The Roller Coaster Ride of Signing Eljero Elia

By: Ivo | August 30th, 2011

It is finally done, officially official, finito. Eljero Elia is a Juventus player, coming over from Hamburg for a fee of €10 million (€1.3m/year for 4 years).

While not as big as the Cesc and Nasri transfer sagas, this was definitely the most drawn out journey for Marotta this summer. The target? A young, Dutch left winger playing for a not-so-exciting team in the very-much-thrilling German Bundesliga.

Eljero Elia Juventus
I shall honor this club’s history by signing the
contract in a ridiculously juvenile t-shirt.

Juventus has undoubtedly needed an actual left winger the last 2 years, ever since Pavel Nedved retired. Ironically, on his birthday (buon compleanno Pavel!), a promising signing arrives in Turin and puts pen to paper, albeit hesitantly, to don the Juve shirt as soon as the player’s strike is over in Serie A.

You’d think us Juve fans will be bathing in champagne right about now. We have a young, speedy winger with lots of upside that in today’s inflated market didn’t cost a ton of money (especially since Hamburg paid €8.5m for him). He is not world class by any means, but the 2009 Dutch Football Talent of the Year should blow the likes of Pepe, Giaccherini, Martinez, and the ill-suited Marchisio straight out the water. Something doesn’t feel 100% right though. It’s as we forced Elia to sign with us only because he had no other options.

Many have said this, and I actually believe it – Eljero Elia was never excited to play for Juventus. Up until yesterday, Hamburg and Juventus were on equal grounds in his eyes and he enjoyed playing in the Bundesliga. Coming over to an Italian team that is unlikely to fight for any honors this year was simply not enticing to him.

Instead, Elia preferred a move to England. I do not blame him – everyone and their mother is trying to play in England right now (unless Barcelona is calling), so him and his agent continued to make comments that will hopefully bring him closer to the EPL. There were rumors that Liverpool and Arsenal were interested, but no one came knocking.

Then there were the denials/retractions – Elia never said anything negative about Juventus, it was just the German media making stuff up. Next Elia used his Facebook page to deny any bad Juventus comments. Then people were saying he simply doesn’t like Italy because of racial abuse by the fans. Rumors, rumors, rumors. 24 hours later, he is a Juventus player.

Eljero Elia Juventus
Elia on his way to Turin on a private jet,
checking the papers for any Arsenal bids.

So what the hell happened? Only few actually know, though I’m convinced we were Elia’s last resort. I believe he made those comments about not wanting to play at Juventus and then had to retract/deny once his agent told him it could hurt his chances of getting signed anywhere. I believe he desperately wanted to play for Arsenal, with some rumors even saying Arsenal made a €9m bid that Hamburg rejected cause they wanted €10m (yeah, right). He has every right to be concerned about racial abuse in Italy, but Juventus fans have been very welcoming to players of African descent in recent years.

Whatever the case may be, Elia is a Juve player. He will wear the number 11 jersey (thanks to Adam for the note) and will likely play on the left flank. He is naturally a right-footed player, so expect him to act more as a Robben-winger – cutting inside looking for through balls or curling balls in the far corner. He can also hit it with power, and enjoys beating his defender when entering the box.

Last but not least, he can play as an attacking midfielder, maybe even a second striker. All in all, a useful, versatile player that if motivated, focused, and willing, can really complete our attacking play in the final third.

Call me a skeptic, but that is one big if.

Eljero Elia on Twitter
Eljero Elia on Facebook
Eljero Elia’s Tumblr
Eljero Elia’s Wikipedia Page

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: Team News

« Officially Official: Elia’s Wikipedia Has Been Changed | Home | Amauri’s Still Here, Rejecting Every Move In Sight »

CTJuvefan

This kid is going to perform well for Juve period. I am extremely
excited to watch him and Milos on the flanks. This is a singing that
needed to happen in order for the club to gain the explosive wing play
it needed, and it adds depth to wingers on the team as well. Granted he
may be a bit of a head case, but I see him maturing and playing really
really well for us. If we get good fullback play this can be a very
promising year, top 3 definitely, maybe more.
Rdj8

What is Cassano saying in that video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
jorid22

"You've been at the beach for a week already, you're always at the beach. Go fuck yourself (jokingly), go act like a superstar, go!"

lolwat?
Somnath_Sengupta

What ? :o
jorid22

"Vai a fare il fenomeno" a.k.a "Go act like a superstar already" it's like saying "You think you're so fucking cool!" in a joke.
jamal100

I don't speak Italian...but if I would take an educated guess it would be : Cassano to Pazzini...." man....why did you choose this shitty club?.... in a couple of years your shitty club will be relegated to the lower divisions". Pirlo .." I agree with Cassano on this. juventus and Milan are gonna go on top of Italy again.....sorry you have arrived at shitty club". Pazzini: " I know...i know.. I hate this shitty club too . I wish I was at Sampa.".
jamal100

I tell ya after watching Spain vs Chile .. Vidal doesnt take shitt from anyone. Totti , Gattuso..........T. Motta. consider yourselves warned.
JoseR

http://www.football-italia.net...

Hilarious, I knew Inter couldn't count, they think 27 = 29. I guess they can't read either.

I am sure Juventus had something to do with the UEFA rules, right Mr. Moratti?
vidder911

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Brilliant!
jorid22

http://img.chan4chan.com/img/2...

