Opinion: Five things we learned from Juve’s opening-day victory over Parma | OneFootball

On Sunday, Juventus began their campaign on the right foot, beating their visitors Parma by two goals to nil, despite being reduced to 10 men.

If last season’s season 3-o win over Como is anything to go by, we must avoid drawing too many conclusions from an opening-day victory against a youthful side led by a young manager.

And yet, we can’t help ourselves from getting excited about one or two promising prospects. After all, what is life without hope?

So here are five takeaways we picked up from this Sunday’s action at the Allianz Stadium.

Bremer is a world-beater

If Juventus have one player who can be genuinely classified as world-class, then it has to be Gleison Bremer.

Against Parma, the Brazilian didn’t have an awful lot to do since the Bianconeri were in possession more often than not. Nevertheless, the returning hero stepped up to the plate when it mattered.

On a swift counter-attack, Bremer found himself alone against two Parma players. While most defenders would have charged towards the ball, the 28-year-old had to wisdom to stick by the centre-forward, as he knew Pontus Almqvist would eventually pass the ball to Mateo Pellegrino.

Bremer thus waited for the ideal moment to intervene and block the Argentinian’s shot from close range, thus saving what would have been a certain goal.

Thiago Motta is probably still rueing the day Bremer tore his ACL.

Jonathan David is relentless

Even before scoring the opener or even getting a crack at goal, Jonatan David had already made a solid impression with his tenacious approach. The Brooklyn native looked like a man possessed, as he kept chasing the ball when Parma were in possession, or roaming all around the area in search of pockets of space when his teammates had the ball.

That being said, his debut at the Allianz would have been incomplete without a goal.

TURIN, ITALY – AUGUST 24: Jonathan David of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Parma Calcio 1913 at on August 24, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Igor Tudor sending messages to the board?

Joao Mario was arguably one of the club’s best performers in pre-season. He even proved his worth once more by launching the counter-attack that culminated with Dusan Vlahovic’s goal.

Nevertheless, Tudor insisted on fielding Pierre Kalulu in an unusual role as a wingback. In the second half, he brought in Vlahovic and Nico Gonzalez, two players who have been placed on the market.

Therefore, were some of these decisions an implicit message from the manager to the management, urging Damien Comolli and Co. to bring in some reinforcement before the end of the Mercato?

If so, this would be straight out of Jose Mourinho’s playbook.

A déjà vu from last season

Andrea Cambiaso got himself sent off for elbowing Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik in the face, thus evoking memories from last season, when Kenan Yildiz and Pierre Kalulu were involved in almost identical episodes. Curiously, all of these incidents ensued with Tudor in charge.

The Croatian certainly doesn’t condone such behaviour, and it certainly hasn’t benefited his case in any of these incidents.

However, one might wonder if this is how the Juventus players are responding to the manager’s request for additional intensity and tenacity, something that was sorely lacking during Thiago Motta’s time at the club.

Perhaps it’s time he asks them to tune it down a little.

Why Dusan Vlahovic is not a hopeless case after all

After coming off the bench, Dusan Vlahovic displayed flashes of his former self, one that is on the verge of oblivion, as he played a slick give-and-go with Kenan Yildiz before securing the result by scoring the second goal of the evening.

The Serbian sent a message to his Juventus fans (his supporters and detractors alike), insisting that he’s far from done.

At the age of 25, the Serbian is supposedly nowhere near his prime, but his momentum has been impeded by recurring groin issues. Those familiar with this sort of injury would tell you how menacing it can be, and that it requires several years of treatment.

Therefore, perhaps a reduced role is exactly what Vlahovic needs at this stage of his career, as it can help his body heal up while relieving him of the enormous psychological burden that has been placed on his broad shoulders for years.

So perhaps a super-sub role wouldn’t be too bad for the former Fiorentina star, even if it doesn’t truly fall in line with his €12m salary.