Viola Calligaris is an international Swiss player who has just joined Juventus Women on loan until the end of the season, coming from PSG, the team with which she has a contract that lasts until 2025. That said, doing well at Juventus would help Calligaris attract more attention from Juventus and perhaps other big Italian teams like Inter, Roma, and AC Milan. More importantly, putting on some convincing performances during this period would convince PSG of her abilities, and possibly give her a more central chance with the team next season when her loan period finishes.
Therefore, Calligaris has got a big chance to prove her worth at Juventus, and even though the time she has might be a bit problematic for her to ensure a successful adaptation process with the Bianconere and be able to perform at her best, Calligaris has got what it takes to challenge for a starting spot and help Juventus reach their seasonal targets while showcasing her abilities to everyone.
Calligaris started her footballing career in 2012 at SC Kriens in Switzerland before moving to BSC YB Frauen shortly after and playing for several seasons with one of the best teams in Switzerland. In 2017, however, she had her first ever experience outside Switzerland when she went to Spain to play for Atlético Madrid for two seasons prior to joining Valencia for one season and then Levante from 2020 to 2023. In June 2023, PSG signed the Swiss international until 2025, and now they loaned her to Juventus.
These various experiences in different countries have undoubtedly helped Calligaris become more mature and adaptable. This would serve her a lot in her new Italian journey as she is expected to adapt quickly to Serie A Femminile environment and Juventus, especially when taking into consideration that the Spanish league is a bit similar to the Italian one, which represents an advantage for Calligaris to win adaptation time.
In this tactical analysis and scout report, we will be studying Calligaris’ profile to assess her defensive and attacking abilities, possible improvements and how she can fit into Juventus’ tactics. The analysis will also aim to explore the Swiss international’s most remarkable traits and the positions/roles she can occupy without neglecting the comparison between her and the Juventus players currently vying for game time in her position.
Positions and roles
Calligaris is a defender who masters two positions: the right centre-back and the right-back. She has been alternating between these two positions for a long time and whenever needed without issues while being completely aware of the differences between the required roles of both positions. This highlights her tactical maturity and shows that she is an intelligent player.
Although she is 1.67 meters in terms of height, which is not really a desirable height for a centre-back, Calligaris was still successful in putting on solid performances as a centre-back whenever needed, whether at Switzerland or with the teams she played for.
At the same time, she is a speedy player who finds herself comfortable on the right flank and does not fear duels, as she can dribble very well near the touchline. With 68.7% successful dribbles per game, we can confirm that Calligaris is definitely an excellent dribbler and can become even more crucial with her dribbles in Serie A since opponents do not know her skills yet. She will have the opportunity to surprise them.
Nevertheless, she will have to be prepared for more physical disturbance and more aggression in duels, as taking this into consideration would help her adapt quicker and perhaps avoid unnecessary actions in specific situations.
Her roles at Juventus might vary depending on the situation, as head coach Joe Montemurro can use her as a right-back, as a right centre-back or even as a right-winger if there will be a need to play with a more defensive line-up, for instance. This experiment might suit Calligaris as she does not really lack attacking traits and can develop in this regard if used in such a position as it would oblige her to make more crosses and penetrations per game as well as more pressing attempts per match.
At the same time, playing as a right-back or as a centre-back would involve participating in numerous defensive duels and aerial duels per game, marking direct opponents, participating in the build-up, providing key passes between the lines, moving as a unit according to the defensive bloc and more.
This heatmap shows that apart from playing in her team’s own half, Calligaris has also tried moving towards the left side and can advance to the final third when needed, whether on the right or the left wing.
Possible playing time at Juventus
At a team where Montemurro often prefers the 4-2-3-1 or the 4-3-3 formation, Calligaris has got more chances to compete for a starting spot as a right-back and not really as a centre-back since Montemurro have got a lot of excellent choices for the centre-back positions, namely: Sara Gama, Estelle Cascarino, Linda Sembrant and Cecilia Salvai whereas the right-back position is often held by Martina Lenzini and her replacement is Federica Cafferata who represents a good alternative but not really in the standards of someone like Calligaris at the moment.
