Luciano Spalletti, who arrived at Juventus in October, has extended his contract with the most successful club in the history of Italian football until 2028.
Juventus Turin extended Luciano Spalletti’s contract until 2028. Spalletti, who took over as coach last October, confirmed this on Friday. The ‘Old Lady’ officially announced this extension by posting a video on their social media of Spalletti addressing his players.
“It was important that I inform you first before it became official: we have decided to extend my contract for two more years,” the Italian coach stated. Juventus director Damien Comolli explained that “it immediately became clear to everyone that Luciano was the right person to lead the team towards growth.”
His ambitious playing style matches the expectations of our supporters and the club, his values represent our identity,” added the French leader. Appointed on October 30 to replace Igor Tudor when Juventus was 7th in the Italian Championship, the 67-year-old Spalletti led them to 5th place before the 32nd matchday this weekend, just one point behind the 4th place needed for the next Champions League.
Under the guidance of the former Napoli coach, who won the Italian championship in 2023, the ‘Old Lady’ won twelve of their last 22 Serie A matches, with four defeats and six draws. However, they were eliminated from the Champions League in the qualifying rounds to the Round of 16 by Galatasaray after a 5-2 defeat in Turkey in the first leg (3-2 win in Turin in the return leg). While he struggled to give consistency to his team, eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup (3-0 against Atalanta), Spalletti spectacularly revived his career.
Previously facing a tough situation as the head coach of Italy, where he was appointed as national team manager in August 2023. He barely survived after the removal of the National team, then the defending European champions, in the Round of 16 of Euro 2024. However, his team’s defeat against Norway (3-0) in Oslo last June in the opening of the World Cup 2026 qualifications was fatal for him.
Italy, then coached by former Italian international Gennaro Gattuso, failed to qualify for the World Cup, just like in 2018 and 2022, in the playoffs against Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-1 a.e.t., 4-1 on penalties). Juventus (5th, 57 pts) plays against Atalanta Bergamo (7th, 53 pts), another European contender, on Saturday.
