David latest casualty of Juventus-level scrutiny

You can count on one hand the number of European clubs that face as much scrutiny as Juventus. Take Thursday’s hiring of new manager Luciano Spalletti, for example.

First, there are the rumours that he’ll soon arrive at the Continassa training ground. Then the details of his contract are leaked. A crowd of supporters gathers outside Continassa. Spalletti is expected to lead the day’s training. He arrives at Continassa.

Next he is shuttled to the J Medical facility — about 1.5 kilometres across the complex. He leaves J Medical after slightly more than an hour. He greets the fans. Damien Comolli, the club’s GM, is now in his car. Spalletti is shuttled back to Continassa. Turns out he will not lead training. His contract is confirmed. The assistants are named. A press conference is scheduled for Friday.

This has all taken place in a single afternoon, and not a gesture, chin stroke or smoothing of a suit has gone unanalyzed by numerous TV and radio stations, at least three sports dailies, the mainstream press, fan bloggers and minute-by-minute logs on social media.

It’s been a bit hectic, but all in all an unsurprising few hours on the northeast edge of Turin. It’s also come as some welcome relief for Jonathan David, a recent subject of attention — and not the good kind — at Italy’s biggest club.

Following Wednesday’s match at home to Udinese, La Gazzetta dello Sport proclaimed that “David doesn’t look Serie A-worthy” and criticized his “movement, pace and rhythm.”

Given that the Canada international played just 13 minutes after coming on as a sub, it was a rather harsh evaluation. Even so, it can’t be overlooked that he did begin the match on the bench, and for the fourth time in six weeks. And yet, Juventus won the game 3-1. Was the pile-on necessary?

La Gazzetta, perhaps anticipating the question, addressed it, too. “Are we mean?” asked the matchday reporter. “No.” Alright then.

Despite a well-earned reputation as a reliable goalscorer in Ligue 1, where he tallied at least 25 times in three straight seasons for former club Lille, David was always taking a risk in joining the Bianconeri. And it wasn’t so much about the change of leagues or even the heightened pressure, but rather the basket case his new employer had become over the last half-decade.

The 25-year-old, don’t forget, allowed his Lille contract to expire in June, after which he became a free agent. For Juventus, it meant they could sign a prime-age striker without paying a transfer fee — an ideal scenario, what with the club’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) situation.

The previous season, Serie A’s record champions had been banned from UEFA competition for breaching finance and licensing rules. They’re currently under investigation yet again, and a ruling will be handed down in 2026. It doesn’t look good.

That’s all to say that David’s was a convenient signing for La Vecchia Signora, even if head coach Igor Tudor never wanted him in the first place.

But Tudor isn’t there anymore. He was sacked on Monday and replaced by Spalletti, whose first match in charge will be Saturday at Cremonese (2:45 p.m. CT, FuboTV). The mastermind of Napoli’s Scudetto triumph in 2022-23, his arrival represents a fresh start for everyone, including David.

If they take it, it’ll also allow everyone at the club to pause, take a deep breath and rationally consider where they stand with three-quarters of the schedule still to play.

FFP notwithstanding, Juventus remain competitive in all three of their competitions.

They’ve lost only twice in Serie A and could ascend into the Champions League places with a win in Lombardy. Despite a narrow loss to Real Madrid last week in this season’s Champions League, they’re still just a point removed from the play-off spots and should beat both Bodo/Glimt of Norway and Pafos of Cyprus in upcoming matches. The Coppa Italia doesn’t begin until December.

For David, specifically, a switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation under Spalletti, or even a 4-3-3, could see him return to the lineup on a more regular basis. Of course, he still has to produce, and a single goal from eight appearances is not a good enough return. At the same time, only Kenan Yildiz and Dusan Vlahovic have scored more than his one goal so far in Serie A.

From an international perspective, Canadian fans are understandably troubled by the output — or lack thereof — from their most important forward. But again, it’s November. Everything about David’s career to date suggests he’ll have bagged plenty of goals by the time the World Cup kicks off in June.

No less a figure than Juventus and France legend Zinedine Zidane believes David will soon come good.

“David is excellent,” he told La Gazzetta in mid-October. “He just needs time. I didn’t understand anything in my first three months in Turin. David needs to understand Juve… I’m sure he’ll score many goals.”

When he does, the press that has been so hard on him will inevitably come around. That’s the thing about Juventus-level scrutiny. It can be brutal, especially when someone needs to be blamed — fairly or not.

But when the supporters and the throngs of media that surround the club find their hero, you can count on one hand the number of players so unfailingly adored.

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