Juventus arrive at their fourth Serie A fixture of the season carrying six confirmed absentees and a midfield reshaped by surgery. Luciano Spalletti chose the eve-of-Sassuolo press conference to draw a deliberate and definitive line under the injury conversation — and to redirect every question towards the qualities of the players who are available, the willingness of the group to take responsibility, and the standards a club of Juventus’s history is obligated to maintain regardless of circumstance.
“Locatelli Is One of Those Who Never Takes the Shirt Off Even After the Shower”
The warmth of Spalletti’s tribute to his absent captain was immediate and entirely genuine. “We are sorry for what has happened to Locatelli. His absence distributes a little responsibility to everyone. He is one of those who does not take the shirt off even after the shower. We know his value and how much he cares — in every aspect of his daily life he is always attentive to the Juventus situation. During training we have seen this sense of responsibility from the squad — attentive, eager, willing to fight whatever comes against them. I have seen them train very well, serious and professional.”
The Kolo Muani Detail That Says Everything
The anecdote that will generate the most affection among Juventus supporters was delivered almost as a parenthesis — but it reveals a great deal about the striker’s state of mind after a difficult start to the season. “Before coming here to speak to you, I came across Kolo Muani at the door. Rather than coming here towards dinner time, he prefers to spend five hours inside the club with a couple of teammates — inside an environment where he likes to be. This demonstrates the desire he has to make the difference for the squad.” It is the insight that reframes every pre-match discussion about his form: a player who was whistled by his own stadium two weeks ago is spending five voluntary hours at his training ground on the day before a league match.
“The Formation? Without Locatelli, Nothing Changes — We Can Play Any Tactical System”
On the system to be deployed at the Mapei Stadium in Locatelli’s absence, Spalletti was characteristically expansive and characteristically resistant to being pinned down to a single answer. “We have already said many times that the initial formation and then the players being static and stationary — these are different things. Sometimes we have gone from a diamond start, then with a single striker, a second striker, and a pair of wide players. There is a system in the offensive phase and one in the defensive phase, with other systems traversed in between before reassembling or flooding into the opposition’s half. Without Locatelli, nothing changes — we have the possibility of any tactical system. We have a squad that allows it.”
“Koopmeiners Is Much Freer and More Fluid — He Renounced Certain Situations to Stay”
On the Dutch midfielder who is set to start in Locatelli’s absence, Spalletti’s assessment was the most encouraging he has yet delivered publicly about the summer’s most discussed surplus player. “He is already a little different and that comes out after a period spent together. There is a deeper knowledge. There is the willingness of the lad to remain at Juventus — because he renounced certain situations, and that pleased us. It is clear that the difference is made by having minutes available, because when you reduce the possibility of showing your qualities you also create a little pressure. Now he is much freer and more fluid. We will seek to give him a role where he feels most at ease — even if he is a total player, because he can play as a second striker as he did at Atalanta, or as a defensive arm as he has done with me. For me his ideal is this role of midfielder-mezzala with the possibility of going forward and exploring different areas of the pitch.”
“Douglas Luiz Is a Certainty of Football — He Just Needed to Feel This Trust Again”
The most emphatic individual endorsement of the press conference was delivered for the Brazilian who has become, against all summer’s predictions, one of Spalletti’s most trusted players. “He is a certainty of football — he has shown from several places that he is a strong player. He only needed to feel this trust in his qualities again. That has allowed him to fully reclaim his own qualities. When he arrived he held the ball too much, occasionally dragged it. Now he has understood that the more he moves it, the more he touches it — because it comes back to him. His area is there, in front of the defence, at the edge of the area. If he goes too far around, four or five balls pass without him touching them. He knows how to play long and short. He is physically strong, resistant. He is absolutely willing to spit blood and cover metres for his teammates. He is Douglas Luiz — these are his qualities.”
“I’m Not Talking About Injuries Any More — You Can”
The most definitive and quotable passage of the press conference came when Spalletti addressed the injury narrative directly — and closed it. “It is always a little the culture of alibis that leads you to think in that direction. I think we must go and win matches — go and impose ourselves, position ourselves in the opposition’s half. Matches that are worthy of Juventus. We must raise our level. If you think we are limited by what has happened — from now on, I am not talking about injuries any more. You can talk about them. I must get away from these situations and not dwell on them. We try, with those we have, with however many remain, to go and do what the place, the club, the history, and the discipline demand of players who wear this shirt and have the possibility of playing at these levels.”
Sarr, Owusu, and Woltemade — Three Assessments
On Sarr, now available after completing his first full training session with the group: “He is a player who creates curiosity — he knows how to behave well in any situation. He is a complete player, has this ease of running and you find him everywhere in a precise and punctual way. When you think a position cannot be reached, he is already there. He has this deep running endurance. In going around and exploring he brings quality — he knows the challenge, knows technical quality, knows finishing. We are convinced of having a strong player at our disposal and he will show it from tomorrow if needed.”
On Owusu: “He is a young player of good promise with many qualities. He still needs to make a few small acquaintances — but from a physical standpoint he is a bunk bed: when you run into him, he creates difficulties for you trying to take the ball away. He covers the pitch. He just needs to anticipate things a little more, because in football when the things have all been seen, he creates problems.”
On Woltemade: “It is something we will evaluate — but his insertion has already been done. He has made himself appreciated by everyone from the first training session and has continued to improve. He has shown us he knows how to operate on the pitch and cover multiple roles. Sooner or later he will feature.”
“Sassuolo Have Incredibly Strong Players — Carnevali Would Score the Ex’s Goal”
On the difficulties posed by Aquilani’s Sassuolo: “They have distinguished themselves over the years for their quality of play. They have extraordinarily strong players — Berardi, Laurienté, Matic, and Esposito, all players any club would want. As for Carnevali — if I could make him play, I would put him on the pitch, because with everything he has told me he would score the ex’s goal. It always happens like that. We are going to play a very difficult match against a well-coached team with a clearly defined identity. We will need to be multiple versions of ourselves and be a strong team.”
“Not Being in the Champions League Burns Enormously — It Will Be Our Stimulus All Year”
The final passage concerned the one absence that defines Juventus’s entire season — the Champions League football that the club failed to secure last year. “It burns enormously not to be able to play it. It has damaged us and created problems. We know we must live with it because it will be like this all year — but it will be a stimulus to go and see what happens. Not being there is the problem of having to feel the greatest pain, the kind that creates the greatest responsibilities and the greatest desire to reposition yourselves in the place of playing against the best clubs in the world.”
