Juventus general manager: Looking for a new sporting director because of Spalletti’s past achievements and playing style

November 1st Juventus general manager Damian Comolli explained why the club’s top brass agreed that the team needs a new coach, and revealed that they are screening a list of candidates for a new sporting director.

Comolli appeared alongside new head coach Luciano Spalletti at his press conference on Friday. The French executive introduced Spalletti and answered questions from the media.

"My Italian has not improved very much, so please forgive me. Welcome to the press conference of our coach Luciano Spalletti. We are delighted to welcome him for many reasons. He is obviously an expert in Italian football; you all know his career, which has been successful in different clubs and environments."

"He is a person who can drive the development of the football brand. We have agreed A contract until the end of the season, with an option to renew. What we discussed was that this option, this agreement, is a potential long-term cooperation. During the season, we can sit down and decide how to proceed."

It was believed that if Spalletti leads the team to qualify for the Champions League this season, his contract will be automatically extended to 2027, but this is not the case. Juventus will decide whether to activate this option at the end of the season, regardless of the final ranking.

"This is a one-season renewal option until the 2026-27 season. As the coach and I have already said, it is not just a piece of paper, it depends on how well we work together. It is more about the spirit of cooperation. We hired Spalletti because of his past achievements, and the style of play is also important. How did we make this decision? Chiellini, Modesto and I have been in dialogue with the club's owners. We believe that Spalletti is the best person to continue this adventure. All three people and the owners are in agreement, which is crucial in the decision-making process."

Comolli also said that Juventus is finalizing the search for a new sporting director. Football Italia reported earlier today that Marco Ottolini was one of the leading candidates.

"The search for a sporting director is still in progress," Comolli said. "We have entered the shortlist stage and are close to the target. Once there are updates, we will proactively inform everyone."

Juventus now has a new coach. Do they have a clear strategy for the winter transfer window?

"This is one of the things we discussed when we met with Luciano on Monday. There are no concrete plans at the moment and we will see if there is an opportunity. If someone leaves we will replace him but at the moment we are not thinking about bringing in new players. I am relaxed and confident about the summer signings. We have signed good players and they will take time to adapt but we are happy to see how they perform. For some of these players we have options. Let's live another day Let's talk about it in 12 or 18 months. Spalletti and I have seen all kinds of things. The coach is right, they take time, but I will not lose sleep over the quality of our new signings. Maybe I will lose sleep over the performance of the team, but now I have confidence in Spalletti."

Comolli insisted that he had never spoken to Spalletti before Monday." Not at all. When I arrived in June, it was clear that Tudor was going to extend his contract. That was what we had in mind on Sunday night, when we first met on Monday at noon. I can guarantee that we had the contract ready and he arrived on Thursday morning. " 3}

Finally, Comolli explained the main reason why Juventus fired Tudor this week: "Results, lack of results. It's as simple as that, at a certain moment we think this cycle must end. Everything depends on results, mainly because of poor results. The team's performance is not ideal and I told him this clearly on Monday. That's why we made changes on Monday and hired a new coach. I think Spalletti is the best choice."