With Juve’s Argentinian striker expected to leave for former club Boca Juniors, it is a Croatian Super Mario from Spain who arrived to fill the void.
The Bianconeri paid €18 million for the Croatian international but Juventus fans should not expect him to be a prolific marksman like Tevez.
For instance, Mandzukic is not a like-for-like replacement for Tevez. The Argentine was a support striker who has great stamina and a fantastic work ethic whereas the Croatian is a traditional style central striker. Although Tevez isn’t an out-and-out number 9, he is a more prolific scorer than Mandzukic.
The Croat scored 20 goals in 43 matches for Atletico Madrid last season, including 12 in 28 La Liga matches whereas “El Apache” scored 29 goals in 48 matches for Juventus, 20 in 32 Serie A matches.
Manzdukic has never scored more than 20 goals in a league campaign throughout his career, with his best tally being 18 goals in 30 German Bundesliga matches with Bayern Munich in 2013-14.
Aside from last year, Tevez has scored 20 goals or more in three league seasons.
He scored 20 goals in 29 matches for Corinthians in 2005 Campeonato Brasileiro, 23 goals in 35 EPL matches for Manchester City in 2009-10 and 20 goals in 31 league matches for the Citizens in the following season.
Mandzukic shares more similarities with Spanish striker Fernando Llorente because of his height and aerial ability but he is mobile than the former Athletic Club striker.
He has played in teams in which the focus has been on possession football and keeping the ball on the ground so Juve don’t have to send an abundance of long-balls into the penalty box.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri will need to build his forward line around Mandzukic though, if the 29-year-old is to function effectively. The Bianconeri played in a narrow 4-3-1-2 formation under Allegri in 2014-15 but they will need to provide more width if Mandzukic is to thrive in Turin.
Allegri has suggested recently that he could change the formation to the 4-3-3 for next season and that formation would suit Mandzukic because he would get supply from the wings and from the centre.
Juventus look keen to improve despite doing the domestic double in Italy and are showing they can attract big names to their club again.
How would the other strikers at Juve feel though? Will Allegri managed to find the right system for his team?
The Bianconeri have signed Paulo Dybala from Palermo, who is a nimble player and could adapt to playing wide but Alvaro Morata is predominantly a centre-forward. The Spaniard is a mobile player and he can dribble but he is not the type of forward a coach can use on the wings.
Allegri might need to change the roles of Morata, Dybala and Mandzukic if he wants those three to feature simultaneously in a match.
Carlos Tevez left a great mark on Juventus in just two seasons in Turin.
He won two scudetti, won a Coppa Italia title, and he played an important role in the Bianconeri’s run to this year’s Champions League Final. The Argentine also scored 50 goals in 96 matches with the Italian giants.
Mario Mandzukic won’t have it easy filling the void left by Tevez but he needs to leave his own mark at Juventus.
Khedira or Marchisio along with Pogba and Vidal behind Dybala and Morata with Mandzukic in the middle.
That would probably work if Allegri used a 4-3-2-1 as opposed to a standard 4-3-3.