Why Derby Draw Not Sign Thiago Motta Is Failing

Juventus travelled across town to their old Stadio Olimpico home, ultimately held to a disappointing 1-1 draw in the latest edition of the Turin derby. Supporters are rightly frustrated with what they have seen from the Bianconeri so far this term, but that doesn’t mean Thiago Motta is failing.

Yes, the Coach has overseen a campaign that has resulted in far too many draws, his Juve held to a stalemate in 12 of their 19 Serie A outings to date, winning the other seven matches to remain unbeaten at the halfway mark.

They are just three points away from a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League – a competition they are still in this term – and also have a Coppa Italia quarter final date with Empoli to come next month.

The Juventus problems Thiago Motta has to overcome

Much too has been made of comparisons to last season, with constant social media posts reminding the world how many points Juve had at similar stages of the campaign in 2023/24 under Max Allegri.

It is true that the team currently has 13 fewer points than they did after 19 rounds, but what such posts overlook is that in the second half of last term, Allegri recorded just five wins while adding 10 draws and four losses.

That means that in his last 19 games, the former boss actually recorded eight fewer points than Thiago Motta has managed in this first 19, all while working to undo the malaise that had set in under his predecessor.

Under Allegri, there was very little hope of improvement but Motta has been charged with a complete overhaul of every facet of the team. He has made significant changes to the squad, totally altered the side’s footballing philosophy

To do so meant shipping out no fewer than 13 members of last season’s squad which, alongside the shift in playing style, meant it was always going to take time for the team to gel together.

Further adding to the difficulty level has been a steady stream of players heading to the treatment table. A number of players Motta expected to heavily rely on have been sidelined, with season ending injuries for Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal – as discussed in this previous column – particularly notable.

That has robbed the Coach of two cornerstones of his backline, something the club is looking to address in the January transfer window, with Barcelona’s Ronald Araújo seemingly their number one target.

Thiago Motta still deserves time at Juventus but…

However, even with all that said, Juve’s current habit of dropping points cannot stand for too long, something their Coach admitted when he spoke to DAZN at the end of their 1-1 derby draw.

“Sure, we’ve had too many draws, especially because we took the lead in some games,” said Thiago Motta. “At the same time, Juventus only lost two games from 27, with a very young team and some injuries.

“It’s never been an excuse. Now, we must recover after a significant physical effort and focus on Tuesday’s game at Atalanta.”

That is undoubtedly true, and with reinforcements on the way, the team and Thiago Motta need to be allowed to work and rebuild Juventus into a side their supporters can be proud of.