Juve´s Vidal seeks redemption

Arturo Vidal is desperate to grasp a personal opportunity for “redemption” after admitting injury woe saw him fall below his best level for Juventus this season.

The midfielder underwent an operation on a knee injury towards the end of last season after playing through the pair barrier to help Juve on their way to winning Serie A.

Vidal was a fitness concern for the World Cup, but managed to return in time to feature for Chile – who were knocked out by Brazil in the round of 16.

The former Bayer Leverkusen man believes that returning so quickly threatened to leave him with long-term damage, but he stated that his love for Juve meant he had to play on.

“The end of last season was cursed, my performance went down a lot,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “On a personal level with Juve and the Chilean team it ended badly. Now there is a great opportunity for redemption. 

“I know that Juventus expects a lot from me, but it always has been that way and is not a problem.

“Unfortunately having to recover so fast [from surgery], it seriously threatened to irreparably hurt me. Mine was a choice of love for Juve. I could not leave the team before the semi-final of the Europa League against Benfica. 

“I played the World Cup and also a good part of the season, but I decided with my heart, I love Juve. And I must say thanks to [Chile coach] Jorge Sampaoli who waited, another coach would not have done so. 

“I played in dire physical condition, just me and the doctors know. [But] I always gave a thousand percent in the field, regardless of how I was.”