Spalletti issues a sensational statement about Salah, and describes the Juventus star as crazy

He wears sunglasses, but takes them off the moment he leaves the car. He carries a bag that, at first glance, looks like a doctor's bag ready for a house call. Then it becomes clear its owner is no doctor, but rather one of the most controversial and surprising coaches in Italian football: Luciano Spalletti.

In a lengthy interview with the newspaper "Tuttosport", Spalletti moved between many topics, but he did not do so randomly. He opened one door after another onto everything on his mind, from Juventus and its history, to his relationship with players, through his long coaching experience, and all the way to Dusan Vlahovic and Kenan Yildiz.

Having never liked coaching for the sake of coaching, Spalletti has spent his entire career chasing the hardest equation: achieving results while delivering enjoyable football at the same time. Perhaps that is why he can still surprise those around him, whether on the pitch or off it.

Spalletti opened his conversation with "Tuttosport" in a way that perfectly captures his personality, when he was asked about the papers he carries with him. He said: "They are notes. I never improvise anything, ever. I prepare for everything, otherwise people will say the same silly things. And I want you to notice something: nobody writes anything for me. It took me three days to be here, ready for this interview. And I think this is a kind of respect for those who want to get to know me better. Now we can begin."

Juventus is not just a club: you are coaching a mentality and a history

Spalletti has coached clubs of the stature of Roma, Inter and Napoli, and he also led the Italian national team. Yet he sees Juventus as different from everything that came before. He said: "At Roma, I was coaching a fan base. At Napoli, I was coaching an entire city. At Inter, I was coaching a rich heritage. And with the national team, I was coaching an entire people. But at Juventus, you are coaching a mentality. It is the history of football."

Pressing the point, he explained: "This is the Juventus way. It is not just a wave of emotions, but a mixture of joy, pride and responsibility, feelings that never leave me. There is a unique blend of deep sadness and overwhelming happiness. And you must not live for football alone, but for Juventus. We compete at our own level, not at the level of others. Our club is synonymous with footballing excellence, and that is why it attracts global attention."

On how it feels to be Juventus coach, he said: "It is something great, truly great. To do what you love is freedom, and to be happy with what you do is love. There are heavy responsibilities of course, and it will be difficult for us, but it is a task I am happy to carry out. Here I feel happiness and freedom."

Why did Spalletti accept the Juventus contract?

Renewing his contract with Juventus came down to more than one factor for Spalletti. It flowed from a set of personal and professional convictions. He said: "First and foremost, it was my belief in the team. Then my belief in myself, and finally the history of the club. Experience teaches you to accept everything that happens and to deal with it, without it greatly affecting your daily happiness in doing this wonderful job."

He added: "There is beauty in it. I did not hesitate and I did not doubt. I needed some time to test myself in this world, then the opportunity came for me to renew and to begin laying the foundations for the work ahead. We will see whether we can achieve what everyone expects."

Turning to the current phase, Spalletti acknowledged that the club is passing through a period of change and rebuilding. He said: "Yes, change is under way. The new management talks about it, but the ownership is still the same, and that is a good thing. Now we need time and maturity, and we need to take some steps along the lines of the previous management."

He continued: "The start was not successful. There is a defeat to Sassuolo that still hurts us, but we are on the right track. I see that things are going well in order to recover the level, the rhythm and the collective performance that we delivered for a long time last year."

Gianluca Vialli: the man who inspired Spalletti

Asked for the most inspiring figure in Juventus's history, Spalletti did not hesitate. He chose Gianluca Vialli. He said: "Definitely Gianluca Vialli. As a player, he would knock me to the ground in tackles, then shake my hand and smile. That is how he lived football. He brought strength, a smile and respect to the pitch. He would knock you down like a wrestler, then lift you up like a brother. You understood immediately who he really was."

Pushed to name the coach most tied in his mind to Juventus's history, he answered quickly: "It is very easy: Lippi and Trapattoni." Then he reeled off the names of Juventus's historic generation: "Zoff, Gentile, Cabrini, Bonini, Brio, Scirea, Bettega, Tardelli, Rossi, Platini and Boniek." Asked whether he knows these names by heart, he answered: "I used to repeat them a lot even when I was a child."

On the person who convinced him more than anyone else to take on the Juventus challenge, Spalletti said: "My family is my support at every step. And since I have never dealt with an agent, my only connection to these people was through my family."

