Spalletti defends Kalulu after Inter–Juve and turns the focus to Galatasaray, praising the Osimhen–Icardi partnership ahead of the Champions League tie.
Kickoff. Or rather: the ball is in the opposition half—but for now, not that of Galatasaray. Luciano Spalletti tries to move past the night at San Siro. He manages it, he tries, and then he slides right back in with a tackle.
“I won’t speak over the words of John Elkann or those at the top of the club,” said the Juventus coach, “but I can say that Pierre (Kalulu, ed.) is a very good lad, a decent person. And having to take being called a bischero by the opposing coach is something that really doesn’t sit well with me—and something I would never have expected. That would give me the chance to talk about Inter’s players, and I don’t want to do that.”
After the loss on Saturday night, Spalletti rewound the clock—just for a moment, a fleeting one. “I told the boys forcefully that I’m proud of them, that I wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the world. But now we need to clear our heads and be worthy of an appointment like this, in a stadium where the spotlight strips away your mask and forces you to tell the truth.”
Galatasaray are a “tough, very tough” obstacle. The pairing of Victor Osimhen and Mauro Icardi is “straight out of a football encyclopedia, for the qualities they bring onto the pitch.”
David will not be there, and neither will Openda (“He’s had his chances, he’ll have others…”). That means Weston McKennie will operate as a false nine, also tasked with holding up the ball to allow his teammates to push up and gain ground in the cauldron of Istanbul. “Weston can play up front—he’s technical, quick, strong. He’s already shown all of that, and he can show it even better,” Spalletti emphasized.
But once again, the ball drifts back to center—not to the 50,000-seat stadium where the first leg of the Champions League playoff is about to be played, but to the scene where Alessandro Bastoni rolled on the ground and referee Federico La Penna ended Kalulu’s match with a second yellow card.
“If I were still the national team coach, would I call up the Inter player?” Spalletti said. “Let’s not put limits on Rino (Gattuso, ed.). He has to be free to choose whoever he wants. And besides, I’m no longer in charge of Italy—a pain that will never go away,” added Luciano from Certaldo.
Much like the never-ending poison of the Derby d’Italia.
