Former Juventus and Milan manager Fabio Capello believes Thiago Motta and Paulo Fonseca will both be tasked with dethroning Inter next season. The pair are expected to be named as the new coach’s of Milan and Juventus, respectively, in the coming week. Writing for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Capello shared his thoughts on the impending managerial changes, and what he expects from two young coach’s in charge of Serie A’s biggest clubs:
Thiago Motta and Paulo Fonseca are two coaches with vastly different histories and career paths, but they share the same significant challenge ahead: dethroning Inter from the Serie A title will not be easy for anyone. Especially considering that Juventus and Milan fans are eager to return to winning ways, and both coaches will need to act quickly despite the typical adjustment period required when taking over a new team.
Thiago Motta’s Task at Juventus
Motta’s primary objectives at Juventus are to introduce new playing strategies and a fresh approach to matches. To achieve this, he must get into the players’ heads and encourage them to think differently from recent times. Juventus must immediately start seeing themselves as contenders to be competitive and to challenge Inter. Although Motta lacks experience with top clubs, his success at Bologna has earned him credibility that he can leverage at Juventus. He is an ambitious coach, and now he must prove it with Juventus.
However, mentality alone won’t suffice; without the right reinforcements, it would be difficult for anyone to achieve better results than Allegri. Therefore, Juventus’s upcoming transfer market will be crucial, and the relationship between Motta and the sporting director Giuntoli will be key to the project’s success. The club must support the coach they have firmly backed by discussing the types of players that fit his style of play.
Calafiori, who developed under Motta at Bologna and became a national team defender, is a perfect example of the synergy between coach and management. Juventus has targeted a profile suitable for the new coach’s plans. However, the real leap needs to happen in midfield. Motta will need to guide the club’s strategy towards acquiring a technically skilled and physically robust midfielder while also getting the best out of the current squad. Fagioli’s return will help, and Locatelli will need to recover from the psychological blow of missing out on Euro 2024.
Scoring goals cannot rely solely on Vlahovic, and it will be interesting to see what Motta builds around the Serbian striker. I am confident in the challenge because Thiago Motta has shown he has the personality to succeed at Juventus.
Paulo Fonseca’s Challenge at Milan
Fonseca will take on one of the hottest seats in Serie A. If Milan deemed Pioli’s cycle over—a coach who won a Scudetto, reached the Champions League semi-finals, and kept the team at the top of Italian football—then the only goal for his successor can be to do even better. This is already a complicated mission, made even more challenging by a rough start: Milan fans are on edge, no longer willing to accept not winning or not competing for titles as has happened in the last two league seasons.
Milan is historically ambitious, and this ambition has only grown recently because of Inter’s dominance across town. For Fonseca to win over the fans, he can “only” win. Therefore, like Motta at Juventus, Fonseca will need the support of the directors to have a fighting chance. The choice of the new striker must be spot-on, especially since without Giroud, Milan would lose goals, experience, and leadership all at once. Additionally, they need a defensive midfielder to provide the necessary cover that was missing this season.
Fonseca will also need to make his mark: fixing the defensive phase, finding a new balance, and elevating Leao to a championship level are the challenges awaiting him. Is it simple? Not at all. But Milan’s management has bet on Fonseca, taking significant responsibility towards the fans: they must now support and protect him, starting with Ibra. Zlatan has been silent for a long time, and it’s time for him to speak up.
