The first day of Juventus’s 2026-27 pre-season was always going to be more than just a fitness assessment. With a new chief executive, a new Chief Football Officer, and a club still carrying the emotional weight of a season in which Champions League qualification was missed, Sunday’s gathering at the Continassa carried the significance of a proper new beginning — and the new leadership made sure the players understood that.
Before the evening training session that officially opened the season, and before the squad dinner that followed it, there was a meeting. On one side of the table in the video room at the training ground: Luciano Spalletti, Giovanni Carnevali, and Frederic Massara. On the other: the squad.
The Word That Defined the Meeting: Responsibility
Carnevali addressed the players directly, and one word ran through his speech like a thread — responsibility. According to Tuttosport’s Cristiano Corbo, it was the most emphasised concept of the entire address: responsibility towards the supporters, towards the club’s environment, and towards a season that cannot be allowed to begin in the same confused, directionless way as the last one ended.
The message was not delivered as a reprimand. But neither did it leave room for ambiguity. What happened in the final months of 2025-26 — the collapse in form, the missed Champions League qualification, the institutional turbulence — is not to be repeated. And the players, who followed every boardroom development from the inside, were left in no doubt about the seriousness of the new administration’s intent.
Carnevali as a Man of Action — Not Words
Carnevali’s tone, by all accounts, was one of constructive ambition rather than stern admonishment. He presented himself as a man of action — someone who talks about targets and results rather than processes and plans, and who will do everything in his power to give Spalletti a competitive squad. He spoke of unity, of shared purpose, and of the need to earn the right to call yourself a Juventus player from the very first day. “Wearing the shirt does not automatically mean being worthy of it,” was the underlying message — and what the final weeks of last season demonstrated served as a clear and recent reminder.
The Europa League Is Not a Consolation Prize
One substantive footballing message was also delivered with particular force: the Europa League is not to be treated as a secondary objective or a lesser competition. Spalletti’s instruction is that it will be approached with the full seriousness of any title challenge — and that the squad will need to reflect that commitment from the opening games of the qualifying rounds.
The Diktat: Reset, and Start Again
The overall instruction from the new leadership can be distilled into one word: reset. Leave last season behind. Focus on the work. Minimise the noise from the transfer market — which will continue to swirl around players leaving and arriving throughout pre-season — and concentrate on building the physical and psychological foundations of a new campaign.
For some players, that instruction will be relatively straightforward to follow. For others — those with uncertain futures, unresolved transfer situations, or the lingering disappointment of a season gone wrong — it will be considerably harder. The first training session on Sunday evening was the first step. The friendly against Basilea on 18 July will be the next. The reset, as Carnevali made clear, begins now.
