Ten days have passed and the music is the same. After Lazio, Bremer. After Genoa, McKennie. Two heavy defeats, two leaders stepping to the microphone, two messages aimed squarely at the dressing room with the same purpose: to provoke a character response that the team has not yet shown on the pitch.
McKennie’s Statement in Full — “The Inner Things Can’t Be Trained”
“The supporters are right — we need to do more, because Juventus is a great club and we have to win. For me, Spalletti cannot take all the blame right now. We are all guilty. We are following everything he tells us, but on the pitch it is us who have to do more. The ‘inner things’ cannot be trained. Those we have to find ourselves.”
The phrase “le cose dentro non si possono allenare” — the inner things cannot be trained — is the most resonant line of the evening and the one that most directly connects to the structural problem Spalletti identified on DAZN: “We need to see if these players even have that everything to give.” McKennie is saying the same thing from the inside. The tactical questions, the formation debates, the analytical postmortems — none of it reaches the fundamental dimension that the Genoa defeat exposed. Fight. Will. Presence in the duel. Those things either exist in a player or they don’t. A manager cannot install them.
“Tactics Have Almost Nothing to Do With It in These Matches — It’s Only About Fighting and Wanting to Win”
The tactical absolution is specific and pointed: “Sure, we follow the manager, but tactics have almost nothing to do with it in these matches. What matters is only fighting and wanting to win. We are eleven players — whoever takes the field has to fight, run five extra metres to help a teammate, run and give everything they have. When I see one of mine going into challenges it gives me energy. Genoa did it. They played a great match and used their strength. We did not.”
The Bremer Parallel — Same Words, Different Player, Ten Days Later
La Gazzetta’s framing is the key editorial decision: McKennie is less direct than Bremer was, but no less decisive. Bremer said: “There are those who have more character and those who have less — there are those who hear the whistles and get scared and hide.” McKennie says: “Whoever takes the field has to fight. The inner things cannot be trained.” The institutional geography is the same. The specific individuals being challenged are not named. The message is addressed to the full squad.
The difference: Bremer was rebuked by Spalletti and the club, apologised to teammates, and had his words described as “unwelcome.” McKennie has been considerably more careful in form — distributing responsibility to the collective rather than pointing at individuals, and explicitly sharing blame with himself. “We are all guilty.” But the substance is identical.
On Kalulu and Kolo Muani — Missed Chances in the Final Phase
La Gazzetta adds an important individual observation: McKennie was the one player who, before Genoa’s final assault made the result safe, attempted to create something. Two specifically named opportunities came through his work — one that Kalulu could not convert, one that Kolo Muani could not finish. The pattern is the season in miniature: the American providing, the finishing quality failing to materialise.
“We Need to Talk in Turin — and Find a Way to Win at Home”
The conclusion, practical rather than rhetorical: “Now in Turin we need to talk. Certainly also watch the match back, understand where we can do better, recover our energy and focus on Napoli. But above all we need to find a way to win at home — for us, for the supporters, for the club. For everyone.” The Allianz Stadium has not seen a Juventus victory in 39 days across all competitions — since the 2-0 against Atalanta on 20 September. The Lazio loss (0-3) and the Rennes draw (2-2) followed. Napoli arrive on Saturday, managed by Allegri, joint at the top.
On the injury front, La Gazzetta confirms only one change from the Genoa absentee list: Jeff Ekhator may be available for the bench on Saturday — his first potential involvement of the season after zero appearances and two separate muscle injuries.
