Luciano Spalletti and Fabio Pisacane were sent off at the end of the Cagliari-Juventus match, after a head-to-head confrontation. Afterwards, the Juventus coach goes on television and says: “Nothing happened. Juve likes these kinds of scenes”. It is precisely from this gap between the facts and the way they are narrated that what can be called a sophisticated verbal maneuver arises: Spalletti presents as insignificant something that he himself has contributed to magnifying in front of everyone, after losing control.
It's funny when he remembers the words he said at the press conference when he was presented in Turin: "I don't make slogans, because I don't like them. We have to let the sound of the ball rolling on the grass do the talking". A year later, after the last match of the championship against Sardinia, the ball stops rolling and he starts to explain. He shakes his colleague's hand and says: "You're good, you play well... you also know how to waste time". The other grabs his arm: "What time? What time?". The tension rises and, from the DAZN footage, a movement of the lips can be read that seems to say: "What are you doing! I'm going to slap you?". The staff of both teams intervene, while referee Marcenaro shows both players a red card.
Pisacane takes responsibility for the clash between the parties. Spalletti shows surprise, first on the pitch in front of the referee and then in front of the microphones. But, if nothing really happened, or if it was about things of little importance, why did it reach the red card?
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— o tabbaccar (@Tabacchino23) October 11, 2026
This is not an insignificant issue. It is about the nervousness of a Juventus that is ranked sixth with 11 points and that managed to save a 1-1 draw in the 81st minute with Kolo Muani, against a Cagliari that is fourth with 13 points. The Sardinian team defends, but without giving up the game, with an organic team that is estimated at 141.85 million euros, against 613.60 million for Juventus. Even the salary costs are completely different: 30.75 million euros for the Sardinians, against 145.52 million for the black and whites, who have the second highest salary budget in Serie A, after Inter. And this is not an isolated episode, but a mechanism that is repeated.
January 2023, Napoli–Juventus 5-1. Massimiliano Allegri leaves the “Maradona” stadium disappointed, while Spalletti follows him to shake his hand in front of the cameras. The gesture goes viral and creates the impression of an exaggerated demonstration. Then comes the explanation: “I was annoyed by the idea that he could leave without saying goodbye. For me, we should have said goodbye, as I always did. For me, he and I should have said goodbye, as I always did, even when I lost.”
January 2026, Juventus–Napoli. Spalletti calls Napoli “former champions of Italy”, before trying to correct the statement in a video, referring to “the best of all”. But the stone has already been thrown into the pond… Antonio Conte does not let it pass without reacting: “If he called us former champions of Italy, this is an inappropriate statement, because we still have the title on our chest. Respect is needed”. Spalletti concludes with the words: “I thought it was artificial intelligence… I hope that in the Champions League we will have other topics, topics worthy of the Champions”. There was no red card, but the dynamic was the same: the statement remains in the memory, while then comes a second version that tries to change its weight.
April 2023, clash with Paolo Maldini during the break of the Napoli–Milan match. The Rossoneri teach the Neapolitans a tough lesson, winning 4-0, although the latter will later be declared champions of Italy. Spalletti directly confronts the former Milan manager. “I react like this because you are making fun of me in front of them!”. Maldini replies: “Are you nervous because you have won a lot in the championship, coach? What is this?”.
However, the one who tries to give a definitive explanation for the incident is not the coach, but Spalletti himself: "These are unpleasant things on the pitch, which are magnified by the presence of cameras". Maldini immediately cools the situation with his answer: "I don't want to talk about this issue. He has already done it and, in my opinion, he has spoken even more than he should have".
It's a déjà vu: when the ball stops rolling, Spalletti starts explaining. And often, the explanation turns to another issue, with the same phrase in the background: "Nothing happened."
