Juventus, for Spalletti the bonuses are over: he must win. Openda and Adzic’s goals and Conte’s shadow
Elkann sets the objective: to win. For Spalletti, the bonus of the first half-season is over
"We are now in a building phase, but Juve's ambition is always to win". John Elkann, watching the first team beat Next Gen 2-0 in a 45-minute friendly from the bench alongside Luciano Spalletti, set out the objective for the season. Juventus finished sixth in the last league campaign and have not won the Serie A title since 2020, but the objective of this club and this team must always be to win. They cannot be satisfied with fourth place, which may be the minimum target for the club's finances but not for the ambitions of Juventus (management-manager-team) and their fans. Put another way: the biggest responsibility rests above all with Spalletti, because the new executives have only just arrived and need to build, whereas the manager this year is being asked to win.
So, beyond Elkann's words, one thing is clear: for Spalletti, the grace period from a first season he began on the move is over. He was not blamed for last season's dreadful final outcome because, if you count only the points Juventus took from the moment he replaced Tudor, they would have qualified for the Champions League. Responsibility for the disastrous 2025-26 season was placed entirely on Comolli and on certain players. Not on the Tuscan manager, despite the way Juventus threw away the slim Champions League advantage they held over their pursuers until just a few matchdays from the end of the league season.
A new chapter starts now. Aside from failing to keep Vlahovic and missing out on an experienced goalkeeper, Alisson or Dibu Martinez, Spalletti has got the reinforcements he asked for in the transfer market: Vicario, Celik, Lucumì, Alajbegovic, Ekhator and the confirmation of Boga. Another arrival could still come before 1 September, in midfield or attack. The club are also trying to meet Spalletti's wishes when it comes to outgoings, with Openda and Adzic leaving, curiously both scoring in the first official match of the season for their respective new clubs, Lyon and Sassuolo, as well as Rouhi, and with difficult negotiations under way to move on Di Gregorio, one defender from Rugani and Cabal, one midfielder from Miretti and Koopmeiners, in addition to cutting Arthur, and at least one from David, Milik and Zhegrova. Furthermore, the directors are backing Spalletti in his desire to put faith in the revitalised Douglas Luiz.
At 6.30pm on Sunday in Frosinone, the first truly 100 per cent Spalletti Juventus will take the field, and he will have no margin for error. If they make a false start, the shadow of Antonio Conte will not take long to fall over the Juventus dugout.
