The long wait is officially over. After seven months of waiting, Juventus have filled their sporting director vacancy.
It’s a familiar name to some at the club, with former Genoa director Marco Ottolini making his way back to Turin following three years at the Luigi Ferraris and becoming Juventus’ new sporting director, the Bianconeri announced on Friday. Ottolini previously worked at Juventus from 2018 to 2022 before heading to Genoa and becoming their new sporting director. But now he’s back, and he’s the No.
2 in charge of the sporting area behind general manager-turned-CEO Damien Comolli, who has now filled just about every vital vacancy in his new-look front office following the failed two-year tenure of Cristiano Giuntoli.
Ottolini arrives just as the winter transfer window is getting underway, one where Juventus are expected to make some sort of moves despite Comolli previously saying the club will be limited with their business due to Financial Fair Play concerns.
Ottolini, 45, has risen up the ranks on the sporting side since beginning his post-playing career as a scout. At beginning of his first spell at Juventus, he was part of the Bianconeri’s international scouting department. By the time he was set to head to Genoa, Ottolini had risen up the ladder to a position where he was monitoring players out on loan both in Serie A and abroad as well as having a role during the early stages of what we now know as the Next Gen squad in Serie C.
Now, after three years as Genoa’s sporting director, Ottolini will be tasked with one of the most important jobs at Juventus as the club looks to build on Luciano Spalletti’s early success at the club following his arrival in late October.
Or, as Juventus put it in their announcement of hiring Ottolini, his return to Turin “represents a natural step forward in a career built on expertise, vision and in-depth knowledge of Italian and international football.”
While we don’t know what the future holds for Ottolini and how he will try and craft the roster, he is somebody who knows about a much more successful period at Juventus and what it took to make it happen. Now it’s just about putting his own touch on this team over the next few months — and hopefully years — to help this club become a consistent title contender once again.
