After playing two entirely different starting line-ups for each half during Saturday’s 2-2 stalemate against the Serie B side, the Bianconeri have hastily arranged a new friendly to make the squad sharper.
Atalanta will play host on 16 August, less than a week after Juventus have visited Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
Former AS Roma boss Ivan Juric was appointed as Atalanta manager in June,, with his team fifth favorites with bookmakers to clinch the Serie A title.
Tudor’s tenure with the Turin titans has only seen three sweeping victories. They brushed aside Udinese inside the Allianz Stadium, then kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with convincing results over Al-Ain FC and Wydad AC.
The 3-4-2-1 formation that Tudor has favored throughout his managerial career was employed at Juventus. Yet the team displays have been labored and far from eye-catching.
As their defensive frailties were fully exposed at the Club World Cup, with only Manchester City managing to punish Juve, and again at the hands of Reggiana, then Tudor is toying with the idea of tweaking his system to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
This is the same tactical approach that initially brought joy and goals to Juventus under Thiago Motta. There were a plethora of reasons why the wheels came off for the former head coach.
Tudor digs his heels in
Tudor is a stubborn, no-nonsense manager who tends to stick to his guns. Although he has made U-turns at Juve, including the value of right winger Francisco Conceicao.
He was originally dismissive of using the loanee, but the Portuguese international was a revelation and has since joined the Serie A side in a big-money move.
The switch from Motta’s traditional four defenders to a back three generally saw Federico Gatti, Pierre Kalulu and Renato Veiga involved with Lloyd Kelly rotated in.
Tudor implemented depth and support with Andrea Cambiaso and Timothy Weah as wingbacks, as the squad swiftly adapted to their new chief who relies on tactical discipline.
Creating scoring chances
His approach was very much altered from Motta’s methods, especially in terms of covering space across all positions, creating goal-scoring chances and moving the ball forward.
Motta did frequently change the dynamics of his midfield, but rotated players too frequently, when he swapped his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation for a 4-3-3 approach that included a pair of no8s.
Tudor has tested out Motta’s 4-2-3-1 with the squad he has inherited and trimmed, plus his three new signings, as they warm-up for Sunday’s friendly against Borussia.
Goal poacher Jonathan David has been the preferred target man. Turkish talent Kenan Yildiz has been in his familiar role as a no10, with Conceicao and Teun Koopmeiners in support on the flanks. Andrea Cambiaso and newcomer Joao Mario have slotted in as full-backs.
Learning from Motta
Tudor likes to swiftly build up play from the back, courtesy of short passes, and can learn from Motta whose defense used to be solid and tactics created wide spaces to exploit.
There could be a familiar look to Juventus this weekend in Germany, although it is a risky gamble for Tudor unless they look as disorganized during the first half against Borussia as they were against Reggiana.
A disciplined display is required from Tudor's troops, with a switch of formation seemingly his safety net if the team continue to create uninspiring performances and appear dismal in defense.