I just read that on VS, laughed pretty fucking hard. Priceless.
juvealways

Beyond the questions and strangeness about Ziegler, I think one aspect of this deal we have to consider is the reputation of the club; Ziegler came in when he had other offers (not make-believe ones, either), spent a few months with the club, did not play in a single official match, and was sent packing before the start of the season without a thank you.

What kind of club treats its players like a sack of potatoes? If I was Ziegler, I would be upset, and rightly so. Fine, if Conte didn't want him, send him away, but give the guy a fighting chance to wear the Juve shirt once or twice until January. This looks very unprofessional to me.

Any player considering an offer from us should be wary now, because they cannot know how they'll be treated.
grεgò ™

the moral thing would be if de ceglie gets injured again, where are juve than? No left backs
gigar

the funny thing is that Ziegler apparently refused to be sold permanently but wanted to go to Turkey only on a 1 year loan. I suppose he figured that there is a good chance that within a year Conte may be gone
Somnath_Sengupta

Last season Brazzo, Grosso and Trezeguet were mistreated..now this.
Milos

Grosso is still here, Brazzo was out of contract. Biggest mistread is Trezeguet and Camoranesi contract termination and the fact Nedved didn't get his contract extend when he was more than willing to sign it.
Vialli

We will see the truth in January.
Or later when the season ends.

Remember Giovinco ? :|
Gaetano

You don't know the dynamic of the squad. Maybe ziegler is bitching every minute about not being played...only those in the training room can determine this.... I agree with you... but we are both not there to understand what is going on....I truly believe conte loves our club so much that he would do anything to protect it...maybe I'm being naive or maybe I just want it to be true
juvealways

Well, yeah... Everything's possible, of course, but we the outsiders think and analyze with what we have; this is true for all aspects of the running of a club. Given what we know, this deal doesn't make Juve look professional. I've no doubt about Conte's commitment or determination.
Comrade

Well said. "We don't know what's going on" can be an excuse to not criticize any institution in the world.
Dumitru86

agreed. if juve didnt want him, then the right thing to do was to allow ziegler a free exit. there was still enough time for him this summer to sign for a decent club in serie a. he had a great season last year, even if sampdoria were relegated and alot of good clubs were interested to sign him. not fair to mess his career like that.
XhakaJuve

Exactly what I was thinkin I mean how dare conte and marotta treat him like that this is one of the most unprofesional things ive ever herd of especially considering the fact that ziegler was so happy to be in bianconeri colors and im sure this decision is going to affect the clubs performance this season
Gaetano

fuck that. "how dare conte and marotta treat him like this"....Juve is bigger than reto ziegler... sorry mate.
guest

juve is bigger than conte and his ridiculous decisions too!
Comrade

Of course we are bigger than him. I don't care care all that about player treatment at this point of time. But the whole Ziegler situation certainly indicates that there is no proper plan in place to identify the problem and alleviate it. The whole mercato seems to be about random purchase and sale of players.
Chuks A.

Doesn't mean that Juventus is "so big" that we aren't obliged to treat a human being with some damn respect.
Comrade

Let us forget the worthless leeches in our team for a moment and remember he who died serving for Juve 22 years ago on this fateful day.

Let us pay our respects to Gaetano Scirea.
juvealways

I was highly privileged to witness his last 6-7 seasons with us. Such class, the man had. Even in the naivete and ignorance of my childhood, and even as he was surrounded by such flamboyant greats, I felt he was something special.

Requiescat in pace.
Comrade

Requiescat in pace.

Have you played Assassin's Creed or it is just that you know enough Italian?
pablouv

AC Revelations is coming :D
jorid22

I'm thinking both.
juvealways

LOL, Jorid got it right. Of course, this is not Italian, but Latin. :P
Papai

Did you know that the two giant figures painted on our Stadium Seats are Scirea and Platini?
Papai

5 great reasons why Juventus might succeed despite a crappy mercato -

1. Antonio Conte - The man will bring in the much needed winning mentality and grinta back to Juventus. There will be no slackers this time
2. Stadium - The atmosphere inside the new casa juventus will be something unlike anything seen before in italy. A much needed morale boost.
3. Pirlo - A true genius on his day, he is the key to unlocking stubborn defences all season long
4. Potential - A lot of players in the team are on the cusp of greatness. IF it all clicks, we have a team. We are due some luck anyways
5. Last of the Samurai - Probably ADP's last season, he will surely be doubly fired up. Buffon too because he has to fight for his place now for the first time in memory
djp4cal

POSITIVE POSTS. MOAR PLEEZ.
AlbionArks

I sense a hint of positivity in this post......
Sampath

yeh finally.
Gaetano

The change of attitude is much needed in times of madness....much appreciated!
persianJuve

Do you have ANY idea how a winning mentality develops in a team? A team that is managed by a great tactician with enough experience at top level will win some games and as the time goes on, the "winning mentality" develops naturally in the team. It's not as if an aggressive and bitchy coach (who has been possibly a former player of that team) will be able to create such mentality. Such coaches cause only harm by their unprofessionalism and awkward attitude. Ziegler is the most recent case! I don't say I'm sure Juve will suck under Conte but he's a huge gamble and after finishing 7th twice in a row, we shouldn't have risked it.
Papai

i dont have any idea. Sorry for talking out of my ass/arse
JoseR

Too funny, you should come back and post more often.