Juventus has experienced an inconsistent season under Thiago Motta, who is navigating challenging conditions in his debut campaign as the club’s head coach. Despite efforts to strengthen the squad during the previous transfer window, Motta has faced unexpected difficulties, particularly due to a spate of injuries affecting key players. These fitness setbacks have forced the manager to adapt his strategies and make do with an incomplete roster.
Remarkably, Juventus remains unbeaten in the league, and their Champions League campaign is still alive. However, their inconsistency has been a cause for concern, affecting their overall performance this season. This has led some critics to point fingers at Motta, drawing comparisons to former manager Max Allegri.
Motta giving instructions
Nonetheless, journalist Fabrizio Biasin has defended Motta, emphasising that the manager is not at fault. Instead, Biasin highlights structural issues within the squad. Speaking to Tuttojuve, he stated, “The problem, if anything, concerns the construction of the squad: we have never seen a Juve that has to improvise in the absence of its starting striker; we cannot accept that a 50 million purchase (Douglas Luiz) has already been branded as a bad operation; we cannot pay a player – Nico – more than 35 million and not because he is not strong, but because of the history of injuries that he carries with him. And then the bad luck, from Bremer to Cabal. Here, while waiting for the January session to allow them to patch things up, Thiago Motta (zero defeats in the league and best defense) is not doing well, he is doing very well.”
Despite these challenges, Motta’s start as manager has shown promise. His tactical approach and resilience have positioned Juventus as competitive contenders, and as the team continues to adapt to his methods, there is optimism that their performance will improve further in the coming months.