As bizarre as it may seem, “Messi heir” Paulo Dybala is on the verge of missing out on the World Cup and has hit a run of poor form at the worst possible time.
That slump was triggered by an immature sending off in the Champions League against Real Madrid, after a winner against Tottenham at Wembley in the previous round had gotten him in Juventus’ fans good books, Dybala has just a few weeks to turn his fortunes round with three matches left to run in the Italian Serie A.
On Saturday night, the stage was set for him to impress national team coach Jorge Sampaoli in the Derby D’Italia against Inter, yet the 24-year-old was outshone by other compatriots in the running such as opposition captain Mauro Icardi, who netted his team’s equaliser, and Gonzalo Higuain, who scored his first goal in four hours to seal a 3-2 comeback victory for the Old Lady that might have gone some way to clinching a seventh consecutive title for the Turin outfit.
In lieu of those star displays, Dybala’s international days have been numbered since March when he was omitted from the squad for friendlies against Italy and Spain. His exclusion, along with that of Icardi, caused great controversy back in Argentina and had to be explained by Sampaoli.
“We thought that he was key in the national team” insisted the ex-Chile coach “But as time went by he might not have been able to adapt to our style,” it was said of Dybala, who is “struggling to fit in” and replicate his previously outstanding club form that has “made him a star in world football”.
According to Sampaoli, “The ideal scenario would be for [Dybala] to reach his potential” as no matter how great he is, a way to play as part of La Albiceleste’s team and allow “La Joya” (“The Jewel”) to “shine” must be found post haste.
Yet things have gone from bad-to-worse since this announcement for Dybala, who, as mentioned, has been ineffective in vital fixtures on the continent and in Italy. In a must-win clash against Napoli recently, he was brought off at half-time for Juan Cuadrado and has managed a mere six goals, three of which came by way of a hat-trick at the expense of rock-bottom Benevento, and a single assist thus far in 2018.
While there is still time for Dybala to stamp his authority on the remaining games of the Italian calendar and lead his team to the championship, the emergence of domestic stars such as Boca Juniors’ Cristian Pavon and Racing’s Lautaro Martinez, who has already confirmed a move to link up with Icardi at Inter, have the Argentine public turning their attention to other future stars.
