The Juventus coach must save the 30 million of the cup and guarantee the 70 of the pass for 2026-27
The times of one hundred and ten million for Cristiano Ronaldo, to put it like Giorgio Chiellini, are over at Continassa. Seven years have passed since CR7 landed in Turin, but it seems like many more. Question of expenses, goals and successes. La Signora have not won the scudetto since Maurizio Sarri’s season (2019-20) and since then they have almost always said goodbye to the race for the title well in advance. If at Continassa they see a light in the distance, as the manager and former captain himself underlined in recent days, the credit also goes to Luciano Spalletti. Lucio has rekindled the light in the “Juve house” by re-proposing music that had been a bit lost in recent times. “We can still get back into the championship round,” he said on the first day in Turin. Ambitions countersigned by Chiellini, the only one to have won all 9 championships of the legendary cycle. Where words end, facts begin. Those that Juventus expect from Spalletti, recruited in the running to replace Igor Tudor last October 30th to complete a mission worth one hundred million. Save the current Champions League and secure the pass for 2026-27. Luciano accepted the challenge with an eight-month fixed-term contract, as a luxury temporary worker, and after the pre-break general rehearsals he is ready to start the adventure by adding one brick at a time. From the away match in Florence (tomorrow) to the big match at the Allianz Stadium against Roma (20 December): in less than a month – and in 8 matches – the coach from Certaldo has not played everything, but enough of the mission and also of his renewal in the black and white. Championship and Champions League, with the Italian Cup round of 16 against Udinese in between. Lucio, after the victory in Cremona and the draws with Sporting and Turin, wants to change gear.
in Serie A
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The priority is to bring at least the Lady back to the Champions League, a goal worth around 70 million. Juventus (sixth with 19 points) follows Napoli (fourth with 22). The first stage of what promises to be a long chase is scheduled for tomorrow at Franchi. Spalletti’s team will take to the pitch before the Azzurri with the aim of winning and increasing the pressure on Antonio Conte’s men, who will be playing against Atalanta in the evening. A remote appetizer of the match on 7 December at Maradona: it will be Lucio’s first time as a rival after the historic 2023 scudetto, but in Juventus’ plans it will above all have to be a direct clash. First the Lady will face Cagliari and then she will be awaited by two other black-label stages: Bologna (14 December) and Rome (20 December).
current Europe
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One Champions League leads to another. Spalletti inherited from Tudor a team with two points after the first three matchdays (Borussia Dortmund, Villarreal and Real Madrid) and on his debut against Sporting he didn’t go beyond a 1-1 draw. For at least 30 million reasons, which could become 40 in the event of a future passage to the round of 16, Juventus absolutely needs to win next Tuesday in the freezing cold of Bodo. A lot of money and the possibility of readjusting the European ranking are at stake. At the moment Captain Locatelli and his teammates are 26th and would be out of everything. In addition to the Norwegian away match, there is Pafos before Christmas (10 December): six points in two matches would rekindle hopes while awaiting the last 180 minutes with Benfica (home) and Monaco (away).
Koopmeiners and DV9
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Meanwhile, Spalletti has already given the idea of knowing how to make a few million profitable. The coach from Certaldo has valorized Teun Koopmeiners more in three games than in the previous 55 in black and white. So much so that the CEO Damien Comolli on the one hand underlined the intuition of Lucio, creative in the retreat of the Dutchman in defence, and on the other he sees the prospect of recovering a 51.3 million investment materialising. More complicated – but not yet impossible – to avoid Dusan Vlahovic’s departure as a free agent. We’ll see in June, but for the moment the Spalletti effect has regenerated the Serbian, who feels like he’s back at the center of the Lady. To the point of trying them all to work off the fatigue he picked up in the national team in time to be the protagonist tomorrow in Florence. Decisive refinement, but the fact that DV9 has made it available is a good sign.
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