After leading his team to a 5-0 home victory over NEC Nijmegen in the first matchday of the Europa League group stage, Juventus manager Spalletti attended the press conference.

Good evening, coach. My question is, overall, are you more satisfied with the result and the team's attitude tonight, or are you happier that four players scored their first goals of the season?

If I could divide them equally, I would give all three things you mentioned exactly the same value. Why? Because all three are very, very important. Being able to take all three home — I mean, demonstrating conviction in multiple aspects — probably allows us to rediscover that determination, or rather, clearly define the direction we need to follow.

In short, we need to improve our level and quality of play, and this must be achieved through wins and such convincing performances on the pitch. Because when we have possession, we don't rush to kick the ball away; instead, we try to play our own football, and therefore this point becomes crucial.

Good evening, coach. I have a question about Douglas Luiz. Compared to your expectations for him, what stage do you think his game has reached?

In my opinion, he can still improve. I think he still has room to grow because he has an extremely comprehensive and deep understanding of the game. But sometimes he lacks the type of anticipation I expect, because anticipation means recognizing tactical intentions before an action happens, and it's this ability that gives you control, allowing you to move to the next tactical phase ahead of time.

Sometimes he touches the ball twice in quick succession, and while those two touches may be very close together and even achieve the objective faster than others, the habit of thinking after the first touch is something he should sometimes abandon. Because he has this keen sense of perceiving what's happening on the pitch and making a tactical pass before others notice it.

Good evening, I'd like you to assess Pape Sarr's performance; also, will Andrea Cambiaso be fit for the match against Atalanta, or will he have to wait until after the international break?

Pape Sarr is a thoroughbred, meaning he has excellent running power, positioning, and the ability to play constantly. He had an excellent performance tonight, despite it being his first start. He even challenged me two or three times on the pitch, which is actually quite pleasant, showing that he wants to communicate and discuss my tactical instructions with me.

However, all players with this characteristic of running and positioning often lack a bit of refinement in their game, losing the type of anticipation and rhythm control we just mentioned. But he did many, many things well, because he was always integrated with the team, staying close to the ball in all situations, so I'm satisfied with his performance.

As for Cambiaso, we need to assess him day by day. Yesterday I said he would be evaluated this morning, but this morning he arrived with some concern because he felt slight pain during yesterday's training, and he was still slightly uncomfortable this morning, so there's no need to take risks. When a player doesn't feel confident, you absolutely cannot force him onto the pitch and risk his health.

Good evening, coach. Tonight, in addition to the satisfactory attack, I believe the defense was also a highlight, because the defense was very solid in this tactical system. This appears to be a successful tactical experiment, and I'd like to know if this is also part of your future plan for defensive approach and tactical formation?

Yes, this tactical formation is something we already had, because we adopted this approach very frequently last season. As someone may have noticed the other night, our positioning on the pitch was a bit too spread out — I think I read related analyses somewhere as well — so we needed to be more balanced and compact. Because when you feel less confident and secure, not taking blind risks is not a lack of courage, but a wise choice.

At certain moments the other night, we weren't smart enough, but tonight we used this tactic correctly. We sometimes allowed the opponent to build from the back, and then we chose precisely the moment to press quickly and even push up to the opposing goalkeeper. This made our game easier because the entire team was more integrated and comprehensive in its approach. This wasn't just one position or two or three players doing it while others couldn't keep up; everyone understood and was able to judge very well whether teammates were positioned to follow and launch counter-presses and high pressing. Many collective decisions were made at team level, and that's what makes the entire team more comprehensive and mature.

I also want to ask a tactical question, leaving aside the debate of three or four defenders — you frequently adjust the defensive line according to the opponent's formation — I want to ask, was the biggest help to the team's balance tonight due to having one fewer attacking player? Do you think the team can handle four attacking players in the future, or will keeping three attacking players provide better stability?

The team can accommodate whatever number of attacking players you want; the key is that if you have more quality players, you must control more of the ball and make the opponent run more unnecessarily. But if you have quality players and then play an open game against the opponent, the match becomes precarious.

However, this is still a tactical approach that can be reused. For example, at a certain phase of tonight's match, I told McKennie: go play as an attacking midfielder from that position. The players on the pitch remain the same. If I let McKennie play as an attacking midfielder, and Çelik go from right-back to left-back, the defense would become Kalulu, Çelik and two center-backs again, and the attacking diamond would become Nico González, McKennie, Ajakaiye and Waltemade. You can do that.

McKennie represents total football; he's a versatile player because he can do everything. He's a true midfielder because he can run; and when you have a player like Nico González in the attacking midfielder position, he not only contributes more to the attack but also contributes immensely defensively. Tonight, after attacking the opponent's goal, he made two very good defensive recovery runs, turning and sprinting back. That burst of energy and passion is the manifestation of a complete player. He even uses that burst of energy and determination to force his teammates to keep up with him, as if to say: "Either you press with me, or I'll solve the problem alone!" He'll grab his teammate's shirt and pull him toward his tactical intention.

Traduzido por IA.

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