Juventus Season Preview: Spalletti's Firm Stance and Squad Renovation
Luciano Spalletti has drawn a hard line before a ball is kicked in Serie A. The Juventus coach confirmed that Randal Kolo Muani and Guglielmo Vicario will both start away to Frosinone on Sunday, then warned the rest of his squad that the season will be unforgiving.
The game at the Stadio Stirpe kicks off at 17.30 UK time (18.30 CEST). For Juventus, it feels like a restart after a year that ended with a late collapse, sixth place and a Europa League ticket instead of the Champions League.
Spalletti rings the bell
"The bell has rung, the season has started, and whoever isn't ready will feel themselves getting pushed towards the exit," Spalletti declared in his press conference, setting a sharp tone for the campaign.
He began by saluting the opposition. "I want to congratulate Frosinone on returning to Serie A and my friend Massimiliano Alvini for the work he did to achieve promotion." Respect paid, he quickly turned the spotlight back on his own dressing room.
"Teams are always evolving, so players must be prepared to go with that flow. I also went to watch a few Serie B coaches at work, to keep myself up to date." The message was clear: if the coach is pushing himself, the players have no excuse.
A squad under renovation
Juventus staggered through a mixed pre-season and are still reshaping the squad deep into the transfer window. New arrivals Kerim Alajbegovic, Jhon Lucumi, Jeff Ekhator and Zeki Celik have joined around established talent such as Kenan Yildiz, as Spalletti tries to sharpen every department.
"The squad right now is cohesive, united, but in future I'd like us to also be solid, robust, determined," he said. "In general we've had a good transfer market, some areas need a few cosmetic changes, others entire restoration projects."
Alajbegovic, in particular, drew praise. "We brought in a player like Alajbegovic who provides that sudden shock of energy, he sees the next move and can see it through. We've certainly made it more competitive all over the team."
Juventus will need that edge. Last season they were in the Champions League race until a damaging late slump left them sixth. The Europa League awaits, but expectations inside the club and outside it remain far higher.
Top-four race and title ambitions
"There are seven or eight teams who can challenge for the top four, and last season we missed out," Spalletti reminded everyone. "We've got to prove ourselves and become a balanced team. We have improved, but only the results will show us how much we've improved."
He knows the noise around Juventus. "Right now you all seem to think we'll be second or third, but it's the usual game when you try to guess the line-up, they can't all be in the starting XI."
Spalletti also pointed to the strength of the competition. "We had a good transfer strategy and are in a position to do more, while Milan made good investments, Inter and Napoli were already strong, Roma signed important players. They are all up there and have the same ambition, we all want to win many games."
The race is crowded. The margin for error, thin.
Vicario in, Di Gregorio out, Perin waiting
One area where Juventus have already made a definitive call is in goal. Michele Di Gregorio is on his way to Bournemouth on loan with an option to buy for €14m, while Mattia Perin is ready to drop to Serie B with Palermo.
"We got Vicario because we consider him strong and experienced, good with his feet, and has just started training over the last week with the team," Spalletti explained. "He will play, Perin will remain as long as he can be useful, while Di Gregorio is almost official now, so he's not even in the squad."
That clears the way for Vicario to walk straight into the starting XI in Frosinone. And he will not be the only new face under the spotlight.
"Vicario and Kolo Muani will start," Spalletti confirmed. From there, he wants structure that liberates rather than restricts. "Then after that we'll try to create a team that has balance, which gives individual players more freedom to express themselves within that framework."
For Spalletti, this is not a tactical chess problem on a whiteboard. "It is not system against system, but movement against movement, understanding where to create that space."
The bell has rung, as he said. Now Juventus must show whether this rebuild can carry them back into the elite, or whether another season of chasing shadows awaits.
