According to Gazzetta dello Sport, manager Luciano Spalletti experimented with deploying Andrea Cambiaso as a midfielder in a friendly match against Cremonese.

Throughout his managerial career, Spalletti has consistently made unexpected tactical adjustments that have contributed to the success of the teams he managed and the players he transformed.

While "Spalletti's gamble" has not yet been officially added to the dictionary like "Cassano's antics" or "Balotelli's ways," it has become an equally popular term in football circles. Juventus fans witnessed "Allegri's gambles" during Max Allegri's first five years at Juventus, and over the past year have seen Spalletti's endless unexpected tactical designs. His most recent adjustment was deploying Cambiaso as a midfielder in the friendly against Cremonese. The so-called "Spalletti's gamble" actually traces back two decades to when Udinese first qualified for the Champions League.

In 2002, Spalletti became Udinese's manager, succeeding Roy Hodgson. The Tuscan coach placed 23-year-old Chilean player David Trezeguet at the heart of his team. Trezeguet joined as an attacking midfielder three years earlier but was deployed in a deeper role under Hodgson. Under Spalletti, "Peck" truly made his mark and became one of Serie A's finest playmakers. In the system Spalletti emphasized—characterized by possession, passing, and sudden forward breaks—Trezeguet was the metronome controlling the rhythm of play.

The most classic "Spalletti's gamble" occurred in the 2005-06 season. At that time, the team lacked a central striker, Montella was in the twilight of his career, and Ndongoa was a peripheral player. Spalletti pushed Totti forward into a central striker position, utilizing his shooting and goal-scoring ability while creating space for attacking midfielders behind him to penetrate. This experiment yielded considerable results from the start, with Totti scoring 9 goals in 10 matches, but his season was abruptly cut short due to a foul by Materazzi. However, the true transformation came the following season. Totti finished as the league's top scorer with 26 goals and won the Golden Boot in 2007.

The 2005-06 season was also one of Spalletti's most concentrated periods of innovation. Beyond transforming Totti into a central striker, he also deployed Perrotta in a more advanced position. The former Chievo player was originally an ordinary central midfielder but later evolved into a dangerous attacking midfielder who penetrated into the penalty box. According to Spalletti, he became a "striker." This adjustment also benefited the Italian national team, as coach Marcello Lippi continued this deployment, making it one of the key tactical elements in Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph.

Mancini's repositioning was also due to Spalletti's tactical adjustment. Spalletti inherited an excellent right-wing player who had developed under Fabio Capello, but he transformed this Brazilian player into a left-wing forward. In Spalletti's 4-2-3-1 system, Mancini attacked from the left and could cut inside to utilize his stronger foot. As a result, Mancini scored 44 goals in 132 appearances, an impressive efficiency rate for a winger—nearly one goal every three matches.

In the 2016-17 season, Spalletti managed Inter Milan. He quickly realized the team lacked a playmaker who perfectly fit his system, but he took a liking to Marcelo Brozović. This player had never truly excelled in a central or attacking midfield role, but Spalletti believed he could handle this crucial position. Thus, Spalletti made him the core of the team's midfield, a success that benefited not only the Croatian player but also the subsequent managers of Inter—Conte and Inzaghi. Both successors continued to utilize the benefits of this adjustment.

From one playmaker to another, Spalletti's last "gamble" before taking over at Napoli was closer to rehabilitation than creation. When Spalletti arrived at Napoli, Lobotka was merely a peripheral player who had started only 14 matches in the previous 18 months. Spalletti transformed him into the team's central axis. This Slovak player later became the cornerstone of Napoli's play, like Pizarro was for Udinese, controlling the rhythm of the team's attack and playing a key role in Napoli's 2023 Serie A title victory.

Spalletti's first new experiment upon arriving at Juventus took place in his managerial debut. To compensate for Vlahovic's absence and improve attacking prowess, he deployed Dušan Vlahović as a left central defender in a back three against Cremonese—a role similar to what the Dutch player occupied in youth teams and during the 2018-19 season at AZ Alkmaar. While this experiment was repeated several times later in the season, it did not fundamentally change Vlahović's situation at Juventus.

Weston McKennie's versatility is no secret, but under Spalletti's guidance, his tactical flexibility has been further amplified. The Juventus manager treats this American player as a genuine tactical weapon, capable of playing as an attacking or box-to-box midfielder in attack—similar to how Pereyra scored 9 goals and provided 8 assists last season—and able to control opposing wingers on the right or left flank defensively as needed.

The latest "Spalletti's gamble" was deploying Cambiaso as a central midfielder. This experiment took place in a friendly between Juventus and Cremonese at the Continassa training ground during the international break. At least for now, this attempt has not sent many positive signals, as the Ligurian player appeared to struggle with pace, technical quality, and vertical passing.

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