Giovanni Carnevali’s Juventus will be the club of common sense. It may not immediately become the visionary project that Andrea Agnelli once built, but it will have its feet firmly on the ground — focused first and foremost on the present. That is the assessment of Ariedo Braida, the legendary former Milan sporting director and one of Carnevali’s closest friends in football, speaking to Tuttosport. Fewer algorithms, more practicality. More connection with reality.
“There Is No Margin of Risk with Him”
When asked whether he could have anticipated Carnevali’s arrival at Juventus just days ago, Braida was candid: “No, but great clubs make revolutions quickly. I am genuinely convinced that the ownership has made an excellent choice. Given the personal and professional relationship I have with Giovanni, I cannot help but be happy for him. Everything he has shown he can do at Sassuolo over these years deserved a bigger stage. I do not think there is a more suitable person to lead Juventus. There is no margin of risk with him — even if he is coming from a much smaller club.”
Why Elkann Chose Carnevali Over Another International Profile
Asked what qualities he believed proved decisive in John Elkann’s final decision, Braida pointed directly at Carnevali’s deep roots in Italian football — and at the limitations of the approach that preceded him: “A thorough knowledge of Italian football. Sometimes the attraction to foreign models — without wishing to diminish Comolli — leads us astray. I think Juventus needed to return to simpler things: a ball rolling on a pitch, a very clear chain of command, a person who is credible and recognisable in this context. Juventus was lacking a little simplicity. Carnevali is a perfect synthesis of what the club needs right now.”
“He Is the Perfect Professional to Start a Cycle”
On the kind of Juventus he expects to see under Carnevali, Braida was bullish: “I am convinced that this choice can bring Juventus back to competing to win. I do not know how long it will take, but people of real value have a very high probability of doing well. Giovanni is the perfect professional to open a new cycle. He will find himself in a complex environment, but I am certain he will make the most of this opportunity. He was born ready. He has succeeded both in football and in business — he has an agile mind and will be able to handle everything. He will approach this step with great naturalness.”
A Friendship Built Over Decades — and the Influence of Marotta and Galliani
Braida and Carnevali go back a long way — their friendship stretching from professional circles to shared holidays in Sardinia and Croatia. Asked about the influence figures such as Adriano Galliani and Beppe Marotta have had on Carnevali’s formation, Braida was generous: “He absorbed a great deal from Marotta and Galliani. He built a moral structure that makes him the perfect profile for this Juventus. He will have time to put his entire wealth of experience to good use. I know both him and Marotta well — two people who grasped every subtle nuance of this profession. Giovanni has always had the desire to do things, to surprise, to go further. That is the trait all successful people share.”
Where Will Juventus Be in Five Years?
Braida’s long-term vision for Carnevali’s Juventus is characteristically clear-eyed: “For me, Juventus simply needed to return to simplicity, starting again from a strong leadership structure. I am sure Giorgio Chiellini will support him well in this adventure. Chiellini will learn a great deal from Carnevali — the only man capable of inaugurating a winning cycle in Turin. I wish him that with all my heart.”
It is a ringing endorsement from a man who has seen and shaped some of Italian football’s greatest chapters. For Juventus supporters who have watched eight directors come and go in five turbulent years, those words will carry considerable weight.
