Juan Cabal delivers for Juventus as Luciano Spalletti demands more

Life at Juventus has been a stop-start affair for Juan Cabal, but it would seem things are belatedly heading in the right direction.

The 24-year-old Colombia international secured a vital win for Luciano Spalletti’s side at top-four rivals Bologna on Sunday, rising to head home a cross from coveted attacker Kenan Yildiz just three minutes after coming off the bench. The win sees Juventus leapfrog Bologna to climb to fifth in the Serie A table.

It was the second time this season Cabal has delivered a match-defining contribution as a second-half substitute, following September’s opener in a 1-1 draw with Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium, and most observers were of the view that his latest performance was also his best. Most, but not all.

‘Juan Cabal has to learn to control his emotions’

“Cabal has to learn to control his emotions,” said Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti, ever the hard taskmaster, after the club’s 1-0 victory. “He’s a powerhouse because he’s got legs, strength, a hundred metres in those legs. He has the talent to repeat actions and he’s strong physically; mentally tough, too. 

“But in the matches he’s played so far, he’s been too dirty for this level. That’s why I’ve been giving him a hard time.”

If Cabal is a talent that needs work, the missing ingredient since his £10m arrival from Hellas Verona in July of last year has been fitness. The versatile left-back’s Juventus career was just nine games old when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament on international duty last year. Having missed the remainder of that campaign, Cabal’s ill-fortune has continued this term. Physical issues, most notably a hamstring injury, have sidelined him for a total of 10 games, limiting him to just seven appearances, all but one of which have come as a substitute. 

For a club struggling under the weight of poor results and managerial upheaval – Claudio Marchisiso recently accused Juventus players of not knowing what it means to wear the shirt – Cabal’s return to the starting line-up cannot come quickly enough. If that involves taking a bit of stick from Spalletti, it is a price he is prepared to play.

Juan Cabal: Juventus boss ‘Spalletti expects a lot from me’

“Spalletti expects a lot from me, because he knows I can give a lot,” said Cabal, who marked his second goal since arriving in Turin by swapping shirts with Federico Bernardeschi, the former Juve winger now plying his trade with Bologna.

Cabal had a similarly slow start to his career in Verona, struggling to establish himself in the team amid injuries and disciplinary issues until some eye-catching displays under Marco Baroni piqued the interest of Juve. The hope in Turin is that history will now repeat itself.