Spalletti: In Tough Battles Like This, We Cannot 'Ask for Permission' When Making Decisions

After leading his team to a 1-1 home draw against Milan in Serie A Matchday 3, Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti gave an interview to DAZN.

If we try to summarize and organize the emotions and attitudes you observed from your players at the end of the match, essentially Juventus did not deserve to lose this game. At the same time, some people have pointed out that to achieve those truly major objectives, the team will still need to do more and do better on the pitch in the future. Do you agree with this analysis? Specifically, if that is indeed the case, what areas of today's overall performance could have been improved?

Your analysis is very honest and correct. I completely agree and want to emphasize that point. Yes, this is the foundation for us to continue adding new elements and making progress in the future, because in today's match we really showed something that belongs to us. I just heard someone on the program comment that the opponent lost too much possession in the first half, and I think Valon (guest Behrami) said something similar. That happened because Juventus kept applying continuous pressure, trying to raise the tempo of the entire match and increase the 'volume' of the game, even when the score was still 0-0. We always wanted to control the match, and the tactical intentions we showed were completely correct and appropriate.

However, it is obvious that when making specific decisions and choices during the match, we still need to improve further. In these specific decisions, we absolutely cannot 'ask for permission' (hesitate) in such a tough battle. In a clash between strong teams, there is no room at all to 'ask for permission.' You cannot sit there waiting to be invited before taking action; you have to step onto the pitch proactively and take what we must take directly—if we want to aim higher and target greater objectives.

Good evening, Spalletti. In fact, you already discussed this issue after the match against Parma. Our current impression is that your players seem to 'ask for permission' too often when turning crosses into concrete threats. In today's match, the first 19 crosses did not find any Juventus player, and the first dangerous cross was turned into a goal—that was Gatti's goal after an excellent set-piece combination, with great determination in his challenge and finish. Could this become a difficult problem to solve for you? And could it also become a common tactical approach for opponents against you? For example: 'Since we are playing Juventus, we will drop our defensive line slightly deeper and defend further back; at worst, like today or in their match against Parma, we will give them chances for shots from distance.'

I do not know whether this will become a real problem; we will wait and see. But Nick (Woltemade) is a player with that kind of height, and his heading ability is very strong, so we can use forwards such as Kolo Muani. I have already climbed aboard this 'vehicle' supporting him, and I will remain on this vehicle. We will eventually see where it can take us. I chose him and hope he can play as the center forward, and that is why I got on this vehicle. Since I am already on board, I will stay there until the end of this season. When the season ends, we will see where this vehicle has ultimately taken us.

Good evening, coach. Regarding the team, I think your defensive phase was very, very impressive. You applied targeted pressing at the right moments and showed high-position ball recoveries, which is truly one of your core qualities. You are also one of the best teams in the league in terms of pressing and counter-pressing. In my view, this team is looking for its foundation, and the defensive phase has clearly become that solid foundation. However, the attacking phase is still lacking. Although the tactical ideas and approach are there, the players' individual interpretations and execution in some details still seem unable to keep up...

There are indeed shortcomings. When we attack the penalty area preparing to deliver the final blow, and when we are ready to play the decisive pass beyond the opponent's defensive line, we have shown some deficiencies in our specific choices on the ball, and we must improve in this area. At the same time, our possession and construction during attacking phases also need improvement, because we—including the chance Nico (Gonzalez) had today, when he shot with his left foot from that position—honestly, that could only be considered a 'half chance,' because he is very good at shooting from that position.

We reached the opponent's defensive area many times during the match, and in this attack we were somewhat unlucky because Kolo had already pulled behind the center-back and made a run into space. The ball only needed to be five centimeters higher and it would have been enough. Here, if the ball had been played to his left foot instead of his right foot, he could have produced a better shot. The goalkeeper's parry also had an element of chance, as the ball landed one meter farther away from the approaching player. These are extremely fine details and small things. Although they went against us today, they could and should develop in completely different ways in the future.

In short, what I saw today was a team with enough strength to hold firm and continue fighting, because they simply did not deserve to fall behind. When the team did go behind, they still had the same expression on their faces, and the team maintained the same identity, continuing to fight consistently just as they did at the start, and eventually they got their reward.

So this is only our third match. Our opponent was Milan, and Milan is a historic giant club with tremendous heritage; there is no need to avoid saying that. But we can also become such a strong team, because today we showed them that potential. Therefore, I am full of confidence and offer my most sincere praise and congratulations to the players for everything they showed on the pitch.