Juventus struggling to shed Allegri's defensive tactics under new coach Motta

ROME (AP) — Thiago Motta was supposed to bring flair and new ideas to Juventus in the wake of Massimiliano Allegri’s old-school defensive tactics.

Five rounds into Serie A, the Juventus defense has been perfect without a single goal conceded. The attack, however, is stalled following three straight 0-0 draws.

Part of the problem is a slump for center forward Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored in only one match this season — his brace at Hellas Verona a month ago — combined with Federico Chiesa’s departure to Liverpool.

“Juventus isn’t conceding goals but it’s not scoring them, either. And that’s become a problem,” Fabio Capello, who played and coached at Juventus, said in a Gazzetta dello Sport editorial on Thursday.

Capello added that against Napoli last weekend — when Juventus produced only one shot on goal — the team was “really boring.”

But the Bianconeri could be poised for a breakout performance on Saturday at a tired Genoa side coming off a penalty-shootout loss to Sampdoria in an Italian Cup derby.

Attacking midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, who was signed for 55 million euros ($61 million) from Atalanta, and forward Nico Gonzalez, who was loaned from Fiorentina, are still settling in.

“I’m expecting a reaction from Juve,” Capello said. “After such a big market campaign, it’s one of the teams that can contend for the title. … (Motta) has ideas but maybe the (players) haven’t learned them well enough yet.”

Two more clean sheets and Juventus will match the Serie A record of seven straight to start the season set by Cagliari in 1966.

Goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio has been superb since joining on loan from Monza.#

Former starter Wojciech Szczesny announced his retirement in August but appears set to sign with Barcelona, which needs help following an injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The only goal that Juventus has conceded this season came in stoppage time of a 3-1 win over visiting PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League through Ismael Saibari. Up next in Europe is a visit to Leipzig on Wednesday.

Motta has been relying mostly on Gleison Bremer, Federico Gatti and Pierre Kalulu (on loan from AC Milan) at center back, with Nicolo Savona (a 21-year-old Juventus youth team product) and Andrea Cambiaso at full back in a four-man backline.

That has meant little playing time for Juventus captain Danilo, who prefers to play center back but Motta wants to use him at full back.

Whatever the combination, the defense has worked — Roma and Napoli came away scoreless from Turin.

“The defensive solidness is something rare for a coach with a new team,” former Inter Milan coach turned TV commentator Andrea Stramaccioni said in the Gazzetta. “Juventus is strong. And if it starts scoring goals it’s going to be tough to face. The Bianconeri have it all: Solidness, organization, ideas, a lot of skill, and an environment that’s energized and united again.

“Attacking is what gets the fans excited but you don’t win trophies without defense,” Stramaccioni added.

The environment that Stramaccioni was referring to involved recent years of upheaval that led to the resignation of former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli amid false accounting cases and the firing of Allegri in May for his ugly outburst toward the referees at the Italian Cup final.

Genoa started the season strongly by holding defending champion Inter Milan to 2-2. But coach Alberto Gilardino — a center forward on the Italy team that won the 2006 World Cup — has also struggled to produce goals after losing his starting strikers from last season.

Amid financial issues involving Genoa owner 777 Partners, both Meteo Retegui (sold to Atalanta) and Albert Gudmundsson (loaned to Fiorentina) left the team and attacking midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi is out following a horrific-looking lower-leg fracture last week. Forward Junior Messias also is a questionable starter with a physical issue.

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Genoa's Mattia Bani, left, shields the ball from Sampdoria's Massimo Coda during an Italian Cup soccer match between Genoa and Sampdoria at Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Vitinha, right, looks to play the ball as Sampdoria's Bartosz Bereszynski closes in during an Italian Cup soccer match between Genoa and Sampdoria at Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Genoa, Italy. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus' Timothy Weah reaches for the ball during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Juventus and PSV Eindhoven at the Juventus stadium in Turin, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus' Bremer, left and Napoli's Giovanni Simeone vie for the ball, during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus FC and SSC Napoli in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus Dusan Vlahovic, top, is tackled by Empoli's Ardian Ismajli during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Empoli and Juventus at the Carlo Castellani Stadium in Empoli, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Marco Bucco/LaPresse via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)