Mario Mandzukic
Italian football heavyweights Juventus on Thursday announced the one-year contract extension of forward Mario Mandzukic, keeping the veteran Croatian till June 30, 2020.
"Juventus Football Club is delighted to announce that Mario Mandzukic has renewed his contract, extending a journey that began in July 2015," the record Serie A champions said in a statement.
Power, perseverance and a penchant for decisive goals in the big moments have seen the imposing Croatian become an indispensable member of a Juventus side that has lifted consecutive domestic doubles and an Italian Super Cup since he arrived in Turin, according to Juventus' website.
At the start of this season, it seemed that Mandzukic, who has played as a centre-forward most of his career, will be benched since the big-money capture of Gonzalo Higuain. But since head coach Massimilano Allegri switched to the 4-2-3-1 formation, the 31-year-old has become an invaluable player at the left wing.
He has earning plaudits for his sacrifice and dedication to off-the-ball workrate that has helped the Turin giants reach the Champions League final, to be played against Real Madrid on June 3.
According to official records, Mandzukic's work has been one of both quality and quantity. Only Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain have found the net more often than Mario (23) since the start of last season, while the Croatia international sits in fourth place for chances created (90) and third for shots on target (53).
Particularly since his mid-season rebirth as a wide forward, Mandzukic's attacking contributions are not limited to his goal tally; with eight assists to his name this term, he is also one of his team's most consistent creative forces.
Perhaps the most revealing feature of the 31-year-old's Juventus experience so far has been his output going in the other direction away from goal.
"Remarkably, no other Juventus man has won more tackles than Mandzukic in the past two campaigns (74) and it is at this point that you begin to comprehend what he is all about," Juventus posted in their website.
Download the new mid-day android app to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr