The essential feature of prestidigitation it’s the timing. Because to deceive the human eye and leave the viewer speechless, the trick must be worn in one fraction of a second. It’s a hard and fast rule that Matias Soulé he recalled in the 33rd minute of Frosinone-Hellas Verona. The Argentine recovers the ball on the edge of the opponent’s area and finds himself in front of a wall white shirts. Two break away and try to block his path. But it all happens in the blink of an eye. Soulé doesn’t dribble defenders. It passes through us. Then he raises his head, opens his left foot and presses the ball against the post. It’s a gesture Imperfectgood for shining in highlights but not enough to change the outcome of the match. Yet it tells a lot about the Argentine’s way of playing. In a football that has become increasingly robotic and mathematical, Soulé represents the spark capable of unleashing the short circuit, the can opener capable of shredding closed defenses in an all too hermetic manner. The impact of the Argentine winger on this one A league It’s difficult to photograph. Because it doesn’t match the numbers recorded. Because it goes beyond the five goals scored, the assist served, and the average of 2.5 chances created per game.
It is something closely related toaesthetics of his plays, where substance is essential from form. She proved it against the Fiorentinawhen he avoided two opponents thanks to a double sombrero that resembled, in a small way, the one he wore Cafu stunned Nedved in a derby in December 2000. But he shows it every time he takes the ball on the right wing and cuts towards the centre. His football figure is the check, with the ball becoming almost a puppet ready to make every play that materializes in his head. And no matter how bold she may be. Her technique makes him lethal in the straits. But his capacity of conduction of the ball allows him to stick in every rearguard. So far Soulé has completed something like 3.8 dribbling per game. Khvicha Kvaratskheliai.e. the brightest player of the last championship, is stuck at 2.4. Rafael Leao even at 1.7. Perhaps the Argentine is not yet the most effective player in the championship, but most likely he is the most beautiful to watch.
The way the opponent jumps brings with it a load ancestral. It recalls the feints of the South Americans of the past, of those players that everyone heard about but few were able to see, perhaps thanks to the low resolution of the profit cathodic. Dribbling as an act of rebellion, as a bluff aimed at asserting oneself. His sharp left-handedness has earned him a myriad of nicknames. Piccolo Messinew Di Maria, future Dybala. He shared a nickname with the Roman player Soulé. The “Joya”. Which does not mean “Joy”, as many have repeated, but the “Jewel“. It’s a label he always carries with him. First inSouthern Argentines. Then in Kimberley. Finally in Velez Sarsfield. So much so that when he signed with Juventus at the age of sixteen, the boy and his family received threats. An Argentine newspaper, some time ago, defined him as an “unbalancing” player, someone capable of shattering the balance thanks to his one-on-one play. It is a perfect definition to enclose his bosshis fantasiahis unconsciousness.
He arrived at Juve together with his compatriot Enzo Barrenechea. And the first moments weren’t easy. The two became not friends, but “hermanos”, brothers. It was the Covid, which made contacts with the outside difficult. But also the need to feel at home. At the time of Next Gen of Juventus had also ended up at the center of a small documentary. It showed their day, their habits, their living in contact with their parents to feel at home. In just over three years their dreams transformed first into hopes and then into certainties. Appearances with the first team have arrived for Matias. In Serie A and in Europa. Then in Frosinone he found the right place to give continuity to his skills. Thanks also to a character made of much genius and little recklessness. “He enjoys training – said Di Francesco – I have to kick him off the pitch”. The coach compared it to the first Berardi. For shots on the pitch. But also for the seriousness outside the playing rectangle. A seriousness that comes from afar. “My father was a postman for 35 years – said Soulé – he worked 14 hours. Now he and my mother are here and they don’t work. They would like to do something, but not making them work now is a pleasure for me.” A phrase that reconnects to the concept of return. And that reminds us that to look forward, sometimes, it is necessary to look back. Now Soulé finds himself faced with the most important challenge of his time career: giving continuity to a dazzling start to the season. “After the two goals against Cagliari he disappeared” said Di Francesco. Words that become lesson. Because many are capable of shine only for a few seconds, but few are able not to be overshadowed by the clouds. And Soulé seems capable of dribbling even the clouds.