Luciano Spalletti insists that those without enough personality ‘can’t play for Juventus‘ and criticises Torino for a message sent to their fans on the eve of the Derby della Mole: ‘The problem is those who say some colours should be excluded.’
Juventus ended the 2025-26 campaign with a 2-2 draw against city rivals Torino on Sunday, seeing the Granata recover from two goals down.
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Torino 2-2 Juventus: Spalletti’s post-match press conference
The Bianconeri finished sixth in the standings, securing only a Europa League place.
It was a dramatic showdown at the Stadio Grande Torino tonight as the match kicked off one hour behind schedule following clashes between Juventus and Torino ultras.
A Juventus fan was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and Bianconeri ultras threatened they’d invade the pitch if the match had started. When the game began, one hour after the scheduled time, Juventus supporters left the stands.
Spalletti would talk about those incidents in the final part of his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia.
TURIN, ITALY – MAY 24: Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Torino FC and Juventus FC at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on May 24, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
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First, the Italian tactician examined the game and the whole season, which sees Juventus finish outside of the top four.
“I’m the coach who has to examine what happened. We had the game in our hands; it’s in these games that you see the people’s character and how we are made inside. It’s in games like these where you look for something more. It’s not the same thing to have two points more or two points less.”
Damien Comolli said before the match that Juventus would try to build a strong team alongside Spalletti during the summer transfer window.
UDINE, ITALY – MARCH 14: Luciano Spalletti, Juventus manager, reacts during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and Juventus FC at Stadio Friuli on March 14, 2026 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
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“It’s what everyone expected, and it’s the right thing to do,” Spalletti argued.
“We are obliged to play, holding our heads high against everyone. The goal is to create a high-level team to fill the gaps we’ve seen over the past six or seven months.
“I think character always makes the difference. Sometimes, personalities get together. It’s something that counts as much as physical strength and technique. A footballer’s head that does not change against certain teams. He can win or lose, but always has the same attitude,” Spalletti continued.
“Everyone has doubts about the performance when taking to the pitch. When you remain tied to these doubts, you become doubtful, so you need to let go of them and make decisions. That’s the solution. Everyone has doubts, but a decision must be made. If you have too many doubts, you don’t have enough character, and you can’t play for Juventus because this is what makes the difference.
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“You don’t teach personality. You can teach tactics and technique, but character is hard to learn. We’ve had ups and downs.”
Therefore, Juventus will have to buy players with more personality in the market.
“These are things we’ve been talking about with Comolli and the others. We need players who raise the level of personality. This is why sometimes we played some great games and other times we sank like a stone,” Spalletti argued.
“Sometimes we were unlucky, too, because we missed some penalties in crucial matches. Last season, they qualified for the Champions League thanks to a penalty kick scored against Venezia. This season, we had some games wrong, but not many. In some, we didn’t get the result, but the team trained well, like this week, even if all we heard was that it would be a failure.
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“It was right to rest the players for a day because, inside all this tension, they must feel free as well. There are so many emotions, games, and pressures. To hurt them less, I see no other action than to rest them, and it was the right choice.”
Lastly, Spalletti sent a message to the Juventus fan in the hospital, but also blamed Torino for a message they had sent to ticket buyers before the game, warning that those wearing Juventus merch would not be allowed inside the stadium.
TURIN, ITALY – MAY 24: Juventus fans walk out of the stadium prior to the Serie A match between Torino FC and Juventus FC at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on May 24, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
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Juventus had already reacted with a strong statement on Saturday.
“We are all waiting for updates from the hospital, hoping that this fan can recover as soon as possible,” concluded Spalletti.
“If, however, the day before the game, absurd statements forbid wearing black and white in the stands, then the problem is those who say some colours should be excluded, because in the end, we hurt ourselves. With all the efforts we are making to improve football. There were thousands of kids tonight, and telling one kid that he can’t wear a black-and-white scarf is absurd, and we have to challenge this because it’s not fine.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
