Neither of Juve’s two new forwards has managed to earn the trust needed to shake up the pecking order. And now the Bianconeri coach has called them out directly…

A little carrot and a little stick. In his post-match comments following Juventus vs. Cagliari, Spalletti called out David and Openda, who have been among his team’s weak points so far this season. Neither player has yet managed to earn the trust needed to shake up the pecking order in the forward line, allowing Vlahovic (whose contract is set to expire) the luxury of appearing far more solid and promising than they do. The Juve coach chose to address the issue by intertwining tactical concerns with those of character, going so far as to say, “We need a little more of that ‘bad-ass’ attitude to get things done.” Because—as Spalletti put it—“If we’re timid, the others notice it and they’ll slap us around because we won’t fight back anyway.”

Spalletti is focusing more on the mental game of David and Openda. He knows that both could boost Juventus’s value by joining forces with Vlahovic, who is a more static center forward. Speaking of the new signings, the coach explained that “they’re both center forwards, but Openda is better at attacking spaces while David is more of a link-up player, which is why he could also do well as a second striker.” However, more is needed to earn the respect of the fans, who continue to grumble about their mistakes: “They’re very sensitive young men, and I’m happy to give them a hug because you can see they need it. This is a time when they need to score two or three goals to gain confidence and do what they know how to do with more composure. But in soccer, you also have to earn that respect, so they need to succeed on their own as well.”