Luciano Spalletti sat down in the Allianz Stadium press room on Saturday morning — on the eve of Sunday’s home fixture against Milan, the season’s first genuine examination between two clubs with maximum points — and delivered his most comprehensive and candid press conference since the start of the season.
“Milan Are a Vertical, Direct Side — You Need the Same Engine as Theirs”
The scouting report on tomorrow’s opponents was precise and respectful. “An manager arrives with clear ideas who has managed to have a strong squad built for him. Despite only two matches being played, there are already very recognisable principles of play. He had already made himself appreciated at Sporting — and even at Braga — for the quality of play his teams expressed. Milan are vertical — a plumb-line team, straight and direct, very fast in reversing play. They force you to use an engine of the same cylinder capacity as theirs, because otherwise you risk arriving late to every appointment. They come at you and create these continual micro-duels. If you can read them in advance and move in advance, it is something you can use — because the aggression of opponents must always be used and must never create fear. It is a beautiful match because it is Juventus-Milan. Naturally we will try to play our match and express our desire to win.”
“We Have Seven Injured Players — We Feel in a Condition to Play a Match Worthy of Juventus”
On the squad’s physical state — and the full injury list confirmed for the first time publicly: “The difficulties exist — we have seven injured. They are all different problems from each other. We will have a squad that allows us to be in a condition to play the match. We feel able to play a match worthy of Juventus. We have started on the right foot collectively — there is a search to put into practice what we say. We will need to be good at creating these movements without the ball, because Milan will come at us strongly. We must go looking for metres that do not exist. Every metre gained in depth is worth more than any amount of passing around the back.”
The full injury list, confirmed at the press conference: Cabal, Cambiaso, Sarr, McKennie, Thuram, Yıldız, Ekhator. Seven. “We hope to recover a couple for next week because they would be very useful.”
“Chivu Was Sincere — His Words Are an Additional Stimulus”
On Inter manager Cristian Chivu’s remarks suggesting that for Inter, Juventus-Milan is not a direct rivalry match — that both clubs remain “a long way behind” in the title race — Spalletti was measured but pointed. “It seemed to me that Chivu said what he thinks — and he was sincere. I like sincere people. His words are nothing particular — they must be a further stimulus to give even more. If that is how we are defined, it becomes even more important to seek the maximum in order to reduce this gap that exists with the strongest teams in the championship. I have nothing to add about Chivu’s words.”
“Woltemade Will Not Start — but He Could Come On”
The German striker’s debut against Milan was definitively settled: “Initially I am thinking of not starting him — but we went and signed him and we have faith in him, so it is possible he will come on during the match. He is a player who knows how to play in a two — because he is one who goes ‘around,’ and he does it because he creates the space for himself to attack subsequently. He can play very well alongside Kolo Muani. We will see it in practice. He is an extraordinary person — you can see immediately the character quality he has for being inside a squad. There is only one thing to do: let him play. And that begins tomorrow.”
“We Did Not Achieve Everything We Wanted in the Market — but We Improved the Squad”
The most frank passage on the summer’s business: “Some situations allowed us to do what we wanted, others did not. There are dynamics you cannot always control. We have grown from what our squad was — we will need to see if we are able to put that into practice. Some players are important in their characteristics and are not easily replaced — players like Yıldız and McKennie. We work forward with trust because we believe we have potential. We played two excellent matches, made some errors but demonstrated we are a real team in every respect. Further confirmations will be needed — and tomorrow could be one of those matches that tells you a great deal about the squad’s consolidation.”
“Excluding Players from the UEFA List Was the Worst Situation for Me as a Manager”
The most human and emotionally difficult passage of the press conference concerned the players left off the Europa League list. “Speaking with them is the minimum I owe them — and it is something I had thought about and hoped would never happen. Excluding a player is the worst of situations for any manager. We believed we would do certain things that did not happen — and we found ourselves in that position. I spoke with them and it seems they have understood. As for the possibility of a further sale, that is not my job. I am sorry. I thought about it a great deal, I spoke with those who were excluded, and I am genuinely sorry.”
“Adaptation Is Not a Compromise — It Is the Competency of a Strong Squad”
A final observation on the broader theme of the season ahead — and the identity of a Juventus that must learn, game by game, what it can become. “Balance and adaptability are what allow you to turn the unexpected into an opportunity. Adapting is not a fallback — it is the competency of a strong squad. We must work on these criteria. Then we must not present it to the squad as a problem — because demonstrating that you are strong happens on the pitch. The squad seems ready to play this match. The flow of the game will tell us whether that is actually the case.”
