The Irony of Thiago Motta, from Hope to Source of Juventus Disaster

Nine months proved to be too short for Thiago Motta, who was once touted as the future coach of Juventus. Initially regarded as a beacon of hope, the perception of Juventus executives toward him has shifted. Motta is now deemed capable of jeopardizing the club if he remains in his position. His role has now been taken over by former Juventus defender, Igor Tudor.

Motta's arrival in June last year was not only seen as the beginning of a new era for Juventus after being overshadowed by the pragmatic playing style of Massimiliano Allegri. Motta is considered revolutionary in terms of playing style, referring to his success in leading Bologna to compete at the top of the Italian League standings while also qualifying for this season's UEFA Champions League.

Juventus FC announced that it has dismissed Thiago Motta from his position as head coach of the men's first team.

However, the series of humiliating defeats—0-4 against Atalanta at home, followed by 0-3 against Fiorentina—marked the peak of Motta's story with "The Old Lady." The former Paris Saint-Germain player is considered a liability if retained until the end of the season. Juventus has significant ambitions to secure a spot in next season's Champions League. The losses to Atalanta and Fiorentina have diminished those chances, as Juventus has been knocked out of the top four positions in the standings.

"Juventus FC announced that it has dismissed Thiago Motta from his position as head coach of the men's first team. Juventus FC also announced that it has entrusted the leadership of the men's first team to Igor Tudor, who will lead the first training session tomorrow," stated the announcement from Juventus released through the club's official website, early Monday morning (24/3/2025) WIB.

Motta was contracted for three years or until June 2027. His presence had brought great hope for a change in Juventus' playing paradigm which was notoriously boring under Allegri. Motta was considered successful in elevating Bologna into a team that carries an attractive playing style by relying on possession, building constructive attacks (build up), full of position rotation, and a fluid attacking line (fluid).

He was dismissed after leading Juventus in only 42 matches. Out of those 42 matches, Motta secured 18 victories, 16 draws, and suffered eight defeats. At the beginning of the season, Juventus was unbeaten in 21 matches. However, during that period, Juventus recorded more draws (13 times), which prevented them from competing for the league championship title.

His point tally is no better than Allegri's. After managing Juventus for 15 matches, Motta was only able to collect 27 points. With the same number of matches, Allegri managed to record 36 points. Gradually but surely, the high confidence attached to Motta at the beginning of his arrival has started to erode.

The disappointment of Juventus supporters was uncontrollable as they watched their team crushed by four unanswered goals by Atalanta at their own home ground. At that time, many Juventus supporters were seen leaving Allianz Stadium even though the match had not yet ended.

In addition to being less competitive in the Italian League, Motta also failed to take Juventus further in the Champions League after losing to PSV Eindhoven in the play-off round of 16. In the final match of the Italian Super Cup, Juventus had to admit Milan's superiority. Motta also failed in the Italian Cup after losing on penalties to Empoli. The series of failures then convinced important decision makers within Juventus to increasingly believe that retaining Motta would be a source of disaster in the future. Juventus has never had the habit of firing coaches in the middle of a season, especially when there are only nine weeks left in the Italian League.

From there it is clear that Juventus' top brass no longer sees hope in Motta. In fact, Motta's dismissal is believed to have saved the club from the worst possibility, failing to play in the Champions League next season.

Motta's failure to lift Juventus' performance can be seen from various perspectives, one of which is due to disagreements with the players. He had a dispute with Danilo, who was the leader of the Juventus dressing room. Danilo then decided to leave in the middle of the season to the Brazilian club, Flamengo.

Danilo's departure leaves Juventus without an experienced player after Wojciech Szczesny and Federico Chiesa also left earlier this season due to not being in Motta's plans. After the departure of these senior players, Juventus seemed to lack a leader on the pitch. This was evident from Motta's slowness in choosing a permanent captain after Danilo left.

The Juventus captain's armband has since changed hands. From Danilo to Federico Gatti. Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners, and Weston McKennie have also held the position.

Motta's move has left a number of players unhappy, especially considering his treatment of Danilo and Fagioli. Dissatisfaction has been further fueled by Motta's rotation policy in the second half of the season.

Juventus' top scorer Dusan Vlahovic was the victim. He has started just one Serie A game since the start of the year following the arrival of Randal Kolo Muani from PSG. The pair were caught on camera arguing during half-time when Juventus faced AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup final.

A less than harmonious relationship with a number of players plunged Motta into misery. A collection of 18 wins in all competitions makes him one of the Juventus coaches with the lowest win ratio, namely only 43 percent. Throughout the club's history, only Luigi Delneri (40 percent) and Sandro Puppo (24 percent) have recorded a worse win ratio since 1929-1930.

From being seen as a source of hope, Motta instantly tarnished his brilliant career at Bologna by accepting an offer from Juventus.