Despite Juventus being two goals ahead and completely in control of the match against AZ Alkmaar, Luciano Spalletti continued to be angry with his players on the bench. Imagine what happened in the final minutes, when the Dutch narrowed the gap, risking compromising the black and white victory. The coach was completely transformed, while Cabal threatened him by putting his fist near his face. A reaction that came from the risk of devaluing a fully deserved victory. And, beyond the strong reaction, he was not at all wrong about the tactical stance of the full-back.
Spalletti was unimpressed with the Colombian defender, especially for the way he defended in the case of the AZ Alkmaar goal. The Juventus number 32 did not read the action and lost his opponent, who then made the breakthrough that led to the goal. A little later, when Cabal went to the bench, the coach became angry, pointing his fist at him, gritting his teeth and approaching him in a threatening manner. Spalletti invited the player, in his own way, to be more attentive and not to repeat the same mistake, telling him: “I will punch you”. It is difficult to be clearer than that. Cabal seemed in difficulty and timidly tried to ask for further explanations for his movement.
Spalletti furious with Cabal
After the match, the coach preferred not to dwell on the players individually, neither for good nor for bad. However, he did have something to say, focusing in particular on the mistakes made, which almost detracted from Juventus' excellent performance, which ended AZ's 17-match unbeaten run at home in Europe.
Spalletti gave the right messages: "What is the thing that convinces me the least about Juventus? I am convinced when I see them have the right attitude. What worries me is when a goal is conceded and then: 'Why doesn't this other one come?' Or: 'I took over this player, but who is mine? This one is yours, this one is mine'. And then the opponents move, find space, break you with the ball behind your back and you concede a goal because of a decision that was not made. Decisions that are not made are worse than wrong ones, because if you decide, decide wrongly and do the wrong thing, the cost is less than that of a decision that is not made. The one that is not made is the worst of all decisions".
Cabal may make another mistake next time, but it will be important not to hesitate, as he did in the action that seriously threatened to reopen the match.
