The old stager’s blue eyes fixed his interviewer with a gaze that seemed to bore into him. “If a referendum were held on the most important sports figure of Perugia’s centenary, I believe Ilario Castagner would rank very high,” the interviewer said.
“After all, you’ve achieved a lot, stayed in Perugia, played for Perugia FC, coached Perugia several times, and delivered some of the team’s most thrilling victories.
“Could it be that you wouldn’t even have any competition?” the interviewer asked.
Ilario Castagner’s visage crinkled into a smile.
“Even now, when I’m out and about during the day, I encounter people, especially those of a certain age, who smile at me from afar and greet me,” said Castagner, in the interview that was conducted in 2005 to commemorate Perugia FC’s centenary.
“There’s a joy in saying hello, and for me, that’s deeply rewarding. It’s a great satisfaction, and here, I truly feel at ease.”
Castagner is a name probably familiar to only Serie A anoraks. The Italian was the coach of the 1978-79 Perugia team that became the first since Serie A switched to a round robin format to go through an entire season undefeated.
And yet, Perugia failed to win the title that season. They finished second to AC Milan, the result of a massive 19 draws from 30 matches.
When Castagner passed away in February 2023, he was fondly remembered across Italy, and especially Perugia.
While the 1978-79 season is still fondly recalled in Perugia as the ‘Season of Miracles,’ it is unlikely that Thiago Motta’s Juventus will be accorded the same latitude if they finish the season unbeaten but fail to win the title.
Winning is de rigueur at Juventus and falling short is seldom tolerated, leave alone celebrated.
But after 16 rounds of the 2024/25 season, Juve have drawn 10 of the league matches they’ve played (a massive 62.5%) and won the other six. Juve are still one of the two unbeaten teams in the Big Five leagues of Europe this season – along with Paris Saint-Germain – but PSG are top of Ligue 1 with a 10-point lead over the second-placed Marseille.
Juve, however, lie sixth, 9 points behind leaders Atalanta.
At this stage last season, Juventus had 37 points and were in second place, 4 points behind eventual champions Inter. They eventually finished third.
“We certainly need to do better,” admitted Juventus coach Thiago Motta after Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Vicenza, which followed a vital 2-0 win over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League.
“This is the step up we need to make (winning consecutive matches). We had taken the lead and we should’ve kept pushing forward, to create more chances and kill off the game. We didn’t do that, we allowed the other team to get back into it.”
The draw with Venezia continued a worrying habit for Juventus: an impressive performance against a big-name rival usually followed by a dip in performance against lesser lights.
Juve beat RB Leipzig (3-2) early in the season, following which they drew with Cagliari (1-1); they drew 4-4 with Inter Milan in the Derby of Italy, after which they drew with Parma (2-2), and the victory over Man City was followed by the draw against Venezia.
Motta said bigger teams usually play a more open style of football.
“It’s true, all three games were completely different to the ones that followed,” he said. “I am not trying to justify it, but in those open matches where the other side also took the initiative and tried to win, the ones afterwards were totally different.”
Bianconeri fans didn’t see it that way. Juventus were booed and whistled by their fans at the Allianz Stadium after the draws against Bologna and Venezia.
Paolo Condo, a football pundit, wrote in La Repubblica, an Italian daily, about Juve’s Serie A campaign following the Bologna draw.
“This (the top 7 teams in the Serie A table) is a train that is moving compactly towards qualification for the next Champions League, always assuming that Serie A confirms its 5 places,” he wrote.
“It is important that Juventus (3 points behind fifth place) and especially Milan (8 points behind fifth place) begin to mend things. Before it is too late.”
Motta was supposed to be the anti-Massimiliano Allegri, brought in to replace the stodgy fare put out by Juve last season with go-for-broke, high-voltage football.
Motta’s wards were supposed to display an ability to control possession, exploit wide and central spaces and harry opponents off the ball without worrying about the backline.
Little of this has happened, with Motta’s Juve resembling a strange, risk-averse beast.
