Italian journalist Michele Criscitiello blasts Juventus for their poorly designed project which ended with Thiago Motta’s sacking on Sunday.
The club handed the reins to Football Director Cristiano Giuntoli who in turn handpicked the Italian Brazilian manager as the ideal man for the job following his great exploits at Bologna.
However, the former Napoli official eventually turned on Motta following a series of miserable results on the pitch, allegedly telling him he was ashamed of himself for appointing him in the first place.
For his part, Criscitiello described the drama witnessed at Continassa in the recent hours as a scenario befitting a Serie C side rather than the biggest club in Italian football.
If we weren’t at Juventus there would be nothing wrong. Classic management of Serie C or Serie D clubs,” wrote the journalist in his editorial on Sportitalia.
“The coach who doesn’t get results and pays for everyone. The Director who, to save (for now) his seat, fires the coach who however had been confirmed in front of the world after the humiliation in Florence.
“You are lucky that there is a break and even in Serie C and Serie D, they change the coach using the break to give a minimum of preparation and integration to the new coach. At Juventus, on the other hand, they didn’t even get this right. They threw away a week of training sessions with the new coach and then make the decision on Sunday when there are only a few days left before the Genoa contest.”
Cristiello also notes that Motta had his sins while also berating the overpriced and overhyped players. But more importantly, he believes Giuntoli is now walking on thin ice, while identifying the club’s majority owner John Elkann as Juve’s biggest problem.
“We don’t know if Giuntoli will be given a second/third chance in the summer but one thing is certain: in the event of yet another revolution, he won’t be able to experiment again. A winning coach and four safe pieces are needed.
“The Juve world is rediscovering its fragility and without Agnelli, it’s also rediscovering the taste of defeat. Because you can fire Thiago Motta, Giuntoli and in June even Tudor but if Elkann isn’t a football man you’ll never solve the problem.”
