Juventus Officially Confirm Marco Ottolini As New Sporting Director
He's back at Juve after a stint at Genoa.
Giuseppe Labellarte
Updated on 02 January 2026
Juventus have announced the appointment of Marco Ottolini as the club’s new sporting director, confirming his return to Turin after spells in scouting and recruitment.
Marco Ottolini returns to Juventus after Genoa spell
In a statement, Juve confirmed that Ottolini officially joined the Bianconeri on 1 January 2026.
He will report directly to chief executive Damien Comolli, who joined Juve in June last year.
Juve’s appointments completes a technical area still headed by Comolli, Technical Director Francois Modesto, and Director of Football Strategy Giorgio Chiellini.
Born in 1980, Ottolini ended his playing career in 2002 and immediately embarked on a coaching career.
In 2015, he joined Anderlecht and helped structure and develop their scouting activities, before joining Juventus three years later.
Ottolini’s first Juve role was in their international scouting department, largely focusing on players out on loan and relationships with overseas clubs.
The 45-year-old also contributed to the initial stages of the club’s “Second Team” project during his first spell, which ended in 2022.
Marco Ottolini is the new Juventus Sporting Director.
➡️ https://t.co/ZMHKnmfUap pic.twitter.com/bStHemkBH0
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) January 2, 2026
Ottolini enjoyed a leading role at Genoa, during which they won promotion to Serie A in 2022/23.
Genoa subsequently consolidated their place in the top flight, finishing 11th in 2023/24, before placing 13th last season.
Ottolini also oversaw a number of key sales, such as those of Radu Dragusin to Tottenham and Koni De Winter to Milan.
Busy January window looms for new sporting director
Ottolini’s appointment ends a long search for a sporting director, with Comolli having handled the club’s transfer work in the meantime.
Gazzetta dello Sport said Juventus wanted the new director in place before the end of the year.
Ottolini has a busy few weeks ahead and he will be expected to hit the ground running.
On the contract side, Juventus are looking to get Luciano Spalletti to commit his future to the club.
Reports say he is in line for a new deal which would run until June 2028.
Juve also want Kenan Yildiz to also commit long-term, with talks described as aiming for a quadrupling of his salary.
In the market, January work is expected to focus on a playmaker, a forward, and possibly a winger.
There is also a sense Juventus may revisit the Joao Cancelo lead later in the window.
Giuseppe Labellarte
Giuseppe Labellarte is a sports journalist with over a decade of professional experience in the industry. His main professional expertise is in soccer. Prior to joining FootItalia, he worked for the likes of Sports Mole, TBR Football, the Chelsea Chronicle and numerous other sites, along with having bylines in the likes of the Nottingham Post. He holds degrees in Journalism and International Relations.
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