposing of men, he utilises his exceptional innate intuition to cut down passing lanes, and position himself perfectly for interception. Last season, he averaged around 1.5 interceptions per match, whilst not N’golo Kante level (2.5), he still reflects extraordinary work for a player of his stature. Despite only accessing 8 capps for the Italian national team, Jorginho is undoubtedly the future of the national team and a potential heir to Pirlo. And wouldn’t a midfield duo of Jorginho and Marco Verratti be something quite magnificent to spectate?
As a result of intensive interest from Manchester City, Jorginho could establish himself primarily as back-up for 33 year-old Fernandinho, and thus as his long term successor as the heartbeat of the team. Currently, Guardiola implements a similar three-man midfield, in the form of Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, and David Silva. The conspicuous similarities between the systematic philosophies of Sarri and Guardiola make Jorginho an idealistic and amiable choice for the Blues. I think the most crucial aspect of this, is the notion that Jorginho has not yet fully proven himself both internationally or at European football level, and with Fernandinho and David Silva ageing (yet arguably improving), this actively enhances the possibility of the Italian playing in the number 14 shirt in either of these roles. A three-man midfield of Jorginho, De Bruyne, and Silva doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
Because ultimately, when that infamous beard arrives, the Premier League, Manchester City fans, and world football fans will finally realise they have obtained something truly special.
