Speaking at an “Operazione Nostalgia” charity event at the Stadio Del Conero in Ancona on Sunday, the former goalkeeper was asked about the mood in Turin and did not hedge.
“Spalletti is a certainty for Juventus,” Buffon told Tuttosport.
“He proved it in my opinion last year in his first six months in black and white.”
Juventus lost 3-2 at Sassuolo on 13 September, conceding twice in stoppage time as Vasilije Adžić settled it with the last kick. Spalletti pointed to a loss of defensive shape, noting that eight of his players had pushed forward in search of the winner. The defeat prompted a chunk of the fanbase to demand the return of Antonio Conte, whose three straight league titles at the club still frame every conversation about a Juventus coach under strain.
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Carnevali had already drawn a line
New Juventus CEO Giovanni Carnevali, appointed in June after Damien Comolli’s exit, had already moved to defuse the situation. On 14 September, speaking on Radio Anch’io Sport, he ruled out any near-term change of coach, saying frequent switches were not in his nature and that the club had to build rather than react.
Buffon’s intervention lends that message the weight of a club icon. He spent two long spells at Juventus and remains a reference point around Continassa, which is what makes his choice to speak up now, at a charity match rather than a scheduled press event, read as a deliberate signal.
The realistic ceiling
Buffon was careful not to inflate the target. Juventus, he told Juventus News 24, is a competitive team, but that is not the same thing as being the anti-Inter.
Finishing first, he added, would be a remarkable job by the coach together with the directors and the players. The realistic ambition he set out was a strong season that ends in Champions League qualification, the prize Juventus missed last term and the one Spalletti was hired to reclaim.
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Spalletti has time on his contract
Spalletti was appointed in October 2025 to replace the sacked Igor Tudor and has since committed his future to the project. The paperwork is not the story right now, though. The story is that a Juventus legend has walked into a charity match in Ancona and, without being pushed, told supporters agitating for a change that they have the right coach.
After the international break, Juventus return to Serie A duty away at Cagliari on 11 October and then host Celta Vigo in the Europa League on 15 October.
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