Ex-Juventus winger gives advice to Spalletti but ‘it’s not easy at all’

Massimo Mauro admits Luciano Spalletti’s job at Juventus won’t ‘be easy at all’ and feels the Bianconeri must ‘become a reference point’ again for top Italian footballers.

Former Juventus winger Mauro analysed Spalletti’s first games in charge in his latest interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian tactician has collected one win and two draws in his first three games at the Allianz Stadium.

“It’s good, but not exciting,” Mauro admitted.

“When the best player in the derby is the goalkeeper, something’s wrong. I understand the difficulties Spalletti has in meeting the fans’ expectations; it’s not easy at all.”

Juventus have only won one Coppa Italia since 2021-22, so what will they need to return to greatness?

“Juventus are no longer a reference point for top Italian players, and it must become one again,” Mauro replied.

“They have an excellent academy, but they’ve lost players just when they were becoming good. Marchisio, for example, spent his entire career at Juventus. Fagioli, Kean, Rovella. Looking at the team now, it wasn’t very smart to let them go. Juventus have too few of them. They need to start producing or finding them again, but it’s not that simple. Comolli, Chiellini and others have a very difficult job.”

Spalletti won the Serie A title at Napoli in 2022-23, and Mauro believes that Spalletti will need to work on the players’ development on the pitch to achieve the same result in Turin.

“At Napoli, he worked a miracle, helping turn players like Di Lorenzo and Kvaratskhelia into top players. Osimhen used to argue and fight with everyone, and now he’s an international-level striker,” he said.

“Spalletti should do the same with Thuram, Yildiz and Vlahovic. But they’re missing somebody like Kim. Gatti has qualities, but I don’t know if he’ll become an international-level defender. Bremer is one, but it remains to be seen whether he stays fit. Spalletti must convince them to bring out their personality and become leaders. Yildiz should do it through dribbles, but with concreteness and reliability. Playing without the ball, making the right passes and thinking more instead of always going at 100 miles an hour.”

During the same interview, Mauro also touched on Yildiz’s impact at Juventus, highlighting that the Turkey international is still not a dressing room leader and that he’d fit perfectly in top clubs like Manchester City or Real Madrid, where he’d have fewer responsibilities.