Juventus
In a sentence
Dynamic18-year-oldJuventus
youth team sharpshooter, already a
full senior international for the West
African nation of Benin and who has
recruitment agents from all over
Europe beating a path to his door.
What they say
“He’s a player of outstanding quality,
someone with the capacity to take
a leading role in a team”
Andrea Bonatti, Juventus
youth team coach
“He is doing very well in the youth ranks
of one of Europe’s biggest clubs and has
a great deal of potential. We’ve been
following and talking about him a lot. He
represents the future of Benin football”
Michel Dussuyer, head
coach of Benin
The story so far
AngelJosue Chibozo – to give him his
full name – learned the rudiments of
the game as a schoolboy at the Codjia
Nedville Football School in Ouidah, a
coastal city in southern Benin. Moved
to Italy at the age of11 to live with his
mother, who had separated from his
father and emigrated to Europe, and
duly caught the eye of academy bosses
at Internazionale. As a non-EU minor,
he frequently fell foul of Italian
bureaucracy, yet still managed to
perform excellently forNerazzurri
in a string of junior tournaments.
In early 2017 (aged13) he moved
to Lombardy lower league club Giana
Erminio, where he was regularly on the
scoresheet for the Under-15s. Snapped
up byJuventus the following summer,
going on to earn rave reviews for his
work with theBianconeriU16 and
U17 teams. He was only16 when he
graduated to theJuve youth team in
October 2019. In 2019-20 he racked
up15 goals in17 games for the U17s
and has been in prime goalscoring
and creative form this term for Young
Juve, notching four UEFA Youth League
goals, including one each in the quarter-
final win against Liverpool and the
penalty shootout defeat to eventual
winners Benfica in the semi-final.
Initially nurtured as a second striker
byJuventus, but these days can equally
be a threat as the main striker or on the
left wing. Recently won his first cap for
Benin as a second-half substitute in a
2-1 victory over Zambia.The next step
TheJuventus plan is for him to round off
his football education with a spell in the
U23 side and a first-team loan spell
somewhere in Italy. In a perfect world,
theBianconeriwould, as a matter of
urgency, have him put pen to paper
on his first pro contract; a number of
interested parties, both within and
beyond the Italian borders, will haveWordsNick Bidwell
Ange CHIBOZO
noted that his current apprenticeship
deal only has12 months to run. The
all-important question is the verdict of
theJuve management. This is not a club
with a strong track record in promoting
homegrown talent. His agent Mathieu
Gomes wisely is keeping all options
open: “We’re aiming high without limits.”Strengths
His spiky will-to-win, boundless energy,
physicality and versatility, alongside the
ability to operate anywhere along the
front-line. Probably at his best cutting in
from the left. Explosive in his movement,
a gifted dribbler and a very cool finisher.
His right-foot is a missile-launcher.Weaknesses
Doesn’t have the best of injury records.
In terms of tactics and teamwork, a work
in progress. Needs to be more confident
when chances fall on his left foot.U
EF
A
YO
U
THLE
A
G
U
E
S
TA
R
S“He represents the future of Benin
football”
Michel Dussuyer, head coach of BeninlAs a boy, his favourite player was the
Brazil and Barcelona star Ronaldinho.
lFirst made a name for himself while
playing a huge part in Internazionale’s
victory in the prestigious Abano Terme
Under-13 tournament in 2016, shining
against Ajax and Bayer Leverkusen.
lHe has already trained with theJuventus
first team. In his first-ever pro session, he
had the cheek to nutmegJuve’s Turkish
international defender Merih Demiral.3
THINGS YOU
DIDN’T KNOW
ABOUT CHIBOZO