It’s not that Motta has completely failed to bring about change. Under him, Juve have improved their ability to retain possession. At the time of writing, Juve top the possession percentages (with 60.7%) of teams in Serie A, but in a telling display of how inefficient that possession has been, the Old Lady rank 7th when it comes to touches inside the opposition’s penalty area.
This is but one indication of how Juve’s season has not gone to plan so far. In this two-part article, we’ll look at the factors holding back Juventus from reaching their potential under Motta, the silver linings that have emerged, and make a prognosis for their season.
A YOUNG SQUAD
With an average age of 24.2, the bianconeri have the second youngest squad in Serie A this season, next only to Parma (average age 23.7). By contrast, Inter Milan and Napoli, probably the two strongest contenders for the Scudetto this season, have the two oldest squads in the division. Napoli’s squad has an average age of 27.6, while Inter’s has an average age of 29.1, the oldest in the Italian top-flight.
Juve’s youth also means that it is a squad light on Scudetto-winning experience.
In the Old Lady’s squad, only Danilo, Pierre Kalulu, Mattia Perin and Carlo Pinsoglio have had the experience of winning the Scudetto in the past. Of these, only Kalulu is a regular member of the Juve starting 11.
While Perin and Pinsoglio, who are Juve’s back-up goalkeepers, won their Scudetto medals by virtue of being squad members of past title-winning teams, Danilo won his sole Scudetto with Juve in 2020 and is now a back-up option at centre-back and right-back.
There are players, though, with experience in winning other trophies.
Manuel Locatelli won the European Championship with Italy in 2021, Nico Gonzalez won the Copa America with Argentina in 2021 and 2024, Francisco Conceicao won the Portuguese title with Porto in 2021-22, Douglas Luiz won the Olympic Gold medal with Brazil in 2020 and Timothy Weah won the Ligue 1 title with Lille in 2020-21.
A MIXED RETURN FROM A €164m OUTLAY
Juventus signed 9 players during the summer transfer window for a combined outlay of €164 million. Of these, 18-year-old Vasilije Azjic is a Montenegrin midfielder who features primarily for Juve’s youth team. As such, the remaining 8 signings can be classified into 3 groups:
- Unqualified Success
- Promising Beginnings and
- Possible misfires
A) UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS
Michele Di Gregorio was chosen as the Serie A goalkeeper of the year following the 2023-24 season, and Juventus snapped him up from Monza for around €20 million in the summer. The former Inter Milan youth product has taken to the big time like he was born for it, his stunning reaction saves a fundamental reason the bianconeri are still unbeaten in Serie A. Juve have needed his cool head even more since the season-ending injury to Bremer, who was arguably the best defender in Serie A when he ruptured his cruciate ligament in October.
“His best quality is his presence inside the penalty area, he is the master of his area,” said former Juventus goalkeeper Michelangelo Rampulla in September. “He has a certain authority and there is no question about his value.” Another quality of Di Gregorio is his ball-playing ability, which Motta has relied upon to launch attacks from the back.
Francisco Conceicao scampered his way into Juventus hearts when he scored the winner against RB Leipzig to complete a 3-2 comeback victory in the Champions League after Juve had been down to 10 men and trailed 1-2 after 65 minutes.
The Portuguese winger has the rare talent of bringing the crowd to its feet when he’s on the ball. A dimunitive whirl of trickery, his pace, skill and tireless work rate has wrong-footed many a defender in Italy and Europe.
“Francisco is an example of what it means to deserve to be in the team and be prepared to help the group as well,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said in June after the winger had come off the bench during Euro 2024 to score in stoppage time to help his team to a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic.
“He has incredible maturity, he has a scent for danger inside the area and he showed it. For a coach, seeing him come off the bench and show what he showed is very important.”
The 22-year-old Conceicao is on loan from Porto at Juve, but his purchase next summer already looks a cinch.
Pierre Kalulu was one of the breakout stars of the AC Milan side that surprisingly won the Serie A title in the 2021-22 season. Partnering Fikayo Tomori at centre-back, the little-known 21-year-old Frenchman looked set to be a fixture of the rossoneri defence for years to come. However, persistent injuries and subsequent loss of form saw Milan allow Kalulu to leave for Turin, a decision they may already be regretting.
