There is no way around it — there is only a way forward, head down and pedalling. Luciano Spalletti’s serious expression in images published on Juventus’s own social media channels is the clearest signal coming from the Continassa this week: no time for problems, only for solutions. And the problems are considerable. In midfield, a solution beyond the Douglas Luiz and Koopmeiners stopgap must be found. But beyond the purely tactical, there is a question of attitude — of leaders.
Juventus have lost one of their most important: Locatelli will be gone for a long time, and in these months someone must take the reins of the group — not merely a piece of fabric to wrap around an arm, but genuine leadership from the pitch outwards. That task falls to Gleison Bremer. He must guide the team through the moments that matter most — and even lead the kind of vociferous protest to referees that a Juventus team occasionally needs to show it is alive and angry. This latest Juventus has still looked a little naive in those moments. That is something to work on too: sharpening characters, making them more abrasive.
A Super Start — and a Phrase That Now Resonates Differently
Bremer has demonstrated from day one how well he belongs in a squad with high ambitions. In the weeks ahead, as Lucumí continues to grow alongside him — another player capable of adding psychological and physical weight to the defensive line — the Brazilian is the most functionally essential presence in the squad.
He is also the one who, more than any other, has already held the squad accountable for the failures of last season. Just before the Milan match, he said the words that have since taken on an even greater significance: “I want to win — because I am 29 and I cannot wait.” The substance of that declaration is shared by every member of the squad, from the offices to the pitch. The question is the journey: it has frequently been difficult, frequently complicated by misfortune. And Bremer, more than most, knows what that feels like. The Leipzig cruciate, the long knee reconstruction — those are now only memories. What is asked of him now is another step up in quality, precisely because he is one of the very few from whom it can reasonably be expected.
Ancelotti did not call him up during the international break — he will be able to recover and prepare properly. After returning from the World Cup he steadily increased his workload across the summer and arrived at the season’s start in outstanding condition: the opener at Frosinone produced a goal that gave Juventus their first three points. Against Parma he was among the best on the pitch. Against Milan, his duel with Gonçalo Ramos became a masterclass in defensive reading and physicality.
The Numbers — and the Charisma Behind Them
Against Milan, Bremer won 77.8% of his duels and nearly half of all aerial contests. He has conceded virtually no successful dribbles to opponents across the season’s opening three fixtures. These are partly characteristics — his physical profile makes him extraordinarily difficult to beat in direct confrontation. But they are also a function of something less quantifiable: the charisma of a player who imposes himself on the space around him before the ball has even arrived.
That charisma is what Spalletti now needs Bremer to deploy beyond the purely defensive. The group, orphaned of Locatelli’s leadership, is looking for an example to follow — perhaps even to emulate. More than any other player in the squad, Bremer has demonstrated how to fall and rise quickly. The recipe for doing so is not so different from the one Spalletti was projecting in training on Tuesday: serious face, maximum attention, approaching every moment with the hunger to extract the maximum from it. Even when everything around you seems extremely complicated.
