Pirlo, Allegri, Motta, Tudor and now Spaletti, Juventus have gone through five managers since they last lifted the Scudetto in 2020 under Maurizio Sarri. With Igor Tudor being the latest to fail and his lackluster start to this season costing him his job. Following on from the loss against Lazio, with his side languishing in 6th in the table. The Croat was dismissed from his role. As he became the most recent in the list of Juve managers failing to reclaim their spot as perennial Serie A winners.
His replacement: Italian boss and former Serie A winner only 2 years ago, Luciano Spalletti. The 66-year-old, having already managed 8 other Serie A clubs, including giants Napoli, Inter and Roma (to varying degrees of success). Took charge at the end of October, and is hoping to be the man to return Juventus to their role as kings of Italian football. As another Serie A team makes a change to the man at the helm.
A Poor Start To The Season
Former boss Igor Tudor only took charge as interim in March, after the surprise failure of the Thiago Motta experiment at the Old Lady. His success in securing Champions League qualification earned him a contract extension for this season. The start of the campaign was very mixed for the Bianconeri. After a summer that saw 14 first-team arrivals, they began strongly, winning their first three matches, including a blockbuster against rivals Inter in the Derby d’Italia. However, they then stuttered to five consecutive draws as part of a run of eight games without a win. This ultimately led to Tudor’s dismissal.
Crucially, during that poor spell, Juve played their first three Champions League group matches. They drew with Dortmund in an electrifying 4–4 thriller, and with Villarreal after conceding in the final minute to former player Renato Veiga, before losing to Real Madrid. This faltering European start was a key factor in Spalletti’s appointment. As he will be judged heavily on whether he can secure at least a playoff place and improve on his predecessors. The Bianconeri have not reached the quarter-finals of Europe’s top competition since 2021.
Spalletti’s Previous Exploits… And His New Ones.
What makes Spalletti the right man to take Juve back to the top? His 2022/23 season with Napoli is the best place to start and it is what most fans associate him with. During that campaign he guided Napoli to their first Serie A title since 1990, playing exciting attacking football and capturing attention across Europe. They not only won the league but also reached the Champions League quarter finals.
In that side, Spalletti maximised several experienced Serie A players, something he will need to repeat at Juve. With players in the Napoli side flourishing, including Matteo Politano, Piotr Zielinski and Giovanni Di Lorenzo. He also launched the careers of young talents such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and helped cement Victor Osimhen as one of the best strikers in world football. His departure following such a successful season surprised many as he wanted a new challenge with the Italian national team.
The role of Gli Azzurri head coach has been a difficult one since the 2006 World Cup win. Despite an impressive Euro 2021 triumph, where Italy never looked like the best team in the tournemant at any stage. Spalletti attempted to change their fortunes ahead of Euro 2024, but after finishing second in their qualifying group behind England and Ukraine. Then scraping through the group stage with the help of a Mattia Zaccagni wondergoal. A poor start in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and Spaletti saw himself jobless.
In his new role, the Italian has enjoyed an unbeaten start in his first three matches. He opened with a win against determined newcomers Cremonese, before Juve returned to familiar habits with consecutive draws against Sporting and then in the intercity derby against Torino. Although the side remains unbeaten, the same issues that affected them in recent months were still visible. Spalletti will now use the upcoming international break to address these problems before a crucial run of fixtures as winter approaches.
How He Can Fix Juve.
One major issue he must address is the form of the club’s strikers. The squad contains some of the most promising attacking talent in Europe, especially in the number nine position. Dusan Vlahovic has experienced mixed fortunes since joining from Fiorentina in 2021, although his overall numbers are better than often suggested. In his three full seasons in Turin he has scored 14, 18 and 15 goals, and he already has six this season. His performances under Spalletti have not been outstanding so far, yet he appears to remain the preferred option. However, with strong competition behind him, his place is not guaranteed if his form does not improve.
The most notable alternative is Lois Openda, who has not scored in his first 300 minutes for the club but will look to progress under Spalletti. The coach may attempt to help him reach a level similar to Victor Osimhen during his time at Napoli. Loïs Openda impressed at RB Leipzig. Showcasing explosive pace, sharp movement in behind and a growing reputation as a reliable finisher. His time in Germany highlighted both his immediate impact and the long-term potential to develop into a top-level European striker. Depsite not showing this so far.
The Belgian and the Nigerian are both powerful runners who look to break defensive lines and use clinical finishing to decide matches. Openda ranks in the 98th percentile for progressive passes received. Preferring to play on the shoulder of the last defender and use his strength to create chances. If he can rediscover the form that brought him 41 goals across his two seasons with Leipzig, Spalletti may already have his long term Osimhen alternative. He also has new signing Jonathan David available. The Canadian joined on a free transfer from Lille in the summer, but has yet to build momentum and has not scored since his debut against Parma in August.
Another key asset Spalletti will rely on is the mercurial talent of Kenan Yildiz. While contract talks have not yet reached an agreement. There is no doubt he is central to this Juve side and has topped several team metrics across the last two seasons. This year he leads the squad in key passes per match with two point four, chances created with five and goal involvements with five. Spalletti is likely to try and replicate the breakout form he unlocked in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at Napoli in the 2022 to 2023 campaign. With both players having similar attributes, such as being direct and goal focused wide forwards.
A comparison between Yildiz this season and Kvaratskhelia in 2022 to 2023 highlights their likeness, with both producing strong progressive carry numbers at one hundred and fifteen and one hundred and thirty nine, and similar creative output with four point eight seven and four point eight six shot creating actions per ninety minutes. If Yildiz can build on that model under his new head coach, and if the club can keep him, Juve possess a rising star who can play a crucial role in their push back towards the summit.
Perhaps the strongest part of the Juventus squad overall is their midfield though, with players such as Kephren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli and Teun Koopmeiners all established international talents. Though whilst Spalletti has opted to use a 3-4-2-1 formation so far (as Tudor did), he has teased the idea that a move back to the 4-3-3 that saw him have so much success in Naples could be on the cards after the break. In an interview following the Torino draw, he said that ‘ we can add two wide attackers with a central striker, as in a 4-3-3 formation. We’ll try to analyse our choices correctly’.
So far, he has used the 3 at the back system which has included fielding Koopmeiners as a 3rd centre half alongside Pierre Kalulu and Lloyd Kelly (yes, that Lloyd Kelly). The dutchman joined from Atalanta in 2024, and enjoyed an indifferent first season, but he seems to be a popular choice for Spalletti who may be using him as a defender for now, but should the move to the aforementioned 4-3-3 come, there is no doubt he could return to being one of the league’s best midfielders when playing in the centre of the park.
Thuram and Locatelli will no doubt be tasked with trying to emulate the likes of Zielinski and Frank Anguissa, who at Napoli were powerful, yet technical midfielders for Spalletti, who aimed to foray the ball into the forwards, whilst still helping create goals themselves. In 22/23 they put up 7 goals and 10 assist and 4 goals and 8 assists respectively. If Spalletti can turn Locatelli and Thuram into players who can put up those numbers for Juve, then the Bianconeri may be able to boast one of the best midfields in Europe as they aim to return to the top.
With Winning being the only acceptable option for a Juventus Manager, can Spalletti finally be the one to turn the fate of the Turin outfit around, as he uses his dynamic, structured tactics to improve underperforming players and ensure the club can start winning again, both domestically, and on the continent.
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