Following Bremer’s injury, Kalulu has proven to be a surprisingly able partner to Federico Gatti, his pace and crucial interceptions bailing out Juve many a time when the Old Lady are under the pump at the back. He has already played more minutes for Juve than any other player this season, with 1,707 minutes.
“He is intelligent, available, generous, also a leader in his own way,” said Motta about Kalulu earlier in the season. “He speaks little, but he speaks with the right tone when he does, trying to build, help. We are very happy to have him in the group.”
Though Kalulu has joined Juventus on loan from Milan, his eventual purchase is believed to be a formality.
B) PROMISING BEGINNINGS
Setting out Juve in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Thiago Motta took some time to settle on the double pivot of midfielders who would play in front of the defence. Khephren Thuram, a €20 million signing from Nice, was in and out of the team as he tried to find his footing in Italy. Of late, though, the 23-year-old seems to have established himself as the ideal partner to Manuel Locatelli in the double pivot.
Powerfully built and standing at 6’4, Thuram brings raw physicality and boundless energy to the Old Lady’s midfield. He can, however, improve upon his offensive output.
Nico Gonzalez has missed more games for Juve than he has played since joining in late August, but has shown flashes of his Fiorentina form of last season that convinced Juve to sign him this summer. Playing in his first Champions League match for the bianconeri against PSV Eindhoven in September, the 26-year-old Argentinean was involved in all 3 goals during the 3-1 win. Following this promising start however, Gonzalez’s form dipped, and he was sidelined for 2 months with a muscle injury before making his comeback in the 4-0 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari. Gonzalez wrapped up the result for Juventus with an outstanding chip over the Cagliari goalkeeper Simone Scuffet from outside the box. “I want to help the team. I’m happy with my goal. It gives me confidence, now we have to rest and concentrate on the next challenge (against Monza),” said Gonzalez after the match.
Juan Cabal has proved himself to be a solid, if unspectacular stand-in at left-back for Andrea Cambiaso when the latter has either been deployed further up the pitch for Juve or was unavailable. Though the Colombian does not provide anywhere near the attacking threat that Cambiaso does when the latter plays at left-back, Cabal’s defensive presence is missed by Juve fans when they see the 20-year-old Jonas Rouhi struggle in the position. Cabal, though, will miss most of the season after rupturing his cruciate ligament in November.
C) POSSIBLE MISFIRES
Douglas Luiz was Thiago Motta’s first signing as the new Juventus coach. Teun Koopmeiners was the last to join the squad this summer, secured from Atalanta in late August. Both players were secured for more than €100 million combined, and both are yet to start proving their worth.
Luiz joined the bianconeri after a stellar few years at Aston Villa. Brazilian midfielder Hernanes, a former Juve player, was certain his old team had signed the right man when they snapped up Luiz.
“Thiago Motta’s teams like to have the ball and command the play and the game. Douglas Luiz will be fundamental from this point of view, he will be the brain and the director of the new Juventus,” said Hernanes in July.
However, little has gone to plan in Turin for Luiz. The Brazilian, who joined the bianconeri early enough to be a part of Juve’s ‘ pre-season training camp, does not seem to have earned Motta’s trust. In an injury-afflicted campaign, the midfielder has played 11 games for Juventus, and started just two.
Luiz has not carried the ball forward as well as he can, does not seem to want the ball enough on the field, has not been the asset he was expected to be in tight spaces, and his contribution in the attacking third has been highly disappointing.
Luiz has exhibited little of the quality he showed in the Premier League that convinced Juventus to splash out €50 million for his signing – he has not carried the ball forward as well as he can, does not seem to want the ball enough on the field, has not been the asset he was expected to be in tight spaces, and his contribution in the attacking third has been highly disappointing. There have been flashes of artistry, deft touches to take the team deeper towards the opposition’s goal, but there haven’t been many. Luiz grabbed unwanted headlines in October when he gave away penalties in a reckless fashion in successive games against RB Leipzig and Cagliari.
