Juventus ended their final pre-season friendly before the Asian tour on a high, defeating Nice 2-0 at the Continassa — goals from Douglas Luiz and Oboavwoduo, with Vasilije Adzic providing the assist for the second — and Luciano Spalletti emerged from the occasion in noticeably better spirits than in previous weeks.
“I Liked Everything — They Finally Pressed as a Team”
The performance produced Spalletti’s most positive public assessment of the pre-season so far. “I liked everything,” he said. “Because sometimes last season my team would go and press even when the defence and midfield did not have the support to do so — they would press when the whole team wasn’t committed to it. This time they did it well. They took away 20 metres of depth and won back a lot of balls and created interesting moves forward. We did lose some fairly elementary balls, but the overall picture was very encouraging.”
On the Financial Reality: A Rare and Frank Admission
In the context of the transfer market — and with the Kolo Muani and Alajbegovic deals still being finalised — Spalletti addressed the club’s financial constraints with unusual directness. “Having made some poor purchases in recent years, we are not in a position to spend the way other clubs can. This must be understood. We need to be smarter, more creative, and more patient. We knew this going in. We have been operating within those limits all summer.”
It was one of the most candid public acknowledgements yet of how the legacy of the previous administration — the combined cost of failed experiments with Openda, David, Douglas Luiz, and others — continues to shape what the current administration can and cannot do.
Douglas Luiz’s Statement — Has He Finally Made His Case?
One of the evening’s most discussed moments was Douglas Luiz’s goal — a well-struck finish that opened the scoring and provided genuine encouragement for a player whose Juventus future has been the subject of intense speculation all summer. Spalletti addressed the performance directly: “Douglas played a good match. He was involved in many positive actions, he moved the ball well, and he found the goal. I saw the characteristics I was looking for. Now he needs to maintain this level and build on it.”
Whether that constitutes a reprieve for a player who has been strongly linked with an exit remains to be seen. But the goal was the kind of intervention that opens minds — and in a summer where Juventus are still searching for solutions in the engine room, Spalletti’s willingness to give Douglas Luiz a genuine second chance is itself a meaningful statement.
On Italy: “With Maldini We Had Put It in Fourth Gear — Now We’re Back in Second”
Spalletti also addressed the ongoing chaos surrounding the Italian national team coaching appointment — a subject on which he spoke with evident emotion. His assessment of the Maldini-Leonardo era, and the contrast with what has followed, was pointed: “With Maldini we had put it in fourth gear. Now we’re back in second.” He was careful not to attack individuals directly, but the sense of a missed opportunity — of a genuinely exciting project for Italian football having been discontinued before it could fully develop — was unmistakable.
The Reijnders Subplot — and What Comes Next
The final transfer subplot to emerge from today’s reporting concerns Tijjani Reijnders. Juventus have not abandoned the idea of a loan from Manchester City, with the formula of the operation — a temporary arrangement at a fee of approximately €5 million — being carefully assessed by both clubs. City manager Enzo Maresca’s feelings on a loan departure will be the decisive variable. The Reijnders dream, then, is alive — just. And with the squad heading to Asia on Sunday, every remaining piece of the puzzle must be placed in the days that follow.
