What Luciano Spalletti's tactical revolution at Juventus means as Old Lady aim return to the top

It's been less than a week since Luciano Spalletti was appointed as the new Juventus head coach, replacing Igor Tudor and becoming the club's third managerial change since the summer of 2024. Since the former Napoli and Italy manager was appointed, Juventus won 2-1 against Cremonese over the weekend away and then drew 1-1 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin against Sporting CP on Tuesday in the Champions League in the first home game of the new coach. 

In the opening two matches under Spalletti, Juventus scored three goals but also conceded two, marking some defensive issues of the Italian giants that are still looking to improve under the new manager, who didn't have much time to fix the ongoing problems. However, there was a big and immediate change: a new tactical position of Teun Koopmeiners, who played both matches under Spalletti as a left center back. 

The Dutch midfielder joined Juventus from Atalanta in the summer of 2024 for around $50 million, becoming one of the highest-paid players in the history of the iconic Italian club. The pressure was really high on him in his first season and he didn't deliver as much as he hoped, scoring only five goals in 44 matches played, while the season before, he scored 15 goals in all competitions under Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta, in what was his best season of his career so far. Under Thiago Motta and later Tudor, Koopmeiners was deployed in several midfield roles: as a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder, and occasionally as a second striker behind the main forward. However, none of these positions truly suited his qualities or allowed him to perform at his best.

When Spalletti joined Juventus, he immediately decided to deconstruct his role and started him in both games against Cremonese and Sporting CP as a left center back, a player who can not only defend but also start the attack. It's no coincidence that Koopmeiners was second with the most touches on Tuesday (74) and led the team in passes attempted (63). He had just one touch fewer than Manuel Locatelli (75), showing how equally involved he was in Juventus' build-up play and overall possession. Speaking to Sky Italy after the game, he said he feels confident playing in the new role.

"I feel very comfortable in this position. I'm not the kind of forward who plays with his back to goal, as I've had to do in some other matches and I've told the club that as well. I feel much better in this role. It's the one I also played back in the Netherlands. I like to drive forward with the ball," he said. 

As the Dutch midfielder said to Sky Italy, this is not something new for him. In the 154 matches played for AZ Alkmaar in his career before moving to Atalanta in 2021, he played 38 matches as a center back in a similar position of the one he's currently playing at Juventus. It will be interesting to see whether Spalletti decides to keep him in that role, as the coach values defenders who can play out from the back, contribute creatively, and offer an additional source of build-up quality.