Ahead of the season finale against Juventus, coach Luciano Spalletti spoke out forcefully—and in doing so, dispelled rumors of an early departure from the Old Lady.
There is no question that Juventus has turned things around since Luciano Spalletti took over in October 2025. Nevertheless, the Bianconeri lost sight of the Champions League last weekend with an extremely surprising 0-2 loss to Florence in their final home game of the season—words like “ugly” and “miserable” followed in the aftermath.
Just as there were rumors that Coach Spalletti—should he and his team indeed fail to secure a Champions League spot in Sunday night’s Turin derby (which would require help from others)—might throw in the towel. This despite the fact that the 2023 Napoli title-winning manager had only recently extended his contract, even though the team’s Champions League participation remains far from certain.
“They throw every possible adjective at me”
At the press conference on Saturday afternoon, however, Spalletti vehemently dismissed these reports. The 67-year-old was even quite clear about it: “That never crossed my mind.”
In general, all the talk in the media often just amuses him: “First, everyone was only talking about the new contract, and right after that, suddenly it’s all about my resignation. People just throw every possible adjective at me. If anything crossed my mind at all after a result like the one against Florence, it was that I would always make myself available to the club in every respect, should they want to make any changes.“
He continued: ”We meet with the club every week, and even more frequently at the moment because we’re planning the team’s future. However, the path must remain consistent regardless of everything else. One must not let a single incident lead to conclusions that have nothing to do with reality.”
Spalletti’s Wisdom
The reality, meanwhile, is that since taking office in October, Spalletti has consistently placed great faith in his players—such as Kenan Yildiz (contract extended), Weston McKennie (contract extended), or the recently returned striker Dusan Vlahovic (future uncertain)—and defended them following setbacks like the one against Fiorentina. This is the case now as well, although the former national team coach, as is his custom, did not shy away from pointing out areas for criticism in his remarks.
For the match against FC Turin, he expects first and foremost “a performance worthy of Juventus and the significance of this game, as well as a reaction from the team,” Spalletti stated. “It’s fair to say that we haven’t been as dominant lately. But the regret isn’t that we didn’t win games despite many scoring chances, but that we didn’t reach our full potential.”
As the person in charge, he takes “some of the responsibility” for exactly that. In his view, especially in important matches, it’s “not just about the survival instinct, but also about how you handle moments when no one is watching. That’s exactly when you find your identity and your character. Here, we need to take a big step forward as a team. I don’t know what the previous coaches did, but I’m not going to come here to criticize my players—I’ve never done that. I respect and value them, and I also acknowledge the good things they’ve achieved this season.” Positive words for the team, which Spalletti is likely to remain a part of even if they miss out on the Champions League.
