{"id":849993,"date":"2026-09-16T17:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/849993\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:14:17","slug":"spalletti-responds-to-juventus-pressure-imagine-caring-ive-chosen-not-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/849993\/","title":{"rendered":"Spalletti responds to Juventus pressure: \u2018Imagine caring, I’ve chosen not to’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"REGGIO<\/p>\n

REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 13: Luciano Spalletti Head Coach of Juventus looks on prior to the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and Juventus at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on September 13, 2026 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Luciano Spalletti insists that he does not care about the pressure that has mounted on him and Juventus over the last few days, but has warned his players that they could be in for an \u2018uncomfortable evening\u2019 against NEC Nijmegen in the Europa League on Thursday night if their heads are not in the right place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spalletti responds to Juventus critics: \u2018I\u2019ve chosen not to focus on it\u2019<\/p>\n

Juventus are hoping to silence their critics against the Dutch side in their first match of their Europa League campaign on Thursday night, following a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Sassuolo in Serie A over the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"REGGIOREGGIO NELL\u2019EMILIA, ITALY \u2013 SEPTEMBER 13: Kieron Bowie of US Sassuolo celebrates after scoring his team\u2019s second goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and Juventus at Mapei Stadium \u2013 Citta\u2019 del Tricolore on September 13, 2026 in Reggio nell\u2019Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Since then, the press in Italy has insisted that Spalletti is a man under pressure in Turin<\/a> and that there have been calls for the available Antonio Conte to return to the Allianz Stadium as his replacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit from NEC, Spalletti made it clear that he is not paying any attention to the \u2018distractions\u2019 online and in the press.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning to accept pressure is a medicine, it helps you live properly,\u201d said Spalletti (via TMW<\/a>). \u201cI learned that a long while ago. Even aged 10, I had to help after school when my family was going through a difficult period, so imagine my caring about \u2018pressure\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"LECCE,LECCE, ITALY \u2013 MAY 09: Head coach of Juventus FC Luciano Spalletti smiles during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Juventus FC at Stadio Via del Mare on May 09, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI care a lot about my profession and the backlash after a defeat doesn\u2019t really interest me because that\u2019s something I can\u2019t control. I decide what to give my attention to and when not to give my attention, and in this case, I\u2019ve chosen not to focus on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spalletti was asked again if the Sassuolo defeat has affected him over the last few days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He replied: \u201cAbsolutely not, those are the sorts of feelings that make you forget who you are. You lose sense of your identity if you listen to absolutely everything that is said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t give importance to those who glance at you, those who want to make your life more difficult. You have to be true to yourself, live your life and shut out the emotions and distractions around you. You can\u2019t please or be understood by everyone, you have to do the things that you think are good for the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Spalletti says that he isn\u2019t too surprised to be under pressure after just four games of the 2026-27 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s normal,\u201d he insisted. I\u2019m not surprised that two coaches have been sacked after four games, I\u2019m not surprised by the things that are said here. We have our priorities, to win the game and to show that we are Juventus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spalletti did receive the support of Juventus CEO Giovanni Carnevali earlier this week, who claimed that he isn\u2019t the type to make such quickfire managerial changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"REGGIOREGGIO NELL\u2019EMILIA, ITALY \u2013 SEPTEMBER 13: Giovanni Carnevali of Juventus reacts prior to the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and Juventus at Mapei Stadium \u2013 Citta\u2019 del Tricolore on September 13, 2026 in Reggio nell\u2019Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cCarnevali is a footballing man and everybody knows what sort of a person he is,\u201d Spalletti said in response.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is well aware of the fact that he needs to bring a sense of calm to the team. I don\u2019t want to disappoint him because of the respect and friendship I have with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in response to those calling for Antonio Conte to be brought back in as head coach, Spalletti said: \u201cEveryone has their own ideas, like you [journalists], who have Conte posters on your walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that we have to accept and everyone can choose the poster they want. I\u2019m convinced that I\u2019m working with a strong team, which I\u2019ve seen through my own eyes. I will continue to coach with the same convictions with which I started. We have to put things right because we can\u2019t concede goals like that, and you are of course right about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving onto news about the Juventus squad ahead of tomorrow\u2019s match against NEC, Spalletti confirmed that both Weston McKennie and Andrea Cambiaso are available for selection following their recent returns to training, before going on to confirm that the American will start.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NickNick Woltemade and Weston McKennie in training with Juventus (@juventus via X)<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re part of our evaluations. We have to be careful with the players we have on the pitch, because we have two or three who will not finish the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want McKennie on the pitch for many different reasons. McKennie will play tomorrow, I felt bad for not giving you any certainties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teun Koopmeiners has also played an increased role following the injuries to McKennie, Khephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s important for us,\u201d Spalletti insisted. \u201cWe always expect him to play at the level we know he\u2019s capable of. In every game, there are individual, personal decisions to make. He has a duty to show us the right decisions. We know he has them in him, otherwise he wouldn\u2019t be a strong, international footballer. I\u2019m convinced because he shows me great things, not just in the games but in training as well. We need those things from Koopmeiners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TURIN,TURIN, ITALY \u2013 SEPTEMBER 06: Luka Modric of Milan is challenged by Teun Koopmeiners of Juventus during the Serie A match between Juventus and AC Milan at Allianz Stadium on September 06, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

And on the opponents, NEC, Spalletti said: \u201cSchreuder had the courage to impose his ideas in a country with a strong football identity. He left his mark by finishing third in a league at one of the highest possible levels. We should expect a \u2018personalised\u2019 game plan with lots of quality ideas. We have to be ready, otherwise we could be surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also have strong players like Tadic and they play with inverted wingers because they want to converge towards the goal. We have to be at a high level mentally and if we\u2019re not ready, it could become an uncomfortable evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spalletti also pointed out where Juventus need to improve following their league defeat against Sassuolo: \u201cWe could have been more attentive, fluid and now we have to be aware of the fact that we need to improve. We\u2019ve outlined what we want to do and the things that we need to correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be tighter to cut off some of the opponents\u2019 passing lines and understand when to go and press, when to drop into the low block, these are the sorts of things we can correct. Today, the difference will be in how we interpret the situation. The mentality will be fundamental tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tPost navigation
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 13: Luciano Spalletti Head Coach of Juventus looks on prior to the Serie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-849993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}