Former Juventus coach Fabio Capello has voiced his concerns about the current state of the club under Thiago Motta’s leadership, following their recent struggles in both Serie A and the Champions League. The Bianconeri’s 20th place finish in the Champions League group stage and their defeat to Benfica have reignited doubts and murmurs of discontent among fans and pundits alike.
Capello criticized Motta’s approach, stating, “Motta tried to do something new immediately without considering all the players he already had in the squad. Players like Chiesa, Szczesny, Danilo were sent away… They had done great things for Juventus. There was an attempt to make an immediate revolution. Instead, when arriving at a new team, in my opinion, one should first evaluate what was already in-house.”
The ex-Juventus manager questioned Motta’s tactical decisions, particularly in the Benfica match: “You play a very good first half in Naples, where it seems the team has assimilated the concepts you preach, but then at the first opportunity you don’t propose that same team again, instead you change six players and put them in positions different from their own, where they don’t perform.”
Capello highlighted the lack of consistency in Motta’s selections: “When we thought he had found some fixed points, he changed the players again. You need to understand the team and make it play based on who you have. There isn’t just one system, but he seems to interpret football in only one way.”
Regarding Vlahovic’s situation, Capello commented, “He’s a player who is not suitable for the type of game Motta wants to play. He wants someone who participates in the build-up, Vlahovic is a penalty area man, but Juve puts few balls there. It’s a technical choice, but not having strikers, I think an area man like the Serbian can always be in the formation.”
Capello also criticized the rotating captaincy, with McKennie being the seventh captain this season: “If you change a captain every day, which in this case seems to only serve to exchange the pennant before the match, it means you haven’t found the right man yet. It’s not possible that this armband, for the importance it has, always changes arm.”
However, Capello doesn’t place all the blame on Motta, questioning the club’s transfer strategy: “Is it all Motta’s fault? Because a new coach, who arrives at a club like Juventus, always has little time and in that little time he has to win. And it’s not like last summer’s market was insignificant, a lot of money was spent.”
In conclusion, Capello emphasized the high expectations at Juventus: “When you talk about Juventus, Milan, Inter, it’s like this. They don’t want to participate, they want to win.”
