Luciano Spalletti: Can Serie A’s perennial overachiever restore glory to Juventus? | OneFootball

Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri dominate discussions of modern Serie A managerial greatness. Luciano Spalletti, however, is mentioned far less frequently, largely because his career has been defined by defying the odds rather than sustaining dynasties. Now managing Juventus on a contract that expires in the summer, the task is not merely to justify renewal, but to prove his methods withstand expectation rather than exceed it.

Defying the Odds

At Empoli, he inherited a club that had spent just two seasons in Serie A and guided them back to the top flight within five years. At Udinese, he delivered Champions League qualification for the first time in the club’s history. He then led AS Roma to consecutive Coppa Italia triumphs in 2007 and 2008 while mounting genuine Scudetto challenges. In 2018, he ended Inter’s seven-year absence from the Champions League. He joined each club in a moment of dejection and left behind tangible improvement.

Spalletti’s crowning achievement came at Napoli, where he secured the club’s first league title in 33 years. Yet his immediate departure left the question of whether he could sustain success once expectation replaced surprise. He now has the chance to answer. At Juventus, domestic success is not ambition but an obligation.

The challenge is clear: the Bianconeri have drifted from their historic standards. Spalletti inherited a side sitting seventh, a striking decline from the nine consecutive titles that ended in 2020. Under his leadership, Juventus have climbed into the top four and secured a Champions League Playoff Round place, unbeaten in their last five European fixtures.

Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Judgment in Turin

That early progress has coincided with the rise of Kenan Yildiz. Following a lineage that includes Antonio Di Natale, Francesco Totti, Mauro Icardi and Victor Osimhen, Yildiz appears to be Spalletti’s latest project. Having described the Turkish international as an ‘alien’, Spalletti’s ability to nurture that raw talent will be tested in an environment where patience is scarce.

Spalletti remains an outlier in Italian coaching, an innovator who prioritises expression, pressing and proactive structure. His philosophy stands in contrast to the defensive conservatism historically associated with Italian success and synonymous with Juventus’ dominant era under Conte and Allegri. Imposing that stylistic shift in Turin represents one of the most delicate tasks of his career. His title-winning Napoli side embodied those principles, leading Serie A in goals while earning widespread praise for their fluidity.

Crucially, that attacking emphasis has rarely come at the expense of defensive organisation. Napoli conceded the fewest goals in the league during their championship campaign, with Kim Min-jae named Best Defender. Similar foundations are emerging in Turin. With a settled back four of Andrea Cambiaso, Lloyd Kelly, Gleison Bremer and Pierre Kalulu, Juventus kept six clean sheets in seven matches in January.

That defensive clarity has been most evident in high-stakes encounters. After a 2-1 defeat to Conte’s Napoli in their first meeting, Juventus responded with 2-1 and 3-0 victories over Roma and Napoli respectively. In a league often decided by head-to-head margins, those performances mark encouraging progress.

Spalletti does not fit the mould of his contemporaries. Conte and Allegri have spent their careers immersed in title races; their trophy collections reflect that. Spalletti’s trajectory has revolved around transformations, and his adventurous tactics only accentuate the distinction. That difference, in style and circumstance, has often obscured the scale of his impact.

Juventus, however, defines managers. Conte’s unbeaten season and Allegri’s five consecutive Serie A titles elevated them into rare air. The stakes are now at their highest for Spalletti. He has built a career exceeding ceilings. In Turin, there will be no celebration for overachievement — only judgment on whether he can meet the standard.

Calvin Burton