Juventus: Luciano Spalletti Shows Faith in Koopmeiners—But the Dutchman’s Performance Was One to Forget
Luciano Spalletti has once again placed his trust in Teun Koopmeiners, who returned to his traditional position in midfield against Sassuolo after having been tried—even in defense—for quite some time since his arrival at Juventus. The Certaldo-born coach’s confidence, however, was not immediately rewarded by the former Atalanta player from the Netherlands: one of Juventus’ clearest scoring chances in the first half actually fell right at his feet in the 33rd minute, following a team play initiated by Douglas Luiz and continued by Conceiçao’s attempted assist. The response from the Old Lady’s No. 8, however, was disastrous; from a favorable position, he could think of nothing better to do than to fire off a weak, central shot more akin to a pass, which the Neroverdi goalkeeper Muric was able to save without any trouble. It was a mistake of considerable significance, given that the first half ended with a 0-0 score.
A mistake that stings even more when you consider the context in which this match is taking place. Spalletti had heaped praise on Koopmeiners the day before the match, explaining his view of the midfielder: “The difference lies in the playing time available to him, because when the opportunity to showcase his qualities is limited to 15–20 minutes, it increases his tension. Now he’s much freer and more relaxed; we’ll try to give him a role where he feels a bit more at ease, even though he’s an all-around player.” These words of confidence make the Dutchman’s performance on the field all the more disappointing.
The match against Sassuolo comes at a time of real crisis for Juventus’ midfield. Juventus must contend with the injuries to Manuel Locatelli and Khephren Thuram—two massive losses that have forced Spalletti to completely reshape the midfield. Locatelli, in particular, will be out for six months, as confirmed by the player himself in a heartbreaking social media post: “I’m devastated. I finished the game the other night and never expected to be hit with all of this the next morning. The surgery went well, and that’s very important. Now I’ll have to sit out for a while, and it hurts to think I won’t be able to help my teammates, to fight alongside them for this jersey.”
In this scenario, Koopmeiners is called upon to carve out a leading role almost out of necessity. The Dutchman, acquired from Atalanta for over 50 million and who never truly broke out in Turin, had remained with the Bianconeri only because Vincenzo Italiano’s Besiktas—which had been knocking on Juventus’ door right up until the last day of the transfer window— had failed to reach an agreement with CEO Carnevali. A bitter twist of fate for a player who seemed to have one foot out the door and now finds himself instead having to be one of the cornerstones of Juventus’ midfield.
It must be said that, prior to this lackluster performance, Koopmeiners had already shown encouraging signs: it was his perfect cross that allowed Gatti to score the equalizer in the 92nd minute against Milan, and he had previously found the back of the net in the away match at Frosinone as well. Those performances had convinced Spalletti to rely on him more consistently, pairing him with Douglas Luiz in a two-man midfield that, at least on paper, promises quality and dynamism. Against Sassuolo, however, that quality once again remained merely on paper.
