Motta's Juventus Revolution: A New Era Dawns in Turin
From Pragmatism to Possession: How Thiago Motta is Transforming Juventus' Style and Aspirations
After dominating the 2010’s, winning 10 Serie A titles in a row, Juventus are going through a barren patch, it has been 4 seasons and counting since they last lifted the Scudetto. In that time the club have seen Andrea Pirlo and the returning Massimo Allegri struggle and ultimately fail to bring back the glory days to Turin.Â
At the club, under the direction of sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli, the club is moving away from the signing of big stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, and focusing on youth and value for money in the transfer market. To lead this new revolution in the dugout is former Spezia and Bologna manager Thiago Motta, fresh off leading the latter into Europe’s premier competition for the first time in over half a century.Â
Motta has already transformed how Juventus play on the field, moving away from Allegri’s passive and stultifying football, to a more high octane, possession based game that is easier on the eye for fans and observers. Unbeaten in their first 9 games in all competitions, la Vecchia Signora ("the Old Lady") have conceded just 1 goal in Serie A; there have been teething problems, they have drawn 4 of their 7 league matches, but the early signs look promising.
Tactical Setup
As mentioned, Motta has flipped Juve’s tactical approach on its head, bringing a more modern brand of football to the Allianz Stadium. He likes to set his teams up in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with 2 pivots sitting in midfield, or with 2 number 8’s operating in front of a single defensive midfielder. The emphasis is on pressing high up the field, and set patterns of play to help his teams dominate the ball, and control transitions.Â
Whereas play would have been more direct last season, attacks start from the goalkeeper looking to go short, and patiently build the play up the field with short, incisive passes. When the ball is lost, his players are instructed to instantly counter press to win the ball back as quickly as possible, usually going man-to-man, with a big focus on individual battles all throughout the field.Â
Already it is paying dividends, and is a world away from last season’s antiquated tactics. For example in the 2-1 defeat to Napoli in March under their former coach, Juventus had only 29% of possession and completed 198 passes. Contrast that with the draw with Cagliari, Motta saw his side control proceedings, having 73% of possession and had 654 successful passes, as well as creating 5 big chances.Â
Results and Form
Still yet to lose a game, Juventus look a more stubborn and unbeatable team, but there are still clearly some flaws which Motta will have to fix as time goes on. In 3 of their league games they failed to hit the net, with Dusan Vlahovic continuing to frustrate, scoring only 2 goals from open play, fuelling speculation he is not the forward his new coach wants for his tactics.Â
In the Champions League win over RB Leipzig, this new and braver approach saw an early sign of where things are going in a positive sense. Despite losing arguably the best defender in Serie A, Bremer to a serious injury, and losing goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio to a red card, Juventus overcame all these setbacks to win a thriller 3-2. In previous years, it would have been batten down the hatches, and hope to nick a point, the new mentality was to attack and to win.Â
Having already faced some of Serie A’s bigger sides such as Napoli and Roma, further tests lie ahead with Lazio at home and Inter coming up in the league. They are currently 3 points off top spot behind their former manager Antonio Conte, who is leading his own charge for the title in Naples; we will get a better understanding of how good this new iteration of Juve are.Â
Transfers and YouthÂ
With over €150M spent on the midfield, with Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz, Khepren Thuram, Nico Gonzalez, and Francisco Conceicao joining the ranks; Motta has been backed in the transfer market by the club with the players he needs to play his style of football.
Disappointingly promising hopefuls Samuel Iling Junior and Dean Huijsen were sacrificed to ensure the books were balanced, the new reality when sides outside the Premier League’s top 4 are able to pick off players from the top sides around Europe with their financial clout. Strangely Matias Soule, after a solid campaign on loan at Frosinone last season, was also sold for big money to rivals Roma; many thought he would thrive under new management in Turin.Â
Federico Chiesa and Moise Kean were let go, their wages seen as too substantial for their poor return, and lack of form both have shown in their stints with the club.
Under Allegri, youth players were hardly given an opportunity which was a frustration to the higher ups at the club, especially with several promising players coming off the production line. Kenan Yildaz, purchased from Bayern Munich’s youth set up in 2023, has flourished under Motta’s tutelage thus far, bringing comparisons with former star Alessandro Del Piero, showing that players from the Next Gen team will have a pathway to the first team.Â
Challenges and Next StepsÂ
While there are early signs of promise, there are still plenty of challenges that lie ahead. New signings Luiz and Thuram have only started a combined 3 games in Serie A, for the outlay, surely the club will want to find a way to make their signings work.Â
Having had similar issues early last season with Bologna, Motta will once again have to find a way for his team to score more goals. Increasingly Vlahovic time looks short in the black-and-white jersey, trying Yildiz in a false 9 or withdrawn forward role could pay off like Joshua Zirkzee did for him previously. Â
As long as he is given the time to enact his vision at Juventus, the 2-time Champions League winner is showing all the hallmarks of a future Scudetto winner, it might not be this season, but as the campaign unfolds, how they progress will make for gripping viewing.Â
