Thiago Motta: ‘Vlahovic and Conceicao Out for Derby, Room for New Leaders in Juventus’

Juventus manager Thiago Motta addressed the media ahead of the highly anticipated Turin derby against Torino. The press conference focused on team news, leadership, and the pressure to win at a club like Juventus.

Motta began by emphasizing the importance of the derby: “As always, it’s a complicated match, as we saw in the first leg. It’s a special game for us, our fans, and the club. We can’t wait to get on the field; it’s a match we want to win.”

Addressing recent criticisms, Motta defended his team’s performance: “I understand all points of view. In these 26 matches, we’ve only had two defeats with a young squad. We’ve had good performances, perhaps a few too many draws, and some injuries, which is not an excuse. I thank these players who are working hard. We always aim for victory.”

When asked about the team’s captain for the upcoming match, Motta remained coy: “Without Locatelli tomorrow, you’ll see. In general? Not having Manuel for tomorrow’s game, you’ll see.”

The coach stressed the importance of consistency: “Finding consistency is a need we have, giving continuity to victories. This is why the players and we commit ourselves every day for these moments. It’s one of our needs.”

Motta praised new signing Douglas Luiz: “He’s a high-level midfielder who can play in all three positions we use. A quality player who can score goals, make the final pass, has creativity, knows how to build the game, and in the defensive phase, he can do better, but like everyone else.”

On the topic of leadership within the squad, Motta said: “The coach has an influence, but being a leader in a locker room… The recognition doesn’t come from the coach but from each other. Today we have many leaders and space for others to emerge. The recognition they must obtain is from their teammates; that’s what counts.”

Addressing the team’s defensive issues, Motta explained: “We concede goals because we make mistakes and because of the opponents’ merit. Our need to achieve final victory is to make as few mistakes as possible, create more, and finish better. This is our path.”

When asked about the obsession with winning at Juventus, Motta clarified: “The need is to win; we know that very well. If you go back and look at what I said, I said that I chose this profession to win and continue to win, which I did in the past. There’s no controversy; I expressed perfectly that we know the most important thing is to win.”

Motta confirmed that several key players would be unavailable for the derby: “Bremer, Cabal, Milik, Vlahovic, Conceicao, and Locatelli won’t be there.”

Finally, when faced with a question about the team’s character being conditioned by results, Motta humorously deflected: “This question is from a Torino fan trying to destabilize the environment (laughs). We’re ready to face any situation, but you’re a big Torino fan, I see that now.”

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