Juventus, Luciano Spalletti not enough: "I don’t know what I’m dealing with"

The success over Genoa that boosted Juventus’ ambitions to qualify for the next Champions League (fourth-placed Como is now just one point away) does not seem to be enough for Luciano Spalletti. The Tuscan coach focused on his side’s decline in the final game in Turin, admitting that he is still struggling to decipher the real value of his team. Then there is the injuries to Dusan Vlahovic and Mattia Perin to contend with, destined to create further worries for the Old Lady in the weeks to come.

“We are not struggling with fatigue, absolutely. Also because both yesterday and the day before yesterday we didn’t train – Spalletti complained in an interview for ‘Sky Sport’ -. There was catching up to do, so I left the boys alone by giving them two days off. It happens that we have to accept an inferior version of ourselves, but it has to be said that after 6-7 months at Juventus I’m still not sure what I’m dealing with. Because, after a first half like that, you can’t play a second one like that.”

Spalletti also had to give up Perin from halftime and Vlahovic for the entire match, with the Serbian center forward forced to the bench and not subbing in even in the final. “There is concern, because both of them were injured,” the Juventus coach explained. “They felt a hardening at the muscular level. They will both have to undergo an examination, at which point we will be able to determine how long it will be before we see them back on the field.” Nor did the feat of Di Gregorio, who was able to save a penalty for Martin, reassure him: “If you concede a situation like that and they score, the evening becomes difficult.”

Spalletti, Italy’s coach prior to Gennaro Gattuso’s arrival, then addressed the national team’s failure to make it to the 2026 World Cup. “I took it very badly, and I swear the first thought after Bosnia was to imagine myself in Gattuso’s shoes. Had it been me there, I really think I would not have come out.”

“On the national team there are major swings of opinion. You need more balance, you need to understand these guys. Measuring yourself against such a context is easy until you get there. Then, when you’re there, it happens that you suffer a little from the heaviness of the situation. Which was very heavy. Then Italy remains strong, the episodes were decisive,” Spalletti concluded.