Juventus suffered a strong shock after being eliminated from the Coppa Italia by Empoli on penalties, which angered their coach Thiago Motta, who did not hesitate to direct harsh criticism at his players for the disappointing performance.

Motta said: "I feel very ashamed of what we saw in the first half, and I hope our players feel the same. We cannot make this mistake in mentality; it was an embarrassing performance, and certainly, the blame lies with me, because I did not clarify to the players how important this match was and what it means to wear the Juventus shirt."

He added: "We did not qualify for the semifinals because we did not deserve it; football does not give you anything for free. You have to work hard and earn the win, but this team acted as if qualification was guaranteed."

He continued: "I expect the criticism to be strong against us, and I think our fans were very kind compared to what we presented. I want to see an immediate reaction from the players because I feel ashamed of what I saw today."

He confirmed: "I take a large part of the responsibility because I failed to teach the players the value of playing for this club. We faced an Empoli team that made several changes to its starting lineup, but we did not present anything noteworthy today; we lacked the most important thing in football, which is fighting spirit."

He pointed out: "What happened today is unacceptable; we played the ball back to the goalkeeper more than 20 times without anyone taking responsibility to move forward. We were not brave, and we did not show the character of a team that wants to win; this is not the Juventus style."

He continued: "I believe in the players because we have elements with quality, but quality alone is not enough. There are other elements necessary to win in football, the most important of which is the fighting mentality. Since my first day here, I have emphasized that mentality is fundamental, and today, unfortunately, I saw a team without spirit."

He added: "You can make mistakes in passing or shooting, but you can never make a mistake in mentality; this is non-negotiable."

He concluded his remarks by saying: "I take full responsibility because I failed to instill the fighting spirit within the players, but now, there is no time for excuses. We have to learn from these harsh lessons and work hard to restore the dignity of this team."