As Juventus looks for a successor to Spalletti, an alternative has emerged—one who speaks Portuguese
It’s been almost a year now since Luciano Spalletti joined Juventus, which brought in the former Italian national team coach to take the reins when it decided to fire Igor Tudor. So far, things haven’t gone as either side would have liked. Last season, with a nightmare finish to the league campaign, Bremer and his teammates threw away their chance to qualify for the Champions League. In the tournament that began in August—following a transfer window rife with contradictions and stopgap signings—the Bianconeri have been floundering, and the crushing home loss to Lazio, coupled with a disappointing position in the standings, has sent the fanbase into a frenzy.
Since Sunday evening, names of possible replacements have been circulating, with Antonio Conte being pushed by the fans of the Old Lady. In Portugal, however, they see things differently and are persistently mentioning the name of Francesco Farioli, who was already linked to Napoli last summer but would only arrive in 2027—once his commitments with Porto are over and provided he can reach an agreement with the Dragons.
The numbers, after all, don’t help Spalletti: in seven matchdays, Juventus has collected just 11 points—one fewer than at the same point last season and little more than half the tally of league-leading Inter. The 3-0 loss at the Stadium against Gattuso’s Lazio—with the Tuscan coach absent due to suspension and replaced on the bench by assistant Marco Domenichini—sent the atmosphere into a tailspin. After the match, Spalletti himself admitted: “We have only two options: talk to the team and change our approach. Something needs to be changed.”
The atmosphere became even more tense following the remarks of captain Gleison Bremer, who pointed the finger at the character of some of his teammates: “There are those who step up when things go wrong and those who, on the contrary, hide.” Spalletti was quick to respond: “It’s good that Bremer is analyzing the situation, but he’s just as much a part of the game as I am, so before we talk about the team, we need to talk about ourselves.” La Gazzetta dello Sport also delivered a harsh assessment, describing the current Juventus team as “a deformed monster” and referring to a coach who “is afraid of his opponents.”
