New Juventus signing Nico González has on Thursday named a former Bianconeri star as his footballing idol.
Frontman Nico, of course, took his talents to Turin during the summer transfer window, in a big-money move from Serie A rivals Fiorentina. After something of a hit-and-miss start to life in Juve colours, the Argentine international finally burst into life in midweek, in the club’s Champions League opener against PSV Eindhoven. González notched both a goal and an assist, en route to an eventual 3-1 triumph.
Ahead of the Old Lady’s return to domestic action against Napoli this weekend, the 26-year-old was in turn selected to take his place in front of the media, in a press conference. And, during as much, as cited by Calciomercato, González was drawn on a whole host of interesting topics.
Asked about his first goal in a Juve shirt, the World Cup winner explained: “The goal? I’m really happy, it was a dream for me to score with this shirt. I think it was the right time to win the match too, I’m very happy.”
Next came a question on the possibility of moving into a more central role in the Juventus attack, to take the place of the struggling Dusan Vlahovic:
“Me as a Vlahovic replacement? We work on this every day too. However, in our attack, one plays on the right, one on the left, and one strikes. We have great players, the one who doesn’t start, is ready to come in from the outside and change the pace of the game. We’re working hard every day, that’s the idea.”
Perhaps the most interesting response of all on Nico’s part, though, came after the former Stuttgart standout was asked to name his footballing idol. And the Argentine went on to point towards a one-time Bianconeri winger, in the form of compatriot Angel Di Maria:
“My idol? Angel Di Maria, on and off the pitch. I met him in the national team, and from day one he treated me as if I were at his level, and in reality, he can easily be considered a god.”
“Did I talk to him about Juve? In reality, we were focused on the Copa America. Only on vacation did I start to think about it, to decide whether to make this choice… but when Juve comes along you don’t think about it and say yes.”
All of a Juventus persuasion will of course be hopeful that González’s stint at the Allianz Stadium proves more successful than that of Di Maria, who, after a largely underwhelming season in 2022/23, opted to depart for Portugal with Benfica.
