Juventus chief executive Giovanni Carnevali says the club must develop a “more Italian identity” and give greater priority to young players if they are to compete for major honours again.
The Bianconeri have not won Serie A since 2019-20, having previously claimed nine consecutive Scudetti from 2011-12 onwards. Their recent decline continued last season, when they finished sixth and missed out on Champions League qualification after an early period of difficulties under Igor Tudor.
Luciano Spalletti’s side have also made an inconsistent start to the current league campaign. Juventus have collected 17 points from their opening 10 matches and sit seventh in the table, although they secured an important victory over Napoli on Sunday.
The make-up of the team in that home win underlined Carnevali’s concern over the club’s Italian representation. The only Italian player named in the starting line-up was goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who is on loan from Tottenham.
Federico Gatti and Andrea Cambiaso were introduced as substitutes, while Jeff Ekhator, Carlo Pinsoglio and Daniele Rugani remained unused.
Carnevali was appointed in June this year, replacing Damien Comolli, and believes a greater focus on the development of young players can help Juventus rebuild their identity and return to their former level.
“We need more Italian identity within our club, and we need to develop young players who can one day make it into the Juventus first team,” he told Corriere della Sera.
The Juventus chief also urged the club to recover its enthusiasm and sense of belonging, while stressing that a sustained effort and a clear long-term plan would be required.
“We need to rediscover our enthusiasm and sense of belonging. We’ll have to put in the effort, take things seriously, and have a strong desire to do things; we need clear ideas and to know where we want to go,” he said.
Carnevali acknowledged that Juventus’ results in recent seasons had fallen short of expectations, but said the club would have to work collectively to overcome its problems.
“I know really well that results over the last few years have not been positive. You must be good at overcoming difficult moments, and we can only do it together,” he added.
He also warned that any return to the top would take time and would have to be achieved within UEFA regulations.
“We don’t expect to achieve anything extraordinary overnight. We must comply with UEFA regulations. Rebuilding a great club takes time,” said Carnevali.
