Alessio Tacchinardi knows the Juventus DNA from the inside — he was part of the greatest era of domestic dominance in the club’s modern history, operating alongside champions of the highest order. Which is precisely why his assessment of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Milan, delivered on Pressing on Sportmediaset alongside Pazzini, Trevisani, Biasin, Sabatini, Galli, and referee analyst Cesari, carries a weight that goes beyond the merely critical.
“Not an Exhilarating Match — Too Many Technical Errors. Compared to Inter, Juventus Are a Long Way Behind”
The opening analysis set an honest and unsparing tone. “It was not an exhilarating match — too many technical errors. Juventus did better, created more, and after Cissé’s goal they never gave up and were rewarded with a draw. But if we analyse the squads, compared to Inter they are a very long way behind.” Pazzini added balance: “Juventus did slightly better but it still was not a beautiful match. With the substitutions things improved. The draw is the correct result. They are two teams that still have a great deal of work to do.”
“Gatti’s Celebration Is Not Acceptable for the Juventus Mentality — The History of That Shirt Is an Obsession with Victory”
The most pointed and most discussed observation of the programme concerned the manner of Federico Gatti’s equaliser celebration — and what it revealed about the collective mindset of the squad. Tacchinardi invoked the Roma comparison to frame his argument: “Hermoso scored and Roma went to get the ball to go and win it. It was a little like what happened to us against Fiorentina — we were losing 2-0, we made it 2-2, and Vialli went to get the ball from the net because he wanted to go and win that match. Gatti’s celebration, the way he reacted to the equaliser — it is not acceptable for the Juventus mentality. If you want to win, you do not celebrate like that. You try until the end. The history of that shirt is the obsession with victory.”
Trevisani pushed the observation further: “It almost seems as if the new arrivals adapt to what they find rather than changing it.” Biasin added the structural contradiction that makes the criticism particularly pointed: “If the problem is personality and Spalletti has been asking for months for players of a certain type of character — and then the one who has it is Gatti, who was supposed to leave — then there is a problem.” Sabatini completed the picture: “Gatti never plays — only in moments of desperation, like last year at Roma for the 3-3.”
“Vlahović Was the Striker Spalletti Wanted — the Others Are Makeshift Solutions”
On the attacking question that has defined the first three matchdays, the panel was united in its underlying diagnosis. Galli was direct: “Nostalgia for Vlahović? He would certainly have solved major problems for this Juventus — but they could not keep him. He was the striker Spalletti wanted. The others are compromises at the net of the spending made. The price is determined by many factors, not necessarily by the true value of the player.” Pazzini was equally blunt: “Spalletti said it in a thousand languages that he wanted a centre-forward with specific characteristics — more of a penalty-box player. Kolo Muani is not that. If you look at the Gatti goal, the French striker is three metres behind. That means there is a problem.” Sabatini added the counterpoint: “I agree with Galli — but you must look at all the data, because Juventus played with Vlahović in the final matches of last season and finished sixth.”
“If Kolo Muani Does Not Score 15 Goals This Year, Juventus Have a Serious Problem”
Tacchinardi’s verdict on the centre-forward situation was the most challenging of the programme’s running order — and the most consequential in its implications. “After three matchdays the strengths and weaknesses of both clubs are already visible. At Juventus we always come back to discussing the striker. Spalletti has always known how to exalt his strikers — I remember Osimhen — but at Juventus he is struggling. David and Openda seemed like brothers in their ineffectiveness. And he is struggling to integrate Kolo Muani. Then the declaration ‘I get on the wagon’ — it is a position that helps him, but technically on the pitch he is not being exalted. Against Milan he did considerably worse than at Frosinone. If Kolo Muani does not score 15 goals this season, Juventus have a very serious problem.”
The Refereeing Controversy — Cesari: “For Me They Are Both Fouls — but There Was Uniformity”
On the episode that generated the most controversy — De Winter’s contact on Kolo Muani in the build-up to Cissé’s Milan goal, which went unpunished despite appearing to replicate a similar earlier incident in which Koopmeiners had caught Cissé — referee analyst Graziano Cesari provided the most precise assessment. “The goal came from this sequence: Koopmeiners recovers the ball on Cissé and subsequently serves Kolo Muani. And what does De Winter do? The same thing as Koopmeiners — he treads on Kolo Muani’s right foot. A situation of great uniformity and consistency in the judgement of two similar situations. For me they are both fouls — but at least there was uniformity in how both were treated.” His conclusion was careful: “In Italy there is a different regulation compared to recent seasons. But these fouls should be called.”
