Juventus CEO expresses support for manager Luciano Spalletti

Juventus CEO expresses support for manager Luciano Spalletti Serie A side Juventus haven’t had smooth sailing in Serie A in recent weeks. They picked up a hefty 3-0 loss to Lazio at the weekend and this came days after a 1-1 draw against Cagliari. Despite that, Luciano Spalletti retains the backing of the club. The Bianconeri, as things stand, are 2-1 down to Rennes in their third game of the Europa League. CEO Giovanni Carnevali spoke to Sky Italia about the club’s situation and he was specifically quizzed about their backing of Spalletti, amidst the recent run of poor results. He said – via Calciomercato : “We have to try to rebuild. In recent years, there have been mistakes, not only sportingly but also financially.” “We find ourselves in this settlement agreement situation that has left us stuck in many situations. We have to try to rebuild, provide continuity, and not change every moment, otherwise we’ll always start from scratch.” Carnevali declared that every period of struggle shouldn’t end with a managerial change and Juventus do not want to do that again. He said: “I’ve been here for four months and I bring my ideas. I don’t think it’s right to change every time there’s a problem. The Juventus shirt weighs on you, and that doesn’t give the right peace of mind to work, especially for the young players. They’re young, we have to support them, and we have extraordinary fans. We have to bring joy, but we know it takes time, not haste.” Carnevali was also asked about whether the pressure of managing Juve is sometimes too much for managers. The Italian responded: “The manager is always the same. He knows he has to work. It’s true, the shirt is heavy and the bench is hot, but he’s part of a big club like Juve. Here, maybe you don’t have a couple of good games and there’s already talk of changes, but it doesn’t affect us that much. We know what we have to do, the manager knows what needs to be done and the critical issues.” Kaustubh Pandey – GIFN