Juventus thought they had found in Luciano Spalletti the technician capable of restoring order to a house that had been profoundly remodeled, but four days of Serie A were enough to bring back the first doubts. The defeat conceded on Sunday on the lawn of Sassuolo, at the end of a particularly cruel scenario, brutally brought the Bianconeri back to their difficulties. Beaten (3-2) after having equalized twice in the last minutes, Juve let slip a match which still seemed within its reach before collapsing on a transition in added time. With this first defeat of the season, the Turin team remains stuck at 7 points and could already be five points behind the leader after only four days. Even more worrying, this poor performance has revived the feeling of a team which is struggling to produce coherent football and which already gives the impression of returning to certain shortcomings observed in recent seasons. La Gazzetta dello Sport thus evokes an increasingly obvious technical crisis, with an attack in difficulty, leadership problems and a team which seems to have lost the dynamic seen during its first outings.
The observation is all the more worrying as Spalletti does not yet have a real immunity credit in Turin. The Italian technician had however started his adventure with two victories during the first two days and could rely on a transfer window largely designed to meet the needs of his project. But injuries to several executives quickly complicated his task, starting with Kenan Yildiz, absent for several months, and Khéphren Thuram, while Manuel Locatelli was also affected. Before the trip to Sassuolo, Spalletti refused to take refuge behind the infirmary, explaining that talking about the absentees amounted to “surrender to the culture of alibis”. Despite this, problems accumulated. Kolo Muani is still struggling to regain his influence, the offensive animation lacks edge and Juve especially displayed in Reggio Emilia a worrying lack of balance in the final seconds. Spalletti assumed his share of responsibility after the match, admitting to having himself asked his team to push for victory, before this offensive desire transformed into fatal disorganization. The first questions surrounding his future are already appearing, even if the Turin management is officially seeking to calm things down. Giovanni Carnevali assured that changing coach was not in his mind, while asking that this defeat serve as a lesson. A statement that aims to protect Spalletti, but which also proves that the question is already beginning to exist in the environment of Juventus.
The prophecy finally fulfilled?
And inevitably, when a crisis begins to take hold at Juventus, a name resurfaces almost mechanically. That of Antonio Conte. The idea of ​​a return of the former Bianconero captain and coach is no longer just a nostalgic fantasy of supporters, since it is now gaining momentum in the Italian press. La Gazzetta dello Sport openly considers the hypothesis of a return of the technician during the season, while recalling that the conditions today remain far from a real rapprochement. Conte and Juventus abruptly ended their collaboration in the summer of 2014, but the story was never really closed. Since then, the technician has known Inter then Tottenham and Naples, while maintaining a particularly strong link with Turin, where his family continued to live. His time at Juventus obviously remains associated with the sporting renaissance of the club after the post-Calciopoli years, notably with three consecutive Italian championship titles. The possibility of seeing him again on the Turin bench had already taken shape in the past, notably when he was close to a return two years ago. But this time, the context is different since the hypothesis mentioned would be that of an arrival during the exercise, a scenario which does not really correspond to Conte’s habits.
Because if the scenario makes part of the tifoseria dream, it also raises serious questions. La Gazzetta recalls that Conte has rarely intervened during the season during his career, with only three experiences of this type at Bari, Atalanta then at Tottenham. His football generally requires complete summer preparation in order to imprint his principles, his working method and this physical and mental intensity which constitute his trademark. He had also refused to take over Naples during the season after the catastrophic debut of Rudi Garcia, preferring to wait until the following year. Juventus could, however, be an exception due to the special bond between Conte and the club. Above all, there remains the financial obstacle. Spalletti has a contract worth more than 5 million euros net per season until 2028, while Conte’s last salary at Naples was around 8 million net, excluding bonuses. A possible change of coach would therefore force Juve to bear more than 13 million euros in salaries for two technicians, without even integrating their respective staffs, while the club is still aiming to return to financial balance in 2028 and should still record a loss of around 60 million euros in 2026. La Gazzetta thus considers several scenarios, in particular a financial effort by Conte or an exceptional decision by John Elkann. For the moment, the return of the technician remains a hypothesis, but after only four days, his name is already in the Turin debate.
