Luciano Spalletti opened his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday’s friendly against Basilea with a moment of genuine human warmth — dedicating his first words to Silvio Baldini, the Italy caretaker manager who had lost his daughter Valentina just hours earlier. “Allow me to dedicate a thought to Baldini for the loss of his dear Valentina on behalf of my family and Juventus.” Only then did the football begin.
“I Have Lived These Fifty Days with a Sense of Discomfort”
On what the summer has felt like since the final match of last season — the game at Torino that confirmed Juventus would spend 2026-27 in the Europa League — Spalletti was characteristically direct. “I always think about my own work and what I could have done better and differently. These days have been lived with a sense of discomfort, because we live by results and are conditioned by results. The thought has been to organise a different course of action right from the beginning.”
His tone was clear-eyed rather than despondent. “We have analysed what we failed to do last season, but the path we are on is the right one. What needs to change is how we walk along it. Knowing when to break away — to put in the decisive sprint — is the most important thing. Juventus is not a club built to sit in someone’s slipstream. We have to be capable of making these breaks.”
On the Transfer Market: “We Are at the Cooling Break of a Match”
Spalletti addressed the transfer situation with a footballing metaphor that will resonate. “We know the squad needs to be strengthened, reinforced, and in some positions completed. Everyone knows that. The difficulty is the timing imposed by the World Cup — because when the season begins, the time to work will be short, and it is better to have the players in place immediately. But everyone is having difficulty. We are at the cooling break of the transfer window match. There is still work to be done, but there is time. We are all very well organised and convinced of the direction we need to take.”
On Vlahović: “My Offices Have Open Doors — But You Have to Ring the Bell”
The question everyone in the room was waiting for produced Spalletti’s most memorable line of the afternoon. Asked about the free agent Serbian striker, the manager was entirely consistent with the position he has held all summer. “I have done what was within my area of competence. I make technical assessments — the financial side is not my responsibility. When the season ended I did not speak to him again, but he knows how I see things.” And then, with a quiet smile: “Our directors always have their doors open in their offices — but to enter, you have to ring the bell.”
It is a line that encapsulates the state of the Vlahović situation entirely. The door is open. The welcome is conditional. The next move belongs to the player.
On Ekhator: “His Eyes Were Shining — He Has the Qualities of a Modern Number Nine”
Spalletti’s assessment of Jeff Ekhator was warm and genuinely encouraging. “Ekhator has significant potential. The club was astute in bringing him here — he has the qualities of a modern centre-forward, everything needed to be a complete number nine. He is at an age where he needs to grow calmly, but those characteristics are visibly strong because he has had them since birth. He needs to complete his development — and he is hugely motivated. We stayed together for a few minutes after training and you can see his eyes shining.” The caution about what the open transfer market might mean for his future was equally honest: “It can happen that someone leaves — given last season’s results, we may be compelled to sell someone. We will be ready. What happened yesterday with Çelik shows that we are a strong club, because strong clubs know how to surprise.”
On Yıldız: “We Are Waiting for Him with Open Arms”
On the Turkish international’s knee situation, Spalletti was reassuring. “We have a first-class medical staff. We are waiting for him with open arms, because Yıldız means many things to us. He will return and will be in a condition to join the group immediately. He needed a little rest, and from what we have discussed, it seems to have done him good. If further work is needed, a personalised programme will be put in place alongside the group sessions.”
On Çelik: “A Warrior’s Character — He Will Have No Problems Settling In”
The new Turkish right-back received a brief but characteristically pointed endorsement. “He is a player of character, reliable, with a warrior’s mentality. Bringing him here was a good idea. He will have no problems settling in — he is an experienced player and a very good person.”
On Carnevali, Massara, and Comolli: “Mutual Esteem Binds Us”
The final passage of the conference was perhaps the most telling. Asked to reflect on the change of leadership and his relationship with both the departing Comolli and the new team of Carnevali and Massara, Spalletti was measured, diplomatic, and ultimately generous. “I have always had a good relationship with everyone — with some people I had different points of view. When you arrive mid-season you do not have time to build relationships. Modesto I used to keep with me in front of the dressing room, we would leave together. Comolli came to the training ground very often.”
On the new leadership: “With Carnevali and Massara I know them well. With Massara I have worked together and I know his top-level ability as a director. With Carnevali I have never worked directly — but it is the mutual esteem between us that binds us and puts us immediately at ease. They are people who describe themselves through their track record. I have complete confidence in adding the right bricks and completing the positions we need to build a strong squad that allows us to have real ambitions. The pitch and the boardroom can both determine the quality of our football and our team enormously.”
