End Of An Era: Juventus Legend Giorgio Chiellini Officially Announces LAFC Move

As had been expected for quite some time, this week saw Giorgio Chiellini finally confirmed as the newest signing for Los Angeles FC. In joining the MLS side, the Italian defender ended his 17-year stint with Juventus where he became one of the most decorated players in Serie A history.

He helped the Bianconeri finish top of the table on no fewer than 10 occasions, adding the 2006/07 Serie B title and five Coppa Italia triumphs along the way. Chiellini also helped power Juve to two Champions League Finals, where they were beaten once by Lionel Messi’s Barcelona and once by Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid.

While he may have been unable to prevent defeat to teams led by those two aliens, against the rest of football’s mere mortal men, the Juve no.3 became one of the most feared stoppers in the game.

Fearlessly plunging head-first into bruising challenges or crunching tackles, Chiellini somehow seemed to collect more blood-stained bandages than winner’s medals, routinely looking like a throwback to an age the sport had otherwise left behind.

But there should be no mistake, while he will be remembered fondly for those visual displays of his warrior spirit, there was much more to his play than physicality and a love of the dark arts Italian football has so often cherished.

A formidable man-marker, Chiellini was careful in possession, able to win the ball back and then quickly give it to a more technically gifted team-mate. He scored important goals, and while his recent seasons were marred by a number of injury layoffs – understandable as his 38th birthday rapidly approaches – he was still able to provide vital leadership to the squad.

“Right now he plays like he is reading a book,” fellow Juve defender Matthijs de Ligt said of Chiellini in an interview with the Guardian earlier this year.“He knows: ‘OK, this situation will happen, and then this will happen now.”

That ability to sense where danger would emerge helped Chiellini remain at the top for so very long, even helping Italy win Euro 2020 last summer.

Taking to the field no fewer than 561 times as a Juventus player, he ended his tenure behind only two players on the club’s all-time appearances list.

Not bad for a player they signed for a mere €7.3 million ($7.62m) back in 2005.

There is something more than a little symbolic about the fact that the men ahead of him – Gigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero – are not only Chiellini’s former team-mates but also his two predecessors as club Captain.

When it became clear that Chiellini’s time with Juve was ending, Del Piero was one of many team-mates who took to social media to praise him. “You’ve shown what it means to wear the Juventus shirt, every time you’ve taken to the pitch,” he wrote. “For 17 long years. I’ve seen you come along as a boy, and win it all with humility and hard work.

“[You are] an example for anyone who dreams of these colours. As a Juventus fan and a teammate, from Serie B to the Scudetto, thank you Giorgio!”

If it feels like the end of an era in Turin, that’s probably because it is. They don’t make them like Giorgio Chiellini any more.