Motta defended Luiz publicly after he gave away his second successive penalty in the Caglari game. “These tough moments are useful to see the player’s reaction and I saw a fantastic response (in training). I am calm when I see him like this because this is the right path for a strong player who wants to be a protagonist,” the coach said.
Luiz started Juve’s next game, at home against Lazio, and missed a sitter in the second half with the teams still locked 0-0. Juve eventually won 1-0, Luiz got injured shortly thereafter and he’s yet to start a game for Motta again.
Juve’s other big-money signing this summer was Koopmeiners, the Dutch enigma who remains a work in progress at the Allianz Stadium.
‘WHERE IS THE REAL TEUN KOOPMEINERS?’
Kenan Yildiz watched the ball go in, held his arms aloft, and started running. Feet away from him, Pierre Kalulu also raised an arm in celebration and took off. Dusan Vlahovic followed. Khephren Thuram, Samuel Mbangula, Manuel Locatelli, Nicolo Savona – all converged on one man: Teun Koopmeiners, grinning from ear to ear. They mobbed the Dutch midfielder as they all ran towards the home crowd in celebration. Koopmeiners had just scored from a free kick to put his side 2-0 up against Cagliari in their Coppa Italia match on Wednesday. “This is what it feels like to play for this club!” wrote Koopmeiners later on his Instagram handle, posting a picture from his goal celebration.
Wednesday was probably the happiest Koopmeiners has been in Turin since he scored twice for Atalanta to help them to a 2-2 draw against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium in March 2024. A Juventus management that was already considering signing him was smitten.
Five months later, Koopmeiners joined the bianconeri for €60 million, following a drawn out transfer saga and well after the new season had begun.
However, he has since then looked a shadow of the player he was in Bergamo.
Till Koopmeiners’ goal against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia, this season was shaping up to be statistically his worst in Italy since his first year in Serie A. After 16 matchdays, he has 2 goals and 2 assists for Juve across competitions.
While the Dutchman continues to play as a notional attacking midfielder at Juve like he did at Atalanta, under Motta he has more defensive responsibilities.
“I play more as a central midfielder now,” Koopmeiners told Tuttosport earlier this season. “We played with just one striker in Bergamo, and I was more offensive.
“Now, I must help the team more with ball possession, but I still want to press high, score goals, and provide assists.”
Till Koopmeiners’ goal against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia, this season was shaping up to be statistically his worst in Italy since his first year in Serie A — the 2021/22 campaign, when he was 3 years younger and fresh from the Eredivisie. After 16 matchdays this season, Koopmeiners has 2 goals and 2 assists for Juve across competitions.
But the Dutchman joined Juve well after the season began – in late August 2024 – so was not a part of Motta’s preseason training camp.
A rib fracture just weeks into the season also kept him sidelined for six matches.
Koopmeiners’ move to the Old Lady was supposed to transform the bianconeri into genuine title contenders. Instead, his performances have induced bewilderment. “Where is the real Teun Koopmeiners?” asked the Italian daily Corriere Della Sport after the 26-year-old’s dispiriting showing against Aston Villa in the 0-0 draw in the Champions League.
Motta, however, remains fiercely protective of his new signing. “He is a fundamental part of the team,” said Motta after the Villa draw. “Koop is a special player who can cover many different roles. I am very happy to have him here, which is why he is difficult to substitute.”
However, Koopmeiners was substituted in the 65th minute of Juve’s game against Venezia on December 15, being replaced by Douglas Luiz, with the match poised at 1-1. It had been another disappointing showing by the Dutchman, and led to rumours that the 26-year-old is no longer untouchable in Motta’s eyes.
Three days later, Koopmeiners started Juve’s Coppa Italia match against Cagliari and was again substituted early– but this time he had scored, helping his team go 2-0 up. He was replaced by Federico Gatti, the centre-back. Juve were trying to lock down the result. Koopmeiners, for his part, will hope he can lock down his form.
