Spalletti Under Pressure: Carnevali Supports Juventus Project

Luciano Spalletti is already feeling the heat. The chaotic finale against Sassuolo – Juventus scoring, yet conceding twice in stoppage time – has lit the fuse in Turin, with sections of the fanbase chanting the same old name: Antonio Conte.

Inside the club, though, the message is very different.

Carnevali backs Spalletti – and the project

CEO Giovanni Carnevali moved quickly to shut down the noise, speaking to Radio Anch'io Lo Sport.

"Changing the manager frequently is not in my MO. I'm not considering it at all. We must plan and build. There'll be some disappointments along the way, but also some satisfactions eventually," he said, drawing a clear line in the sand.

Carnevali didn’t just offer a polite endorsement. He doubled down.

"Spalletti is an extraordinary coach, one of the absolute best for how he works on the pitch. The evaluations are constant, but you must know what you're doing. I've been here for three months, and we tried to understand the opportunities and the possibilities. We need a bit of time. We must forge ahead without dwelling on what has been done in the past."

The message is blunt: this is not a club preparing for a bench revolution.

A shared plan derailed by injuries

According to Corriere dello Sport, Spalletti and the new management built this Juventus side together, step by step. No power struggle, no split vision. The coach and the hierarchy reportedly agreed on every signing, with a clear tactical idea in mind: a 4-2-3-1 with two reliable options in every role.

Juventus spent heavily to construct that depth. They chose not to sell, opting instead to stack the squad and attack the season with a full hand.

Then the injuries hit. Early, serious, and in bunches.

The carefully drawn blueprint has already been torn at the edges, forcing Spalletti to improvise solutions while the team still learns his demands. The end in Reggio Emilia, with that stoppage-time collapse, looked like a side still searching for structure and leaders in key moments.

Not a crisis – but no time to waste

Spalletti has cut a subdued figure on the touchline in recent weeks, and the performance against Sassuolo did nothing to calm the mood. That finale was abysmal by any standard.

Yet inside the club, there is no sense of full-blown crisis, and Carnevali’s stance reflects that. A coaching change now would be drastic, and Juventus know it.

The task is clear: they must quickly identify reference points on the pitch, establish technical leaders, and find a new balance that can hold up despite the absences. Serie A does not slow down to let anyone regroup. The table will not wait for Juventus to feel ready.

Conte, by reputation and by choice, is not the kind of coach who usually dives into a season midstream. His return remains a chant, not a plan.

But his shadow? That will follow Spalletti and this Juventus side every single week until the performances match the ambition.