Thiago Motta: ‘Juventus shameful, did not deserve Coppa Italia’ qualification | OneFootball

Thiago Motta blasted his Juventus players after their shock Coppa Italia exit on penalties to Empoli. ‘I am ashamed, it was embarrassing. You need to deserve things in life, this team expected it instead.’

The Bianconeri had been the undoubted favourites to go through to the semi-finals after facing Empoli at the Allianz Juventus Stadium, but found expectations turned on their heads.

Youssef Maleh had put the Tuscans in front and Ibrahima Konate thumped the inside of the upright, so with the crowd jeering angrily, it took a moment of Khephren Thuram magic to get Juve back in the game.

They could not be divided after 90 minutes, so it went to a penalty shoot-out and Empoli converted all theirs successfully, whereas Dusan Vlahovic ballooned over and Kenan Yildiz’s effort was saved by Devis Vasquez.

“We are left with shame. I feel honestly shame for what we saw in the first half and I hope my players feel the same. We cannot get this attitude so wrong. It was embarrassing and evidently it is my fault, as I did not show my players the importance of the match or what this jersey means,” Thiago Motta told Mediaset.

“We are not in the semi-final because we did not deserve to be.”

Thiago Motta slams sorry Juventus

TURIN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 26: Youssef Maleh of Empoli celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the Coppa Italia Quarter Final match between Juventus FC and Empoli FC at Allianz Stadium on February 26, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

It has been a disastrous couple of weeks for Juventus, who crashed out of the Champions League in extra time to PSV Eindhoven, then failed in their attempt to retain the Coppa Italia.

“I hope the criticism is very strong. I thought our fans were actually quite kind with us, considering the first half performance. I expect an immediate reaction from these players, because I feel ashamed of what I saw from my team today,” added the coach.

“I also have to shoulder a large part of the responsibility, because I didn’t teach them what it means to wear the Juventus jersey. We played against an Empoli side that was rotated from the usual starters. Talking about mentality at this moment means understanding where you are, what you need to do, why you must deserve it every day and not just expect things to happen without giving your all.

“We assumed today that we’d get through and we gave nothing on that pitch. We got the one thing wrong you absolutely cannot do at this club and that is the attitude. We played back to the goalkeeper 20 times at least, without taking responsibility, without going forward, always looking to someone else. This is inadmissible.

“We can only apologise to our fans, apologise to the club, apologise to the history of this club, because we really hit rock bottom today.”

This was the first time that Thiago Motta had started Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani together in a tactical experiment, but after almost a full year of his tenure, this Juventus still does not seem to have a genuine identity.

“I believe in the team because we have players of quality, but quality is not sufficient. You need other elements to compete in football and attitude is the main thing, which is the first thing I talked about when I got here.

“This is why I feel ashamed, because getting the wrong shot, the wrong touch, that’s nothing. Getting the wrong attitude is not acceptable. There is no negotiation on that.”

Now that Juventus only have Serie A to focus on and are in fourth place, where do they go from here?

“We have to start from the basics of football and life, which is attitude. In life, you need to earn things, to deserve them, not expect them. Today I saw a team that expected things to go their way and that makes me ashamed,” continued a visibly furious Thiago Motta.

“These are the foundations, giving your all on the field and in training, working hard for each other, respecting the history of your club. This is crucial both in training and in a match, but we showed the total opposite of that, especially in the first half.

“It was not technical or tactical, it was completely the wrong attitude. I take full responsibility, as clearly I did not teach these lads the importance of playing in this competition with the Juventus jersey.”