Giuntoli between two shores: Leadership lessons from a reply that refuses the past

When the first question about “the former sons” echoed through the press room, Cristiano Giuntoli slightly tilted his head, as if letting the words roll past him before touching his skin. Beside him, Franck Kessie – Atalanta’s new signing – sat upright, his hand unconsciously stroking the edge of the black-and-blue jersey, the colours of a project taking shape. Giuntoli looked at no one in particular, letting the silence drop to the press conference floor before speaking: “They are showing their value.” Four words. Enough to slam the door on the past, yet enough to open a room full of questions – for himself, for Atalanta, and for those watching the journey of an executive walking between two shores.

The context is not new, but the framing is deeply human. Nico Gonzalez, Teun Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz – the three signings Giuntoli once brought to Juventus – are enjoying an impressive start in Turin. Koopmeiners orchestrates the tempo like a conductor, Gonzalez explodes on the right flank, and Douglas Luiz gradually commands the midfield. The media, always fond of the “old man succeeding at his old place” narrative, question Giuntoli with an implicit comparison. But Giuntoli did not take the bait. He used exactly one adjective – “valuable” – then quickly shifted to Atalanta. No extra detail, no extended praise, no nostalgic glance. This technique sounds simple, but in top-level football, it is a deliberate pivot.

The core of this behaviour lies in knowing exactly who you serve, and knowing when to speak and when to stop. Giuntoli understands that every answer he gives is not just information, but a brick building the media story. If he spent three minutes analysing Koopmeiners’ progress, tomorrow there would be a headline: “Giuntoli still watches Juventus.” If he nodded approvingly at Douglas Luiz, another angle would emerge: “The former Juventus director regrets leaving.” But by compacting his reply into an objective remark and instantly turning to Atalanta, he raised an invisible shield: I respect the past, but I am building the future. That may be a soft skill, but it operates on the principle of good defending: never let the opponent drag you out of position.

One must look at Atalanta’s context to understand why Giuntoli must stay so disciplined. Atalanta is not a club accustomed to spending like Manchester City or Real Madrid. They operate on a “buy-develop-sell-at-a-profit” model, but they have also reached a level where they can aim for trophies. Signing Kessie – a midfielder who wore the shirts of Barcelona and Milan – signals immediate ambition. But that ambition will die if the leadership keeps looking over its shoulder. A football club is not just its contracts; it is a flow, and the leader is the one who determines where that flow is heading. Giuntoli has sent a very clear message to the players, the coaching staff, and the fans listening: I do not carry emotional luggage from Turin. My focus is Bergamo.

Yet a counter-intuitive angle here is that this very coldness contains a deep respect for his former players. People often think a sporting director would want to link his success to those names now shining, as a way to validate his scouting ability. But in modern football, pausing to count old achievements is like “defending on the counter” – a dangerous habit. It makes others believe you are living in the past. Giuntoli chooses not to feed that story. He lets Nico Gonzalez and his teammates shine freely in Turin without needing his endorsement. Instead, he uses Kessie to say: I am betting on the present. This is a quiet form of courage – something that never appears on the scoreboard, but determines the unity of the dressing room.

From the perspective of someone who has followed hundreds of matches over many years, I recognise that a leader’s shift of state is not just a sporting matter. It is a symphony of invisible pressures. Giuntoli is not only facing a journalist’s question; he faces the unspoken comparison from a faction of Atalanta fans: “He used to work at Juventus, he must know how to build a big team.” In that context, his reply is an affirmation: I am not the one who builds monuments to the past.

However, do not mistake this focus for indifference. When Giuntoli said “they are showing their value,” he acknowledged a fact: his Juventus signings were not poor. That is a subtle recognition. If he said “I don’t care,” he would be seen as petty. If he said too much, he would be seen as a man living in the past. Giuntoli found a balance: a brief compliment, enough for those involved to understand that he still follows and still assesses correctly, and enough for Atalanta to see that he does not let emotions dictate his actions.

In football, as in life, leaders are often judged by what they do when no one is watching. But in fact, leadership is best revealed through how they answer when all eyes are on them. Giuntoli used a press conference to establish boundaries. For him, the past is a mirror he does not need to glance at for long.

Now, looking at Kessie, I think about what Atalanta is trying to build. The interesting question is not how many goals Nico Gonzalez has scored for Juventus, but how much solidity Kessie will bring to Atalanta’s midfield. Giuntoli has shown us indirectly that he does not intend to turn Bergamo into a copy of Turin. He wants to create a different story, where names like Lookman, De Ketelaere and Kessie can write their own fate. On team travels, I have learned that the dressing room is the harshest place: it does not forgive hesitation. A leader who talks about “yesterday” too much will make players question “today.” Giuntoli seems to understand that intuitively.

In that press conference, when Kessie sat beside him, I noticed that Giuntoli did not mention specific contracts, no figures, no verbal ambition. He let the image of the new signing speak for itself. There is an invisible line between confidence and defensiveness, between focus and forgetting. Giuntoli walked that line without stumbling once.

And perhaps that is the most important point: A football team does not only have victories; it has its own heartbeat, and I am the one who records that beat. Today, I record Atalanta’s beat through the words of a sporting director. But today, I also realise that the sighs of the past should not drown out the beat of the future. Giuntoli chooses to step forward. The question for us – the observers – is whether we have the courage to do the same in our own journeys. Because in football, as in life, the past cannot be changed, but the direction of the next step is always ours.