“Unfortunately Sunday gave us enormous disappointment — but we go forward.” So begins Fabrizio Ravanelli’s long and characteristically direct assessment on Tuttosport’s YouTube channel — an ex-striker, former Juventus director, and current pundit who spent the days between the Sassuolo defeat and Thursday’s NEC opener sleeplessly analysing every dimension of what went wrong.
“A Performance Truly Unworthy of This Shirt — Now NEC Will Test Who Has Real Personality”
Ravanelli’s opening framing was unambiguous about the scale of what went wrong. “Those points must be touched that are important to the pride of the players — to bring them back onto the pitch ready to produce a great performance. You must have steady nerves, aware that a performance truly unworthy of this shirt was produced. Deeply disappointing. The players know it. Spalletti knows it. I believe the club is very disappointed. There will have been discussions in the dressing room to touch the players’ pride and produce a strong and immediate reaction. Tomorrow evening will not be an easy match — it may appear so, but when you take a slap that hard you feel it enormously on a psychological level. It will be a proof of who has real personality.”
“We Cannot Build From the Back — the Ball Circulation Was Slow and Predictable”
On the structural problems exposed by the Sassuolo defeat, Ravanelli’s analysis was the most technically precise of any external observer in the days that followed. “Seeking to understand what the problems of Juventus are, I think the squad makes great difficulty in building from the back. We struggle to play out from behind with the two central defenders — and Lucumí being substituted at half-time created difficulties, because he is the only one who has the ability to play forward from defence. Without that forward passing option, the ball circulation was slow and predictable.”
The midfield chain reaction this created was equally specific: “So one of Douglas Luiz or Koopmeiners — who produced a performance not worthy of a Juventus player — would drop deep, emptying the midfield and giving Sassuolo numerical superiority in the central areas. As a consequence the wide players were always doubled and we had no possibility of hurting opponents. We created problems only with two runs from Nico. It was a Juventus that was completely predictable — no speed, no solutions. The two central midfielders do not have the ability to beat an opponent even with a single controlling touch. Kolo Muani never received a ball of any quality that put him in acceptable conditions to be dangerous.”
He returned to the theme: “If opponents sit and wait for us, we are in enormous difficulty. When we face teams of superior or equal level, we will feel more at ease — perhaps already against NEC, which is a team that attacks.”
“Frattesi Would Have Been Perfect — Since His Sassuolo Days I Always Said So”
The observation that will generate the most retrospective debate concerns the midfielder who went to Lazio rather than Juventus. “Frattesi would have been useful. We do not have central midfielders with a significant goal return. Since his Sassuolo days I always said he would be perfect for Juventus. He is a box-to-box player who is genuinely missing from this squad. Only McKennie has that profile.”
On Koopmeiners — the player who should embody that quality on paper: “I do not want to criticise — but there needs to be at least a change of pace. He never plays forward. He is a different player from the one we saw at Atalanta. I am sorry, I do not want to say he is not capable — but I would like to see that fire inside. He is always in one gear, always with his body positioned poorly. Sacchi used to destroy us when we received the ball with our back to the opponent because it forces you to play backwards. In midfield we get everything wrong — even free kicks and corners. And that is not the manager’s fault. The blame is shared — but his performance is not at the required level.”
“Sending Vicario Out After Sassuolo Was Wrong — Bremer Should Have Been There”
The sharpest and most unexpected criticism of the piece concerned not a player’s performance but an institutional communication decision. “As a former player, director, and analyst — what I did not like was the fact that Juventus sent Vicario out to speak after the match. He has two Juventus appearances to his name. How can he represent the squad? In that situation the face must be shown by someone like Bremer — who has been here for years. It does not work any other way. Not because Vicario is not up to the task — perhaps he will be in a few years. But today you need someone with experience in this environment, with a more mature Juventinità.”
“We Cannot Be Mangiallenatori — Spalletti Is a Serious Manager and Must Be Left to Work”
On the Conte conversation: “Such a cloud of dust has risen because supporters are a little tired of this Juventus that cannot find continuity — for too many years we have not fought for the Scudetto. If we were to start thinking again about dismissing a manager… Spalletti, Tudor, Allegri… We are a mangiallenatori — a club that eats managers. In the history of Juventus we have never been like this. Some degree of project and continuity is required, beyond the extraordinary qualities of Antonio Conte. Spalletti is a serious and capable manager and he must be left to work with maximum tranquillity.”
The Manchester United comparison that has been circulating drew a firm but constructive response: “I fully agree. To avoid becoming one, you need continuity, trust, cohesion — a collective vision. You cannot pull in different directions; the sheet is always too short. You cannot always point the finger looking for someone to blame. That is not how you work.”
His closing thought, on the NEC match and the season ahead: “When you play European matches, the situation is always one where every player wants to make himself known. The Champions League and Europa League always give you that something extra — they push you to give the maximum. European football brings out that something more. The fire must be fed from within.”
