Juventus director: There is no discussion about Motta's position, we are on the right track

Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli says Thiago Motta's position as manager is currently secure.

The 2024/25 Italian Cup quarter-finals ended yesterday, and Juventus was eliminated by the relegation underdog Empoli on penalties. This defeat means that Juventus bid farewell to the Champions League and domestic cup competitions in a week - they lost to PSV Eindhoven 3-4 in the second leg of the Champions League knockout play-offs last week and were eventually eliminated.

In the league, Juventus' performance was also unsatisfactory. After 26 rounds, they ranked fourth in Serie A with 12 wins, 13 draws and 1 loss, accumulating 54 points, 8 points behind Inter Milan. Therefore, Juventus coach Thiago Motta publicly apologized after the game: "Today, we must apologize to the fans, management and the history of the club. We have hit rock bottom."

Motta also made harsh criticism of the players: "I feel ashamed and I hope the players feel the same. The attitude in the first half was shameful. I was wrong because I did not make the players understand the importance of wearing the Juventus jersey. Because of this, we failed to advance to the semi-finals. At Juventus, you can't just think about taking without giving."

"I would have liked the criticism to be harsher. The fans were too easy on us considering the first-half performance. I expected the players to react immediately. I am ashamed of the team's performance, especially in the first half. I bear a huge responsibility because I did not make them realize the importance of this game and what it means to wear the Juve shirt."

In response to Motta's tough stance, Cristiano Giuntoli clearly expressed his support in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports Italy: "He wants the team to regain a sense of responsibility. He is not targeting one or two players, but the entire team."

"We fully agree with the coach. Yesterday's performance was unacceptable and the team, the coach and we all agree on this. This morning we had a calm meeting with Maurizio (Scanavino, Juve CEO), President Ferrero and the coach, and communicated with the team. The players know best that they have to give more to achieve the Champions League goal in the next 12 games."

Is there a risk of Motta being fired? Jontoli responded: "We are convinced that the project launched this summer is crucial and continues to create value by using many young players. We believe that it will bring us huge returns in the future. Therefore, there is no discussion about Motta's position."

"Yesterday's game is almost inexplicable, after all, we just won four consecutive league games and never thought we would have such a performance. We are very sorry and a little angry about this. As for other aspects, as I said before, we are still confident in the correctness of the project, but we also know that it may encounter some difficulties. A large number of injuries have made the situation more serious, but we know that we are on the right path and firmly believe that we can achieve great success in the future."