Fabrizio Ravanelli says that Juventus put in their ‘worst’ performance of the Luciano Spalletti ear during their 3-0 defeat at home against Lazio on Sunday evening, claiming that the Bianconeri were ‘unrecognisable’ and that he ‘expected to see more in terms of pride’.
Ravanelli picks Juventus apart: ‘It’s a badly built team’
Juventus fell to their second defeat of the Serie A season on Sunday evening after goals from Oliver Provstgaard, Gustav Isaksen and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru in an eventual 3-0 defeat against Lazio at the Allianz Stadium.
TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 18: Oliver Provstgaard of S.S. Lazio celebrates scoring his team’s first goal as Guglielmo Vicario of Juventus reacts after failing to make a save during the Serie A match between Juventus and SS Lazio at Allianz Stadium on October 18, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty Images)
The fall-out has seen supporters calling for Spalletti’s head and pleading for Antonio Conte to return as head coach. As things stand, Juve are one point worse off than they were after seven league matches of the 2025-26 season, just before Igor Tudor was given his marching orders.
Fans and pundits have not taken kindly to the Juventus performance on Sunday night, and Ravanelli says that this was the worst he has seen from the team since Spalletti took over almost exactly one year ago.
Speaking on Radio Anch’io Sport, Ravanelli described it as: “A really negative evening for Juve.”
He continued: “I think the players played without much bite, not a lot of determination, they didn’t win their tackles, they didn’t have that fire inside of them that you need if you are going to wear the Bianconeri shirt.
TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 18: Oliver Provstgaard Nielsen of SS Lazio scores the opening goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and SS Lazio at Allianz Stadium on October 18, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
“It was a frayed team, which struggled in front of goal and conceded with far too much ease, especially for the second and third ones. Juve were unrecognisable, the worst performance of the Spalletti era.”
Asked what he thinks is the biggest issue facing this Juventus team, Ravanelli said: “The team lacks personality more than anything. Lots of players give that feeling that they don’t want the ball, that they’re hiding. This is a Juve that is not up to par. Lots of players have shown that they are not worthy of the Juve shirt.
“It’s everyone’s fault, you can’t just point the finger at the coach, the club or the team. But, on the players’ side, I expected to see more in terms of pride, in terms of that fire.”
Does he think that this is the right time for Spalletti to leave his position as head coach?
TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 17: Luciano Spalletti, Manager of Juventus, reacts during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Juventus and N.E.C. Nijmegen at Juventus Stadium on September 17, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
“It’s difficult to give an answer. Knowing the coach, he’s a very prepared person, but at the moment it seems that it’s total confusion, even from the coach. The formation he fielded yesterday left some doubts. Even in their body language, it looked like a team that had given up. One without that aggressiveness that has always set this great club apart.”
Ravanelli feels that it isn’t a simple fix for Juventus and that they have problems in multiple areas of the pitch
“When you defend, you all do it together. When I played for Juve, Vialli, Del Piero and I, and even Baggio before us, were the first defenders,” he said.
“This team doesn’t have a 15-20 goal-a-season striker. One of the biggest problems is the final third. Something is missing across all departments, but more than anything, they lack personality. It’s a badly built team.”
And as for Conte, Ravanelli said: “You’d always want a coach like Conte on your side. He’s capable and at the same time very demanding, raised with the Juventus mentality that was created by Bonpierti. He always wants to win, he’s a coach who can’t stay away from the dugout.”