Damien Comolli, Juventus’ newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, shared (as quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport) his philosophy and forward-thinking approach during a high-profile panel at Hudl Performance Insights 2025 in London.
Changing the Approach with Coaches
Comolli was remarkably open about how he’s shifting the club’s relationship with its head coaches:
“All coaches, when they interview with the club, make their own presentation telling you everything is going to be fine. In reality, when they start coaching, they say everything is going badly. Now I actually put those promises in the contract, to remind the coaches of what they said. In the interview, I make it clear: ‘This is how we work. These are our processes. Data drives player selection, set pieces, injury prevention, and so much more. If you’re fine with that, great. If not, we shake hands and say goodbye.’ The coach must embrace this philosophy.”
Building Juventus Culture from the Ground Up
“Thirty per cent of my time is spent thinking about club culture, because results don’t come without it. I’ve asked Matuidi and Trezeguet, just to name two, what Juve’s DNA really is. Everyone gives the same answer: ‘Winning.’ But culture is more than that — it’s built from the bottom up. This morning, we held a big meeting about defining our culture. I told everyone, ‘You decide who we are. I can set a few guidelines, but culture comes from below.’ Culture is the club’s values.”
Data at Every Level
Juventus’ new boss made it clear that his arrival was always going to bring a data revolution.
“At Toulouse, RedBird brought me in to run the organisation with data, and Juventus knew that’s how I operate. The key is alignment from the CEO onwards. Too often, the relationship between management and coach breaks down here. You need a bridge — someone who knows data and speaks the coach’s language. If that person exists and the coach is open, the bridge works. If not, it doesn’t.”
He added: “At Toulouse, we measured the mental condition of staff daily — for stress, for motivation. It was hugely useful. We stopped hiring people who weren’t motivated. On the pitch, we even banned crosses and long-distance shots based on data.”
Identifying Personality in Players
Comolli explained how data is even used to gauge character in the transfer market:
“At Toulouse, we looked for personality. From data, you can spot who has it — for example, players who touch the ball a lot. There’s a fine line between wanting the ball and being selfish. Arsène Wenger used to tell me, ‘It’s always the same players making the right pass and the same ones scoring.’ He was right.”
Leadership and Learning
Reflecting on his own style, Comolli said:
“If you want to be a model leader, you have to be yourself and work where you feel comfortable. When you walk from the car park to the office, people can see your mood. If I’m down, it spreads negativity. I want colleagues who keep me honest. At Toulouse, I told them, ‘If I break with our culture or sign a player who doesn’t fit, you must tell me.’”
He shared his passion for learning: “I’m not someone who writes. It’s probably a trauma from being forced to write in the past. People on my team look for new ideas for me. I read and learn constantly, never stopping. I fear being left behind by the industry, so I always study. I don’t read about football — it bores me. I read scientific articles on data, recovery methods, and books on leadership and negotiation. I want to learn from other sports, not just football. When I’m in a meeting, I want to be the least clever in the room. If I’m the smartest, something is wrong. I can’t stand arrogance. I’ve seen many fail because they were talented but not humble.”
The Future of Data and Youth Development
Finally, Comolli looked ahead:
“The next step is to use data better in the academy — to see which players will make it, prevent injury, manage workloads. Football has a bias toward players born earlier in the year, but the data shows many top talents are born later. At Toulouse, we intentionally recruited many born after August. The million-dollar question is what separates a good striker from a world-class one. It’s not just technical, it’s psychological. I watched Sinner in Turin recently and thought, to play like that, you need to be totally focused but also relaxed. That’s what makes the difference in front of goal. The future of data, with or without AI, is mapping the best connections between all eleven players. If we crack that, everything will change.”
