Paulo Dybala - A Jewel In The Crown Of Juventus

It was one of those moments when you just knew it was going in. At 2-0 down to Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana on Sunday evening, Juventus won a free-kick just to the left of centre, around 30 yards out. Standing over the ball were Miralem Pjanic and Paulo Dybala – both set piece specialists – but after the Bosnian had blasted one way over the bar earlier in the match, it was always going to be the latter that took it.

What happened next was a Roberto Carlos-style curling effort, the ball seemingly defying gravity by swinging way out to the left before it whipped back into the right. Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha had no chance. That moment of absolute quality brought Juve back into the game after a diabolical performance, the 23-year-old adding a coolly converted penalty to drag his side back to 2-2.

The Bianconeri may have gone on to lose the game via a last-minute Lazio goal, but the performance of “La Joya” (the jewel) proved his ability to single-handedly turn games around. Indeed since 2014-15, Dybala has scored six free-kicks in Serie A alone, the fifth highest tally in Europe’s top five leagues.

But Juventus must be careful to safeguard the jewel in their crown, the forward constantly linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Coach Max Allegri set up his side in such a way that Dybala had to constantly drop deep into the midfield to retrieve the ball on Sunday evening – after the laboured Sami Khedira was less than effective – negating the power of playing their star player in an optimum position.

“We can’t just change attitude like that and play 50-60 minutes with that mentality,” Dybala told reporters after the match. “We have to turn over a new leaf, think of the next match and be aware that we must become more mature, because what we saw tonight was a small-team mentality.”

Not just content to blast the team’s performance, the Argentine also rebuffed compliments over his own performance. Juventus are fortunate that this young player remains grounded although aware of his own immense talent. “Personally, I cannot be happy with my performance,” he continued. “Even if I scored two goals, I didn’t play well and I think I’ll have to work twice as hard this week too, because we’ve got to start the Serie A season strong against Cagliari.”

Such a level of maturity has seen Dybala recently awarded the coveted number 10 jersey at Juventus, the special shirt having been worn by the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, Michel Platini and Roberto Baggio. Those echoes of the past were clearly ringing loudly in the former Palermo man’s ears when he accepted the offer from the club.

“The No. 10 is special,” he wrote on his Instagram profile. “It's an honour to wear it, as it carries a sense of responsibility and of belonging to the history of a great club like Juventus FC. This is why for me today, having the No. 10 shirt on my skin is not just a childhood dream come true, but also an even stronger commitment inside of me to bring my team to victory in every game, in every competition and for every trophy.”

His commitment and work-ethic have undoubtedly earned him the shirt, but the sense of “belonging” that he speaks about is the most important factor here. In the short term it will see him continue to develop in the best atmosphere possible, even if a long-term stay cannot be guaranteed.

That said, the youngster with that magical left foot seems more than content in Turin, even pledging his future to the club after the Supercoppa defeat. “I’m very happy at Juventus,” he revealed in his post-game comments. “I want to grow here. If the President wants me to, I’ll stay here forever.”

For a potential Ballon d’Or winner, whether or not he does indeed remain at Juventus forever very much depends on if the side can break their Champions League jinx, securing the trophy for the first time since 1996. But having Paulo Dybala in their arsenal gives them the very best hope of achieving that ultimate aim.