Matilde Malatesta’s Search For Juventus’ Next Key Signing

Matilde Malatesta oversees scouting activities at Juventus Women. The former player spoke about the transition into scouting, as well as what it takes to find and recruit top talent in the changing landscape in women’s football.

Path To Juventus

As the season end approaches each year, supporters often fill the void of the off-season by discussing transfers and contract extensions. All of it stems from their hopes of what the team would achieve the next year.

However, from the clubs’ perspective the work will have been long been initiated, perhaps months or even years in advance. Central to that are the scouts who may at times be overlooked, but who hold a lot of bearing on a player’s career ultimately. Catching the eye of a scout is certainly an important step in securing a signature with a club.

At Juventus Women, it is Matilde Malatesta who oversees these activities. The former midfielder, started as a player within a boys’ team before moving on into a women’s team to kick-start her career, which she finished at Sampdoria Women. However, since hanging up her boots the Italian trained at Virtus Entella, before moving as assistant of the Director of Sport of Sampdoria Women.

Her work with Sampdoria caught the eye of Juventus, where she now holds the Head of Scouting position for the women’s teams. Matilde Malatesta overlooks the scouting across the age groups, from the U11 team to the senior team.

Leading Scouting At Juventus

Scouting is still an area where the women’s game is yet to achieve the setups often seen in the men’s side of things. This includes the budgets, the data available for scouts to work with, as well as even the numbers of scouts themselves. However, as the game grows, there is an increased recognition of its importance to find the next hidden gems.

In fact, asked about the setup at Juventus, Matilde Malatesta explained that this is an area that Juventus are seeking to grow, “It’s a new department which we are building. The idea is to grow this further.”

The increasing number of fixtures in the women’s game, as well as its increasing competitiveness, raise the need for a larger pool of players. However, there is also a reality that besides the top leagues and competitions, the visibility of matches and data available is very low.

There are differences in approach when searching for players for the senior team, as opposed to searching for players who are to be developed by the academy. “With regards to the senior team, usually we discuss with the technical director and with the head coach to understand whether they want a particular type of player.”

On the other hand, a different approach is adopted for the younger players for the Juventus Women academy, “As regards the younger players I look for potential and if I see a player who is interesting, then we usually invite her for a trial. In these cases, it is up to the head of the youth academy, me and the coaches to decide on whether the player is to be signed or not.”

Scouting In An Evolving Landscape

Probed about what she looks for in identifying a player who is yet to be developed, Matilde Malatesta replied, “Usually, you look at the talent but also try to imagine whether that player can improve if they are in a professional setup, including the coaches and facilities. So, the idea is more to think whether the player can get to the top level, more than how good they are in that particular moment.”

While big international tournaments such as the UEFA Women’s Champions League or the FIFA Women’s World Cup showcase top talents, such players would be acquired at higher price tags. For this reason, one element of football that plenty of clubs have sought to address is the development of players through their academies. However, it means that players would need to be found earlier in their career. One place where young players may be scouted are international tournaments, such as the KHS Cup held last April.

Asked about what the day to day involves for a scout like her at a top club, to be able to find the next talent to wear Juventus’ colours, Matilde Malatesta replied, “The reality is that it is very difficult to find players. Before it was easier because there were smaller numbers, everyone knew everyone, and it was easy to pick out the top players. Now there are more players across different countries and it is a good thing that each country is improving the level. On the other hand, as a scout you must travel a lot more to find them and there is more competition as well.”

Having won five domestic league titles, Juventus will be seeking to find the ingredients to take the crown back from AS Roma. With a new coach in Massimiliano Canzi, as well as the departures of Julia Grosso, Lineth Beerensteyn and Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, a busy transfer window may be ahead. Indeed, the club already announced the signature of Paulina Krumbiegel in May, making her the first German player to represent Juventus Women. Additionally, 19 year-old Chiara Beccari extended her stay until 2027, while several U19 players have also signed their first professional contract with the club.

As more new signings are unveiled and youth players given professional contracts, it would be good to remember, that in many cases it all starts by players’ catching the eye of the scout.

Lead Images: Michael Azzopardi / Juventus Women

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