A flat display at Genoa
Juventus lost 2-0 away at Genoa in the midweek Serie A round, their second defeat in three league matches. According to a [1] press roundup, the goals came from Ehizibue and Baldanzi, and head coach Luciano Spalletti apologised to the fans afterwards, calling the performance poor and without fight.
The analysis was just as blunt. Paolo Di Canio, quoted by [2], singled out Pierre Kalulu for mistakes in the defeat. The same report notes that Juventus failed to score in two of their last three games. The club’s own records bear that out: a 0-3 home loss to Lazio on 18 October and the 0-2 at Genoa on 28 October sandwich a 2-0 win at Lecce.
Former Juventus midfielder Angelo Di Livio went further, saying the club has players unworthy of the shirt, as reported by [3]. That is one man’s opinion, but it shows how sharply the mood has turned around the club.
Spalletti’s position and the dressing-room mood
The central question is whether Spalletti survives. Reports say he is on the brink of dismissal, but nothing has been confirmed. [4] reports that the directors have not held formal talks with any potential replacement, although several names have been linked with the job. Stefano Pioli, Paulo Sousa and Antonio Conte have all been mentioned. These are rumours, and the reliability attached to them is low.
There is also talk of discontent inside the squad. La Stampa, as relayed by [5], says part of the dressing room is unhappy with Spalletti’s training methods and feels he talks too much during sessions, which reduces intensity. Again, this is reported rather than confirmed.
What is confirmed is the response. Spalletti has ordered a two-day training retreat at Continassa, running from Friday 30 October until the Napoli match, according to [6]. The same report says CEO Giovanni Carnevali addressed the squad harshly. The club is treating this as a crisis.
Napoli and the team news
The opponent is Napoli, at home on Sunday 1 November. They arrive in good shape: [2] reports they beat Monza 4-1 away in midweek. Their coach Massimiliano Allegri will be suspended for the match, so he will not be on the touchline. That is a small disruption, but it hardly offsets the momentum Napoli carry.
There is one piece of positive team news. Jeff Ekhator is back in full training after a hamstring injury that has kept him out since the Parma game, according to [7]. Di Marzio and Tuttosport both suggest he is unlikely to start but could be an option off the bench. The reliability of that report is moderate, so his availability should be treated as doubtful until the squad is named.
Beyond that, the input contains no confirmed injury list or suspensions for Juventus, so there is little else to say about selection. The retreat suggests Spalletti wants to use the days before kick-off to rebuild intensity and cohesion rather than change personnel.
What it means
The table is unforgiving. Juventus are eighth in Serie A with 14 points from nine games, a record of four wins, two draws and three defeats, with 11 goals scored and 10 conceded. Reports put them 11 points behind leaders Inter and Lazio, which turns the title race into a long shot already and makes a top-four push the more realistic target.
The form line reads loss, win, loss, draw, win across the last five league games, newest first: 0-2 at Genoa, 2-0 at Lecce, 0-3 against Lazio, 1-1 at Cagliari and 2-0 against Atalanta. That is inconsistent rather than collapsing, but the two heaviest recent results were defeats, and both came without a goal for Juventus.
Sunday’s fixture asks whether the team can answer the criticism of its intensity and fight. Napoli come off a 4-1 win, so the test is real. A positive result could ease the pressure on Spalletti, while another poor display would likely sharpen the speculation about his future. The site’s forecast for the match locks 24 hours before kick-off, so no prediction is attached here yet.
Sources
- Football Italia: Today’s Papers – Horrifying Juventus, where’s Milan? football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Di Canio: ‘No Juventus soul, it’s chaos’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Di Livio: ‘Chiesa made mistake joining Liverpool, Juventus players unworthy of jersey’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Spalletti under scrutiny as newspaper reveals ‘truth’ about Juventus players football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Newspaper reveals one reason why some Juventus players are unhappy with Spalletti football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Juventus director Carnevali slams players as Spalletti orders training retreat football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Spalletti recovers another option in attack as Ekhator eyes Juventus debut football-italia.net ↩