Therefore, Calligaris is believed to have started her experience at Juventus as a backup for Lenzini as a right-back and perhaps not just a backup option but rather a “squad player” who shares the number of games with Lenzini. Calligaris will, therefore, have to prove her worth to Montemurro as soon as possible in order to turn into a starting right-back instead of Lenzini if she succeeds in convincing him with her performances.
Another possible position to play is the right winger when the team needs a more defensive player in that position in order to secure a game. Excellent wingers like Sofia Cantore, Barbara Bonansea, and sometimes Lindsey Thomas often hold this position.
In addition, Calligaris can interpret the left-back position well, especially from a defensive perspective and especially when considering that Lisa Boattin has no replacement (after Amanda Nildén’s loan to Tottenham) and will have to rest on some occasions. Therefore, Calligaris should be prepared to play in that position and why not excel at it, even though it would not be simple to play on the left flank when knowing that her stronger foot is the right one.
Montemurro has resorted to playing Sara Gama as a left-back previously. Therefore, a player like Calligaris, who is quicker and more dynamic than Gama, would surely have the advantage of playing in that position when Boattin is not ready.
Defensive abilities and possible attacking improvements
In terms of defensive abilities, it is worth noting that Calligaris is good enough in terms of defensive duels with 63.9 won per match and with a naturally weaker average regarding aerial duels given her height, 48.1%. Working on her physical strength is crucial to resisting aggressive challenges and winning duels, especially inside the box, where strikers are often difficult to challenge physically for a player who is mainly used to challenging wingers.
Calligaris has been coping well with that change of direct opponents so far and can develop even further on that aspect, especially by avoiding unnecessary mistakes inside the box. At the same time, she makes 1.5 crucial clearances per match, which often save the team from conceding a goal, which highlights’ Calligaris’ attention and quick reactions inside the box. Perhaps the most notable clearance made by Calligaris so far was the one against England on the goal line following a powerful volley that Switzerland’s goalkeeper was not able to save.
Such crucial clearances make defenders much more valuable and highlight their quick reflexes on critical occasions. Calligaris has already proved that she can be essential in such situations but will have to confirm these abilities at Juventus.
At the same time, it will be essential to master her sliding tackles’ decisions, especially inside the box, since this can become problematic if she mistimes her challenges in that dangerous area. It is true that she makes 45.2% successful sliding tackles per game. Yet, it will be essential to avoid committing mistakes like the one made against Spain in the following picture when she was not able to reach Salma Paralluelo, so she attempted a sliding tackle without touching the ball, but the player only, resulting in a penalty.
This being said, Calligaris is a defender who does not give up easily and has the determination to always win her duels, even if the opponent seems to get past her. This example from a match with Levante against Sevilla highlights this ability to intercept the ball even when the direct opponent was trying to get away from Calligaris, which shows the great concentration of the defender and her ability to time her interventions well on most occasions.
From a playmaking and attacking perspective, Calligaris can become a little bit more involved in attack, score more goals per season, and provide more key passes. Positioning herself in critical areas during set-pieces and improving her crossing accuracy numbers would help her become much more useful in attack, especially knowing that she is a quick player and an excellent dribbler who can penetrate well inside the opponent’s own half.
The following example shows that she can score goals by coming from behind and escaping marking during set-pieces when possible, as she did so during this corner kick to score a goal for Switzerland after escaping from marking on the far post.
Conclusion
Viola Calligaris has got a very suitable chance to prove her worth at a big team like Juventus and convince everyone of her abilities. Playing well during the rest of this season would undoubtedly pave the way for her to either get more playing time at PSG or attract serious interest and offers from Juventus or other big teams. Therefore, putting on some solid performances this season will be fundamental for Calligaris, even if she will be played out of position.
The Swiss international has the abilities needed to succeed in this loan period and can challenge Lenzini seriously for a starting spot if she adapts well to Serie A’s playing style and to life in Italy as well.
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