Juventus, the Italian giants, are set to kick off their Serie A campaign under new manager Thiago Motta with a squad that still bears the marks of the major changes the club underwent following their recent struggles. Four consecutive seasons without a league title, after a remarkable nine-year streak, have forced Juventus into a period of significant restructuring. While Motta has replaced Massimiliano Allegri as head coach, the squad still lacks the reinforcements necessary to challenge for the Scudetto.
Despite the ongoing transfer activity, Motta enters Monday’s season opener against promoted Como with a sense of optimism. The manager confirmed that American midfielder Weston McKennie, who appeared destined to leave the club, could now return to the fold. “First of all, McKennie is a useful and functional player for our needs,” Motta stated during a press conference. “Tomorrow we have 19 players to face the game, only 11 can play. I have the possibility to make five substitutions, no more. We are in good shape, had good preparation, good training this week, with intensity, everything we want to see, and ready to face tomorrow’s game.”
Juventus, heavily linked with a number of high-profile targets, including Atalanta’s Teun Koopmeiners and Fiorentina’s Nicolas Gonzalez, has yet to finalize any significant transfers. This comes after the departures of defender Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal and Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee, who previously played under Motta at Bologna, to Manchester United. The club is also looking to offload forward Federico Chiesa, who doesn’t fit into Motta’s tactical plans.
Despite the ongoing transfer activity, Motta remains focused on the task at hand. “We are working hard to build a competitive squad together and today we are focused on playing a great game against Como. We will see the rest later,” he said. “The most important thing is that, even if you don’t like to talk too much about the game, even though tomorrow we play a game, we are focused on playing well, doing our job well and getting the result we want, against Como. All the players who come tomorrow deserve to be there, whether they play from the start or come in during the game, they do so on merit.”
Motta, who guided Bologna to a fifth-place finish and Champions League qualification last season, is not taking Como lightly as he aims for a successful start to his Juventus career. “Life is like football, nothing is taken for granted, we have to deserve it and we have to focus on ourselves and on tomorrow’s game,” he said. “We are facing a team that has made it here from Serie B, they have won many games to get to this point, they have a lot of enthusiasm.”
