The man, the myth, the legend. Beppe Marotta has done it again…
Beppe Marotta is once again being hailed as the master of the transfer market after bringing Romelu Lukaku back to Inter on loan, a year after selling him to Chelsea for £97.5 million ($119m).
It certainly looks like another excellent bit of business from one of the most revered characters in Italian football, one who began his career in calcio by taking charge of the youth sector of his hometown club, Varese, when he was still only 19 years of age.
Marotta then earned himself a reputation as a shrewd sporting director during spells at various mid-level clubs, such as Monza, Como, Ravenna and Venezia, before really starting to rise to prominence at Atalanta.
However, it was fine work at his next club, Sampdoria, that brought him to the attention of Juventus, who were in a state of utter disarray when he arrived in Turin in 2010.
Within a year, though, Marotta had laid the foundations of an unprecedented era of Serie A success, with Juve winning nine consecutive Scudetti thanks primarily to his managerial appointments and inspired signings.
However, after sensationally leaving Juve in 2018 following a falling-out with his fellow directors, Marotta joined bitter rivals Inter and promptly set about knocking his former club off their perch.
The Nerazzurri's 2021 title triumph represented further vindication of Marotta's methods and cemented his status as arguably the most influential director in the game today.
Below, GOAL runs through the best bargain buys of what has been an incredible career to date…
GettyAndrea Barzagli – €300,000
Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci always drew more attention than the other member of the 'BBC', Andrea Barzagli.
That was understandable, of course. Chiellini may have been a master of the dark arts but he was also a warrior. It was hard to miss him, given he was so often sporting a blood-stained bandage on his head.
Bonucci, meanwhile, became renowned for his wonderful distribution of the ball, with his long passes from deep often leading to goals.
Barzagli's role was far less eye-catching but just as integral to both Juve's and Italy's success.
A quiet, humble character, he simply got on with his job: which was usually marking forwards and wingers out of the game.
He was often charged with tracking players far quicker than himself but he was rarely caught out, so brilliant was his positional play.
Barzagli is one of the most under-rated centre-backs of the modern era and, as a €300,000 (£260,000/$315,000) signing from Wolfsburg in 2011, a Marotta masterstroke.
AdvertisementGettyAndrea Pirlo – Free
"When Andrea [Pirlo] told me that he would come to Juve," Gianluigi Buffon revealed in 2011, "the first thing that I said was 'Thank God!'"
The Juve captain's joy was understandable.
In what will be remembered as one of the worst appraisals in football history, AC Milan had concluded midway through the 2010-11 season that the 31-year-old Pirlo was past it.
As a result, they allowed him to run down his contract and join Juve on a free transfer.
It was, as Buffon predicted, "the deal of the century".
Pirlo, driven by the desire to make a mockery of Milan's decision to ditch him, immediately transformed a Juve side coming off the back of two seventh-placed finishes into champions.
The reinvigorated regista won four Scudetti in total in Turin, and was named Serie A Player of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Not just one of Marotta's greatest ever deals, one of the best in football history.
GettyArturo Vidal – €10.5m
Arturo Vidal has undeniably frustrated fans during recent stints at Barcelona and Inter but the Chilean was a true force of nature at his peak.
Indeed, for the majority of his four years at Juventus between 2011 and 2015, there was arguably no better box-to-box midfielder in world football.
He really could do it all, which makes his €10.5m (£9m/$11m) acquisition from Bayern Leverkusen one of best bits of business in Juve's history.
Pirlo and Pogba provoked plenty more headlines, for a variety of reasons, but Juve's re-emergence as the dominant force in Italy, and a major power in Europe, simply would not have been possible without Vidal's relentless running and tenacious tackling.
Indeed, while Marotta may be renowned for his free transfers, he also knows a bargain buy when he sees one, and Vidal was certainly that.
GettyStephan Lichtsteiner – €10m
It takes two to make a pass, so while Pirlo's precision and vision makes things a whole lot easier for any attacking side, the playmaker wouldn't have enjoyed quite so much success at Juve if he hadn't had willing runners.
Stephan Lichtsteiner was undoubtedly one of his most talented targets, with the Swiss effectively serving as a wide receiver to Pirlo's quarterback.
Indeed, they showed exactly what they would be all about just 16 minutes into Juve's 2011-12 season-opener, with Pirlo lofting a wonderfully-weighted ball into the penalty area that Lichtsteiner controlled before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home.
The buccaneering right-back would go on to make a colossal contribution to Juve's Serie A dominance under Conte, as well as their run to the 2015 Champions League final.
Indeed, he proved perfect for Conte's 3-5-2 formation, and Marotta had made it happen, prising him away from Lazio for just €10m (£8.6m/$10.5m) as Lichtsteiner had just one year left on his contract at the time.