At 3:00 AM Beijing time (CEST) on September 18, Juventus will host NEC Nijmegen in the Europa League group stage. Ahead of the match, Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti held a press conference. This is part two of the press conference.

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【Spalletti: The current pressure from the public? It pales in comparison to the pressure I had to bear to support my family when I was 10 years old.】

【Spalletti: I have complete faith in Koopmeiners' potential to become a key player. The team desperately needs him.】

Good afternoon. You mentioned earlier that you see pressure as good medicine for life. Is the team ready to embrace this pressure? In the Europa League, expectations for the team are even higher than in Serie A. Everyone hopes Juventus can advance like a steamroller, maintain their status as title favorites and win the championship...

Regardless of whether they win the championship or not, these expectations will be placed on a few teams—that's always the case. Obviously, being "ready" is the only language that proves we deserve to be Juventus players and staff. Being ready to face these challenges and giving everything in every match is the only way to prove to everyone that we are operating at the level expected of Juventus. So we are ready.

Good afternoon. You mentioned "mental rhythm," and I want to ask if this includes what we usually call "mental toughness"? Given that this was considered a major weakness last season, do you expect significant improvement in this area? Did the loss to Sassuolo once again expose the team's weakness in mental toughness?

The reason I emphasize "mental rhythm" is because the ability to maintain it is what defines true quality. Modern football is incredibly fast, with too many variables. A match largely depends on the "small decisions" players make in split seconds—that's the reality. I have to anticipate situations and learn to solve problems on my own, because in all these intense duels and rapid transitions between attack and defense—tomorrow you'll see firsthand the style the opponent plays—if we're not ready to anticipate, process, or imagine the reversed situations that could occur...

Perhaps some will say: "Logically, after regaining possession this time, there should be two or three short passes to transition, right? Logically, six or seven players must quickly drop back to defend; otherwise, you risk being outnumbered." No, the logic of modern football might be to keep five players high up the pitch, directly waiting for a long ball over the top from behind, immediately putting all the pressure back on you.

This seems to contradict traditional logic. You can't rely on past experience to explain it—you have to adapt to the current situation. The reality is I suddenly face a quick counter-attack like that again... Then someone shouts: "How did they let us have a two-versus-two in midfield?" Yes, they gave you a two-versus-two in midfield, but if you lose the ball in that duel, the opponent actually has eight players pushing high.

This is somewhat similar to how we try to explain the third goal, isn't it? That goal—if we could have shot in that situation... because if you make ineffective passes around the box, the opponent fills the box and creates a numerical advantage. Modern football is increasingly full of such scenarios.

That's why I talk about "mental rhythm" to address this, because the rhythm of the match is increasingly filled with unpredictable changes. Sometimes your mind can't keep up if you're not sharp, and besides, no one on the sideline can help you, because these are sudden situations that happen instantly on the pitch, and you must react instantly. So experiencing these things, and even stumbling as we have before, certainly accumulates valuable insights for the future, because these are real lessons about the trajectory of modern football, and many teams play this way now.

Now, with the new refereeing rules, beyond protecting the match's appeal and eliminating time-wasting and diving, they genuinely encourage physicality and contact, pushing you into difficult individual situations near the sideline where you're tightly marked. If you can't handle the challenge, you get knocked off the ball. You can't expect to gain an advantage by exaggerating contact, because the referee won't call it. I want to give credit here because effective playing time has increased, and "clever" players trying to waste time by staying down or kicking the ball away are being sidelined. As I've said before, these new rules protect the match's appeal and unleash football's inherent beauty.

Good afternoon, coach. I want to return to the topic of the Sassuolo loss. I want to ask whether you felt more relieved when the club management immediately expressed confidence in you without letting a day pass, or more surprised that just one defeat—despite the deep connection you built with the fans last season—was enough to spark nostalgia for Conte among some supporters? So I want to know: from your personal perspective, how do you view this? Does this nostalgia for Conte bother you?

First, regarding Carnevali, since you mentioned him—he's a true football man, experienced, calm, and rational. Everyone in football knows Carnevali's character and his role in the sport. He knows exactly what he needs to do, because he must transmit this calm and stability so the team can work peacefully and focus, because that's the only way forward. I may not be as good as he praised me, but I certainly won't disappoint him. I will become the person he expects me to be. With our respect and friendship, I can't let him down, so I'll keep improving.

As for the fans, this falls within what we discussed earlier. Everyone has the right to support whoever or whatever they want, just like you. You just made your own "Conte banner" for yourself, and you mentioned him twice—exactly twice—so you deliberately emphasized this... When I also want to emphasize "Guys, put pressure on them, because they can't handle pressure and need to be marked tightly," my approach is the same as yours. So this is a reality that must be accepted: everyone can make whatever banner they want for themselves.

As for me, as Spalletti, the banner I make for myself is this: I firmly believe I still have the strong team I mentioned at the start of the season, and I will naturally continue coaching with the solid standards and conviction I started with. Because victory is there, and it's within reach. Although we had the worst start in nearly five years in Serie A, from a match performance perspective, we were certainly not outplayed. Although we conceded, we could easily have won that match because we created far more chances than the threats we faced. Of course, we need to fix some details, because we absolutely cannot concede in that manner again, and on this point, the media criticism is entirely justified.

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