TURIN, ITALY – DECEMBER 27: Juventus Extends Contract To Gleison Bremer at Juventus headquarters on … [+] December 27, 2023 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
Italians do it better is a statement that reads truly when it comes to sporting taunts. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini expressed this best at Euro 2020 by mocking the England national team with photos of pasta dishes and the transformation of It’s Coming Home to It’s Coming Rome. This week, their former club teammate Gleison Bremer marked his contract extension at Juventus with a provocative social media post which sent Calcio Twitter into meltdown.
It’s All About Context
It’s been a turbulent year of ups and downs for the Bianconeri. The first half of 2023 will be remembered for boring displays on the field, their banning from European competition by UEFA, the overpayment of vast sums to underperforming stars and the points deduction for cooking the books to keep them at the club. Yet, having finished last season in seventh place, the Turin-based club has turned things around by garnering much-needed momentum in Serie A to sit in second place behind Inter, emboldening the Juve social media department to produce an audacious video where Bremer makes fun of two of the league’s best attacking talents, Rafael Leao and Victor Osimhen.
“Hey Gleison, what’s in your pocket?”
Without verbalizing, the debonaire 26-year-old proceeds to empty his pocket, first revealing the car keys to his Jeep – a shameless plug for the club’s main shirt sponsor – followed by his wallet. Shortly after, Bremer places a smartphone on the table with cleverly cued Serie A video highlights that showcase his two successful challenges on the AC Milan winger and Napoli striker.
In a nutshell, both Leao and Osimhen were “in his pocket,” a term used by fans to describe when soccer’s superstars have been neutralized by the extraordinary defensive displays of a particular player.
The Desired Effect
With the intent of promoting the Brazilian’s supreme defensive skills against the Serie A MVP of 2021-22 and a Ballon d’Or nominee of 2022-23, the video ends with Bremer scribbling his personal signature below the year 2028. The post was also shared to the club’s 60 million followers on Instagram, prompting a pleasant response from Juve fans while triggering Milan and Napoli fans to lash out in defence of Leao and Osimhen respectively.
In one fell swoop, Juventus were granted two wishes – the renewal of their most promising defender, and a viral video that throws down the gauntlet to both Milan and Napoli in 2024. The clear objective of the social media post was to exalt Bremer’s status in Serie A after keeping Osimhen and Leao goalless when Juventus beat their sides 1-0 during which the Italian media credited Bremer with pocketing the competition’s most valuable assets.
Despite Osimhen’s brace and assist on Bremer in January during the 5-1 thrashing at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Juventus has redeemed itself by conceding just 11 goals in 17 Serie A matches in 2023-24 – the second-strongest defence behind Inter (7 goals conceded). Moreover, Bremer has played in every league match, helping goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny keep nine clean sheets along the way.
TURIN, ITALY – DECEMBER 08: Gleison Bremer of Juventus in action during the Serie A TIM match … [+] between Juventus and SSC Napoli at Allianz Stadium on December 8, 2023 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
The Deal
Bremer arrived in the summer of 2022 from Torino for a $45M fee, signing a five-year deal which was due to expire in 2027. By extending to 2028, he has helped Juventus spread out the amortization fee, effectively lowering it from $9.04M to $7.23M to help shore up their balance sheets. Astute accounting is something the club has focused on since overall debt for the 2021-22 season snowballed to $280M. There are a few salary perks for Bremer too, who earns $10.2M per season, as reported by Sport Mediaset.
Bremer’s renewal follows those of other notable Juventus players which include Fabio Miretti, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, Nicolo Fagioli and Turkish starlet Kenan Yildiz.
Silent But Violent
Seen by some as a transgression of sorts, Bremer’s non-verbal response in the video stunt has resonated emphatically with Juve’s passionate fanbase. The club is seemingly on a distinct trajectory back to where many believe they belong – challenging for the Scudetto.
“This year we are a confident group, new guys have arrived to lend us a hand,” Bremer explained on the club’s official website. “But we know well that we haven’t won anything yet. We are aware of Inter’s strength and our task is to stay up there.”
2023 has belonged largely to Juve’s biggest rivals, Napoli and Inter Milan. The Partenopei snagged an unlikely Scudetto title while the Nerazzurri took out the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) honours and featured in the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City.
Heading into 2024, Juventus is situated in a strong position in the Serie A race and could sneak in from behind to snatch their first league title in five years. And with Inter and Napoli recently eliminated from the Italian Cup, coach Max Allegri could make it two trophies on two fronts. If all else fails, there’s always a special prize for triggering their Serie A rivals, something that Juventus does best.
American singer and actress Madonna filming the video for her song ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ in New York … [+] City, 1986. The video is being directed by James Foley. Madonna is wearing a t-shirt with the slogan ‘Italians Do It Better’. Actress Debi Mazar is on the right. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
