After a 2-0 win over Napoli, Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti vented his frustration at a press conference, accusing certain “stalle” (stables/camps) of influencing the narrative around Juventus. He stressed that these “stalle” are putting excessive pressure on the squad and creating inflated expectations among fans. Spalletti said that at this moment, with only 13 players available due to injuries, too much cannot be asked of his group. He emphasised that the team cannot be compared with anyone else because of the numerous absences, adding that the “stalle” prefer to say Juventus must win the title while others should probably be fighting for the Champions League.
Essentially, Spalletti was addressing a narrative widespread among the press, pundits and former players which, in his view, creates high expectations in an already demanding environment, forgetting the difficulties Juventus is facing. He also implied that Juventus is treated differently from its rivals, denouncing a kind of “aggressiveness” in criticism of the Bianconeri. “We are going to play against Napoli, who have the same points as us, but it seems to me we are reaching it differently, and not only because they won the last match on merit and put in an excellent performance while we lost badly. It’s because we like doing it this way. But you know the reason…” he added cryptically, addressing the journalists.
This is not the first time Spalletti has vented in this way, using cryptic concepts and indirect messages to identify an “external enemy” and to unite the group in difficult times. He believes that if the public is told Juventus must win the title now, then they are being told a lie. The Certaldo coach went so far as to attribute the loud whistles from fans toward Kolo Muani to the external narrative. In other words, now that the winds of crisis have been calmed, Spalletti has started again to build his “fortress”, using these statements as cornerstones.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport