Giuntoli: ‘Juventus angry and disappointed’ at Champions League exit | OneFootball

Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli admits they are ‘disappointed and angry’ at the Champions League exit, but qualifying for the tournament next season is ‘too important.’

The trip to Cagliari kicks off at the Unipol Domus at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.

This has been a very strange week for the Bianconeri, who beat rivals Inter in the Derby d’Italia to climb into fourth place in Serie A, but then crashed out of the Champions League play-off against PSV Eindhoven in extra time.

“We are disappointed and angry, both for the economic result and in terms of image, because we wanted to go through to the next phase,” Giuntoli told DAZN.

“We have changed a lot this season, we lowered the salary bill and the average age of the squad. We are well aware that that there can be some ups and downs in this process, but we must remain united and keep on track.”

Juventus look to present and future

TURIN, ITALY – DECEMBER 17: Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Coppa Italia match between Juventus FC and Cagliari Calcio at Allianz Stadium on December 17, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Renato Veiga and Niccolò Savona picked up muscular injuries in Eindhoven and are therefore out of action, along with Pierre Kalulu, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal.

It means Lloyd Kelly moves to central defence, while Dusan Vlahovic gets his first Serie A start of 2025, having until now been pushed out by Randal Kolo Muani.

“We have many great strikers and the coach is trying to get the best out of them. There’s no reason why Vlahovic and Kolo Muani can’t play together,” noted Giuntoli.

In trying to keep costs down, Juventus have brought in many players on loan and that might make planning for the future difficult.

“We also own a lot of players and there are some situations that need to be resolved. We want to keep these players and they want to stay at Juventus.

“We are confident, also because we have a good rapport with their parent clubs. Right now, we are concentrated on the present and then have time to think about the future.”

Does a top four finish and Champions League qualification become the biggest imperative of this season?

“Yes, it is too important both on an economic and footballing level,” concluded Giuntoli.