At the Stadio Olimpico, Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti spoke to DAZN after his side’s 3–3 draw against Roma, offering a candid reflection on the team’s reaction, struggles, and ambitions as the season nears its decisive stage.
“Happy? If we’re talking about our reaction, yes. If we look at the situations in the first half, not so much,” Spalletti admitted. “Then we need to make an objective assessment. You go out of the Champions League in that manner, carrying that weight of fatigue, disappointment, and pain because the team had performed well. Fixing all those things when you’re two goals down becomes a mountain difficult to climb. But the boys believed.”
“I Always Believe We Can Come Back”
When asked if there was a moment he thought the game couldn’t be recovered, Spalletti smiled and said: “When you’re 66 like me and have been coaching for 35 years, you always believe you can come back. You make changes for that reason — you always hope. Football is like this: there are bursts of enthusiasm and depression, moments of brilliance. Yildiz had a splendid game, Zhegrova can always pull something out, Boga has the intuition and quality to create something important from nothing. You always go forward with faith.”
Fighting Spirit and Fan Support
Reflecting on Juventus’s resilience, he pointed to recent challenges. “We’ve played three out of the last five matches with a man down. Sometimes you don’t get the result, like at San Siro. Against Galatasaray it was the same: you play a great first half, then go down to ten men, even for the whole second half and extra time. You can use every word possible to feed the confidence and motivation Juve must always have. The fans helped us a lot — when they’re by our side and wearing our colours, it all feels a little less heavy.”
“I Live for That Position”
When asked about the battle for a Champions League spot, Spalletti made his ambition clear: “Fourth place? Do I believe? I live for that. I live for that position, for the shape of fourth place.”
Keeping Balance and Belief
Finally, Spalletti reflected on the emotional and physical turbulence of recent weeks. “We had a period where too many things hit us at once, and we weren’t very lucky either. The team has shown important signs, has grown in many areas, and in my opinion, we’ll have an excellent end to the season.”
