Juventus head coach Thiago Motta has received backing from the club’s majority owner John Elkann in the shape of a text message.
The 42-year-old has been under heavy scrutiny following a series of calamitous results, beginning with an early Champions League exit at the hands of PSV Eindhoven following by an embarrassing Coppa Italia elimination against Empoli, and most recently, a thumping 0-4 defeat courtesy of Atalanta which placed the final nail in their revitalized Scudetto hopes.
Therefore, several sources in the Italian media have been discussing a potential change in the dugout in case the team ends up suffering another loss in Florence on Sunday. Some believe the Bianconeri would sack Motta and replace him with a caretaker coach like Francesco Magnanelli, while others believe the stars could finally align for Roberto Mancini in Turin.
But according to Tuttosport via IlBianconero, Motta still has the support of the Juventus hierarchy, as evidenced by a text message he received from Elkann.
The Exor CEO is currently in Brazil for business matters, but still attempted to lift the morale of the under-fire manager.
Elkann himself isn’t the most popular figure amongst Juventus supporters who don’t really appreciate his distanced approach.
Despite the turmoil that reigned in his final years at the club, Andrea Agnelli remains by far the more popular cousin, so a large section of the supporters are hoping that the former president ends up buying out Elkann as recently suggested by some circulating press reports, even though it remains a difficult prospect at this stage.
In any case, Motta will need to secure a series of positive results between now and the end of the season, as the current backing will do him little favour if he proves unable to steer the team back in the right direction.
