By Ben Efe 30.1.2026
Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini said if he were still active, he would have love to play against Victor Osimhen as his club Juve and Galatasaray are set to clash in the Champions League play off.
Osimhen will have the chance to show his prowess in Italy once again and also meet his old manager at Napoli Luciano Spalletti who coached Osimhen to his most successful year in Europe winning the Serie A title in 2022-23 with highest goals scored. Spalletti is now in charge in Juventus.
Asked by reporters after the draws pit Juventus against Galatasaray, Chiellini who retired from football in 2023 said: “I’d love’ to play against Osimhen, but right now, I couldn’t cope
“But I would love to mark him for 45 minutes. I was unlucky to face him once late in my career when my physical qualities were limited, and I had to rely more on the mental aspect. He’s a strong player; he attacks the space and has natural hunger within that you don’t see in many players.”
In 2013 Juventus under Antonio Conte and Chiellini in defence lost to Galatasaray in a Champions League group game.
“We lost it on the pitch, and I even made the decisive mistake, regardless of the snow and the pitch,” Chiellini said.
“Now we are two different teams. We must respect their quality, because they have quality players in all departments, but we must also be aware of our skills and put in an important performance. It will go down to details, like every knockout game, we’ll have to be mature to play in Istanbul and confirm it the following week.”
“Galatasaray have many important players, some of whom have played in Serie A too. Turkish teams are making investments, and there’s great respect for a storied club like Galatasaray. It’s a fascinating challenge, it will be a tough game, but also an important test for us. We still have all to play for in Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia. We have some interesting weeks ahead.”