“Lacks the character” – Ex Juventus star believes Koopmeiners is now hiding on the pitch | OneFootball

Former Juventus midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi didn’t mince his words when discussing the underperforming Teun Koopmeiners.

The Bianconeri splashed circa 60 million to secure the signing of the Dutchman from Atalanta following gruelling negotiations. However, the crowds at the Allianz Stadium have yet to witness the midfielder who took Serie A by storm during his three campaigns in Bergamo.

The 26-year-old has been failing to impress since the start of the season, only netting once in Serie A, as he seems to have left his scoring boots at the Gewiss Stadium.

While Thiago Motta had initially considered him an undroppable player due to his ‘unique’ characteristics, he omitted him in favour of Weston McKennie in the first leg of the Champions League play-off round against PSV Eindhoven, which was quite telling considering the significance of that fixture.

For Tacchinardi, the player’s issue is not technical nor tactical, but instead mental. The 49-year-old, who also made the move from Atalanta to Juventus back in 1994, believes Koopmeiners lacks the required personality to play for Juventus, while urging him to follow Manuel Locatelli’s example.

“Koop now finds himself in a tough spot. He no longer wants the ball so as not to take risks and be jeered by the fans,” said Tacchinardi during his appearance on TikiTacco via IlBianconero.

“This is a big problem. Either he gets out of it or it could really be the transfer market flop of the season. Take Locatelli who hasn’t had a great start and the fans used to berate him and now they applaud him. He’s not Zidane but he fights and takes risks. Today, Koop lacks the character to play for Juventus.”

“He has to shake off this fear. I’m a Juventus fan, I used to watch Platini and I like to watch players I don’t know but have personality. Gatti has it, you could see it against Benfica. I like those players and We’ve had a lot of them. Conceicao and Mbangula or Yildiz have it.”