Thiago Motta’s Juventus Struggles: What Went Wrong in 2024-25?

After getting the 4-0 hammering at home against Atalanta in Serie A on Sunday night, Thiago Motta is at danger of losing his job at the end of his first season in charge of Juventus. The humbling at the Allianz Stadium was not the first blow in a season full of ups and mostly down for the Bianconeri.

Motta’s arrival was expected to herald the beginning of a new era in Turin, appointed as Massimiliano Allegri’s replacement, and with the coach came the arrival of numerous intriguing new signings in a summer transfer window costing the club barely shy of €200m.

At the end of June, Aston Villa favourite Douglas Luiz arrived first through the door at a cost of €50m. Later on he was joined by fellow midfielder Khephren Thuram from OGC Nice, who arrived for €20m with bonuses, and then Teun Koopmeiners from Serie A rivals Atalanta.

Also entering in the summer were winger Nico Gonzalez on loan with purchase commitments, goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, and Pierre Kalulu. Though there is apparently an informal understanding for his permanent signing as well, Juan Cabal also came in on a permanent deal and Francisco Conceicao entered on a pure loan deal.

Although the summer’s fresh Juventus acquisitions generated a lot of excitement, the squad’s flaws have turned out to be a problem for the great majority of the 2024–25 campaign.

Long-term knee injuries to Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal made it abundantly evident that defense was lacking, so Motta was mostly dependent on Federico Gatti and Pierre Kalulu as his only genuine choice at center-back for most of the first half of the season.