A CONSTANT BATTLE AGAINST INJURIES
After a solid start to the season, injuries have gradually taken a toll on Juve’s results, with Motta seemingly happy to settle for a draw in matches the Old Lady should be winning if they are to challenge for the Scudetto. In 2 of the bianconeri’s last 3 league matches (against Bologna and Venezia), Juve needed stoppage time equalizers to avoid defeat. In the other match (against Lecce), they conceded an equalizer in stoppage time after being dominated throughout the second half.
The player Juventus miss most dearly is Bremer, their defensive totem from Brazil who sustained a season-ending injury in October. “It’s crazy how good he is,” said legendary former Juventus goalkeeper Stefano Tacconi, after watching Bremer help Juve to a 0-0 draw against Napoli. “It’s like watching an animal for the way he pounces on the opponent, almost as if he were his prey.”
Unfortunately for Juve, Bremer would rupture his cruciate ligament just days later, early on in the Champions League match against RB Leipzig. Prior to Bremer’s injury, in the 7 matches the centre-back had completed, Juve had conceded 1 goal, and none in Serie A.
In the 15 matches Juve have played since then, they have shipped 16 goals. Not disastrous, but one suspects the figures would have been drastically different if Bremer had been fit.
In the meantime, Juve also lost left-back Juan Cabal to a season-ending injury.
| Player | Injury | Games missed | Return Date |
| Juan Cabal | ACL | Season-ending | May 2025 |
| Bremer | ACL | Season-ending | April 2025 |
| Arkadiusz Milik | Knee | 25 (so far) | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Nico Gonzalez | Muscle | 14 | Dec 13, 2024 |
| Douglaz Luiz | Muscle fatigue | 10 | Dec 9, 2024 |
| Teun Koopmeiners | Rib Fracture | 6 | Oct 28, 2024 |
Moreover, the bianconeri’s season has been complicated by the fact that they are not scoring enough goals. Juventus went into the new season with only one conventional centre forward in their ranks – Dusan Vlahovic – as Arkadiusz Milik was still recovering from surgery to heal an ankle injury. Months into the season, Milik underwent another surgery for the same injury, and is expected back only after the new year.
In Milik’s absence, Vlahovic has had to spearhead the attack whenever fit, and sometimes the fatigue shows.
“(Serbia) coach Dragan Stojkovic did not force me to do so many defensive tasks,” Vlahovic complained while on international duty for Serbia in November.
“And for a player like me, for my frame…honestly I can’t run so much. Because then I am not fresh in the final third.”
Responding to his number 9’s comments, Motta insisted that no one can be excused from defensive chores. “We all agree. It’s an obligation, a duty, not an option,” the Juve coach said. Despite the workload on Vlahovic, Juve sporting director Cristiano Guintoli has asserted they will not be signing a forward in January.
“I think we can use other players in that attacking role, including Kenan Yildiz. There are alternatives and we believe Milik will be able to give his contribution when he returns,” Guintoli said in November.
In addition to Milik’s absence, Juve also lost during the season Nico Gonzalez and Douglas Luiz, two of their summer signings who were expected to help the Old Lady turn decisively to ‘Motta-ball.’
Gonzalez missed 14 games due to a thigh injury while Luiz missed 10 due to a muscle injury. Both are just making their way back into the squad.
In October, the bianconeri lost Teun Koopmeiners for 6 games to a rib fracture he sustained during the 1-1 draw against Cagliari. This did not help the acclimatisation of the Dutchman, who was already struggling to adapt to life at the Allianz Stadium following his summer move. He has regained his place in the starting line-up upon his return, but his efforts to convince his doubters remain a work in progress.
Aside from these injuries, Juve have lost players to minor injuries throughout the season: Timothy Weah (4 matches), Weston McKennie (3 matches), Khephren Thuram, Francisco Conceicao and Dusan Vlahovic (2 matches each).
In the next part of this article, we’ll look at various other factors that have affected Juventus this term, including their European campaign, their form against fellow title rivals, their home form, the positives that have emerged for the bianconeri so far, and make a prognosis for their season.