I have always criticised myself: Spalletti responds to his critics

Throughout his career, one narrative has clung to Spalletti's name: a genius coach on the pitch who sometimes loses himself off it. He does not see these criticisms as a crisis. He said: "Those who criticised me in the past wasted their time and effort. I have always criticised myself. I am good at not making up excuses and justifications. When I face excessive criticism or praise, I take from them only the part that helps me develop."

On how he has handled contempt and criticism down the years, he said: "We all need to develop our ability to deal with contempt. I have learned how to deal with it, as people have written me all sorts of things. I banged my head on my desk, and I filed a lawsuit against a chicken company."

He then recalled an amusing moment from his family: "In my family, we are all wonderful. When I go back home, my brother looks at me and shouts: wonderful, we are angering everyone, and that means you are doing your job perfectly. And I try never to forget this lesson, that pleasure in facing contempt with courage. Because accepting contempt, and knowing that you cannot please everyone, is what makes you free to be yourself."

For Spalletti, the coach's role is not just plans and tactics. It is creating an environment that helps players deliver their best. He said: "The coach must create an atmosphere of joy, but the most important thing is the players, who must be united and made to think the same way."

He added: "You must not evaluate individuals superficially, but rather you must bring out something special in them. Talent is available to everyone, but true joy comes only with hard work, and happy moments that are not appreciated turn into regret."

Salah and Kvaratskhelia: players who left their mark

Asked which players he believes he was decisive in developing, Spalletti mentioned a handful of names. He said: "I will mention some of them, the ones that are clearest in my mind: Pizarro at Udinese, Kvaratskhelia at Napoli, and Mohamed Salah at Roma."

Then he dwelt on Salah in particular: "Kvaratskhelia came from a certain kind of football, but Salah gives the Ballon d'Or to whoever coaches him. Let us be clear, it is the player's level that always makes the difference, because football is complex. And it is only deep knowledge of football that makes things simple."

Asked about the player he feels he could not develop sufficiently, Spalletti chose Adam Ounas without hesitation: "Adam Ounas at Napoli, without a doubt."

The conversation moved to Dusan Vlahovic, who is still searching for his best version, in Spalletti's view. The Italian coach said: "Because he still needs to recover his calm. He has to find his personal balance, because he makes mistakes on his own, whether you give him a lot of energy or a little. It is a matter of balance, a matter of finding the right emotional balance."

Has Yildiz become a leader for Juventus?

Kenan Yildiz drew some of Spalletti's longest reflections, especially given the absence currently affecting the team. He said: "He adds an aesthetic touch to the play and makes it shine. Every move he makes is a work of genius. He is someone who breaks the system, and he does not even know what he is capable of doing."

Warming to the theme, he added: "He starts the attack, but he does not have a prior plan for every feint he will perform. Sometimes, in training, someone reads the move he is going to make in advance, but he succeeds anyway. Even if you know him, you cannot beat him. He is crazy in his invention."

Does he rank Yildiz alongside stars such as Salah and Kvaratskhelia? Spalletti answered: "For me, he compares to Kvaratskhelia. He just needs to play a little more, but I see him as very similar to him in his ability to create unexpected situations. He always tries to stay outside the timing of the match and the rules of the game."

Leadership, in Spalletti's eyes, is not always about shouting or constant chatter with teammates. He said about Yildiz: "Yes, they have given him the reins. He is a wonderful person, very simple, just like our neighbour, but he is a leader. He does not necessarily have to talk to the team. I had Nestor Sensini at Udinese, and he did not utter a word. And sometimes he did not even say hello, but his charisma forced everyone to follow him. He was captivating."

Intelligence or skill? Spalletti reveals the key to modern football

To close the interview, Spalletti tackled one of the thorniest questions in football: is intelligence more important than skill? He said: "If you are mentally alert, you are ready. And when everything seems under control, you are in trouble. Mirrors give you a greater advantage in reading future situations. The game has become chaotic now."

He explained: "In the past, the signals were clear: the left centre-back, the full-back, the positions. Today, spaces open and close constantly, and players exchange roles and functions. But the difference lies in those who can read what the ball will do."

Between a Juventus trying to restore its standing, a Vlahovic searching for his balance, and a Yildiz imposing himself as an exceptional talent, Spalletti clearly sees football as more than a collection of plans and instructions. It is a game that needs personality, intelligence, boldness and the ability to read chaos before it happens. At Juventus in particular, his task looks bigger than merely leading a team. It is an attempt to revive a mentality tied to the club's history for more than a century.