Luciano Spalletti’s latest Juventus experiment has taken Andrea Cambiaso into central midfield, but the friendly against Cremonese at Continassa offered little immediate encouragement. The Ligurian player struggled to bring pace, quality or forward penetration to the build-up during the international break, leaving the idea as an unfinished note rather than a solution.
The decision
Cambiaso’s trial as a midfield conductor fits a long pattern in Spalletti’s career. Juventus have already seen Teun Koopmeiners used on the left of a three-man defence in Spalletti’s first match in charge at Cremona, with Kenan Yildiz unavailable and the coach seeking cleaner possession. Koopmeiners had previously occupied a similar role in AZ Alkmaar’s youth system and during the 2018-19 campaign.
The Dutchman’s deployment was repeated later in the season, although it did not transform his Juventus spell. Weston McKennie, meanwhile, has become an even more adaptable option under Spalletti. The American has operated as an advanced midfielder and late runner in attacking phases, producing nine goals and eight assists last season, while also covering either flank defensively when Juventus need to contain opposing wide players.
Spalletti’s reputation for such repositioning began well before Turin. When he took over at Udinese in 2002, succeeding Roy Hodgson, he built the side around David Pizarro. The Chilean, then 23, had arrived three years earlier as an attacking midfielder and had already begun to move deeper. Under Spalletti he developed into one of Serie A’s leading deep-lying playmakers, setting the rhythm in a possession-based side that also looked for sudden vertical passes. Udinese subsequently reached the Champions League for the first time.
The most celebrated alteration came at Roma in 2005-06. With Vincenzo Montella approaching the latter stage of his career and Shabani Nonda failing to settle, Spalletti moved Francesco Totti into the centre of the attack. The captain scored nine times in his first 10 games in the role before an injury caused by Paolo Vanoli ended his season. In the following campaign, Totti scored 26 league goals, finished as Serie A’s leading scorer and won the 2007 European Golden Shoe.
That Roma period also changed Simone Perrotta’s standing. Previously an unremarkable central midfielder, he became a persistent runner behind the forwards, described by Spalletti as an “assault player”. Marcello Lippi later used Perrotta in a comparable role for Italy, where he became an important part of the 2006 World Cup-winning side.
Amantino Mancini was another beneficiary. Having arrived as a right-sided player under Fabio Capello, the Brazilian was moved to the left of Spalletti’s attack, allowing him to come inside onto his stronger foot. He scored 44 goals in 132 appearances, an exceptional return for a wide attacker.
At Inter, from the 2016-17 season, Spalletti identified Marcelo Brozovic as the midfielder capable of directing his game. Brozovic had not fully established himself either as a central midfielder or as an attacking player, but became the pivot of Inter’s midfield. Antonio Conte and Simone Inzaghi would both continue to rely on the Croatian in that position.
Spalletti’s work at Napoli was less a reinvention than a restoration. Stanislav Lobotka had started only 14 matches across the previous year and a half, but became the centre of Napoli’s play under the Tuscan coach. Like Pizarro at Udinese, the Slovak controlled the tempo, and he was one of the key figures in the club’s 2023 Scudetto.
For Juventus, the Cambiaso experiment remains at an earlier stage than those successful cases. It was a training-ground attempt during an extended international pause, and its first evidence was limited. Yet it also reflects a coach who has repeatedly looked at an existing squad member and seen a different responsibility waiting to be tested.
