“He is not ready” – Former Juventus winger stings ‘perplexing’ Thiago Motta | OneFootball

Former Juventus star Massimo Mauro has seen enough to draw his own conclusion about Thiago Motta and his capability for the job.

The 42-year-old arrived in Turin with much fanfare following his historic achievements during his short spell at Bologna. However, the Bianconeri have been enduring a hollow campaign under his tutelage.

The Old Lady is already out of the Scudetto race, and even falling short of their minimum objective, which is Champions League qualification, as they currently sit 5th in the Serie A standings.

The club has only registered eight wins in their first 22 league contests, collecting their worst tally at this stage of the season in the last 15 years.

While Motta still has his staunch defenders (including legendary Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi who considers him the right fit for the role), others have jumped off the young manager’s hype train, including Mauro.

The 62-year-old explains how the Italian Brazilian’s substitutions often leave him perplexed, as they seldom change anything for the better. The retired winger thus feels that the Allianz Stadium hot seat could be too big for Motta, especially at this early stage of his managerial career.

“The way Motta manages the games leaves me perplexed,” said Mauto during his appearance on Pressing (via Nicolo Schira’s X account).

“The relationship with [Dusan] Vlahovic, [Mattia] Perin and [Andrea] Cambiaso is incomprehensible. The same goes for the substitutions. No one who comes in does better than those who they replaced. He is not ready.

“The 16 points gap between Napoli and Juve is due to the management of the coaches.”

Motta suffered his first Serie A defeat as a Juventus coach at the hands of Napoli on Saturday night after being outwitted by Antonio Conte who managed to steer his men towards a come-from-behind victory in the second half.