Spalletti: ‘Juventus intention to create extra man in midfield’

Luciano Spalletti reveals what he expected from the Juventus tactical surprises against Cremonese and warns ‘the pressure can weigh on some players.’

The former Napoli and Italy coach was only appointed on Thursday and had one training session with his new squad, but did not hold back with the tactical experimentation.

He kept the 3-5-2 formation overall, but with Teun Koopmeiners in central defence as a very deep-lying playmaker.

The wide men proved decisive, as Filip Kostic opened the scoring within 85 seconds, then Andrea Cambiaso added the second after the break, and they held on after a late Jamie Vardy goal for Cremonese.

“After two minutes, everyone could tell where he was playing,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia of Koopmeiners.

“I expected him to be in a position where he could do more damage, because we rarely managed to move it from right to left, and vice versa. The intention was for Thuram to push forward a bit, for Koopmeiners to enter into that space, so we’d have an extra man in midfield. That’s because Cremonese’s only real danger man is Vardy.

“I saw a good performance in terms of communication and focus, because Koopmeiners was more of a defender than anyone else when it came to ensuring organisation and calling the line on the counter-attack. It was necessary, because Cremonese are so dangerous with that ball over the top for the champion that is Vardy, which we saw with the goal he scored.”

Dusan Vlahovic said in his post-match comments that Juventus need to get rid of some “bad habits” by sitting too deep when taking the lead.

“We already started to let them in towards half-time, then after the break, so there are obviously areas where we need to improve,” agreed Spalletti.

“There are many areas that require improvement, and quickly. There is potential visible in some of these players, I trust them, but the Juventus level puts pressure on them too. Talking to the club owners yesterday, they asked if I needed anything.

“It seems from the outside that it’s a great thing with Juventus having everything available, and it’s even more remarkable from the inside, you’ve seen nothing. That puts pressure on, it makes you realise the level, and it can weigh on some players, so they need time.”

There was still some classic Spalletti antics on the touchline when Vlahovic and Lois Openda failed to make the most of a promising attack, prompting a furious wide-eyed reaction from the coach.

He was also booked in stoppages for dissent and wandering out of his technical area.

How did it feel being back on the bench, especially at club level after his ill-fated experience as CT of the Italy side?

“It is what I have always done. We need this contact with the squad, we want to give joy to those who love the team and this sport. You need to create a rapport with the players, that is how I have always worked, and I hope it does this time, seeing as it didn’t really work with the Nazionale,” he concluded.

“It is through that friendship, understanding, and those bonds that the whole team can grow together.”

Juventus hope to have Kenan Yildiz and Lloyd Kelly back in the squad for the Champions League against Sporting CP on Tuesday, then next weekend there is the Derby della Mole with Torino.