Having joined Juventus from Novara in the summer of 2020, Tommaso Barbieri's third season in black and white ended with the away victory against Udine on 4 June 2023, a season of immense growth from all points of view for the 20-year-old originally from Magenta.
Here we take a look back at some of the numbers and standout moments of his campaign, many of which Tommaso will surely never forget.
THE SEASON BY NUMBERS
Barbieri made 28 appearances in the 2022/2023 season, considering all competitions and both Juventus teams he represented across the campaign, having taken to the field for the Juventus Next Gen team as well as the first team.
Between Serie C league matches and the Serie C Italian Cup, under the guidance of Massimo Brambilla, Barbieri made 24 appearances in total. Taking into consideration only league fixtures, he took to the field 19 times. Added to these were the five matches he played in the Cup, including the second leg final against Vicenza at the Romeo Menti Stadium, where Juventus Next Gen were edged to the trophy by Vicenza. By the end of the season, Tommaso had racked up 70 matches in total for the Under 23/Next Gen side since becoming Bianconero.
That disappointing Coppa Italia final was played on 11 April, but just five days later, Barbieri's sadness was set aside as he achieved a career milestone: a starting debut in Serie A with the first team, against Sassuolo. He had in fact already featured for the first team earlier in the season in a substitute appearance came on the biggest stage in European football, the UEFA Champions League.
FIRST TEAM DEBUT
Barbieri's first team debut was the evening of 2 November 2022, with French giants PSG the opponents at the Allianz Stadium for Matchday 6 of the Champions League group stage. Even if the Bianconeri were unable to continue in the competition, there was still the mathematical chance of continuing in the Europa League, and the objective was attained come the final whistle. Yet moments before the referee put the whistle to his lips - in the 88th minute to be precise - there was time for a triple substitution, with two Juventus players brought on for their first team debut: Enzo Barrenechea and Barbieri. An unforgettable evening for both youngsters.
SERIE A DEBUT
We remembered together Tommaso's first ever match in the First Team.
Now it's time to talk about his first time in Serie A: Reggio Emilia, at the home of Sassuolo. It was April 16 and the starting line-up fielded by Massimiliano Allegri included the number 42, that of Barbieri. Almost an hour of action, before being replaced by Juan Cuadrado, he played a great match. At the end of the season, the class of 2002 made four appearances in the First Team: three in Serie A and one in UCL.