The Croatian, handed a short-term €500,000 (US$647,000) contract of nine Serie A games and to tackle the highly-lucrative 2025 FIFA Club World Cup finals, welcomes Patrick Viera’s in-form Genoa today.
The omens are good for Juventus, who should possess the new manager bounce, as Genoa have yet to register a league win over Juventus in Turin this century. The fact that I Rossoblu have not beaten a top team in Serie A this term is also good news for Tudor and his troops.
Tudor’s goal as interim head coach is straightforward, to steer the Bianconeri to a Serie A top four finish and earn a Champions League berth.
If the 46-year-old can succeed then the club will discuss a one-season extension, and Tudor has already half-joked that he would like to remain at the helm for 10 years.
Big-name managers are constantly being touted to be installed during the summer, these include Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Erik Ten Hag, Xavi and Zinedine Zidine.
History bodes badly
This time last year Tudor was brought in as a firefighter by Lazio, after manager Maurizio Sarri resigned. Tudor couldn’t navigate the Biancocelesti past Juventus in their two-legged Coppa Italia semi-final.
Yet Tudor’s main objective was to finish in the top six. He narrowly failed to achieve that, as his side stuttered in their final few games.
Three Serie A draws from their last four matches of the season resulted in the club ending seventh, pipped by bitter rivals AS Roma for sixth spot.
Tudor left the club during the summer because of disagreements with the Lazio board about potential signings, and he has been out of the game before his rescue mission with the Bianconeri.
His final nine games of last season makes grim reading. His brief stint at Lazio is not inspiring for Juventus fans but was enough for Juve’s Cristiano Giuntoli.
Giuntoli under scrutiny
He had hand-picked Thiago Motta from Bologna to become Juventus manager, but Project Motta crashed after nine months. Giuntoli has brought back Tudor, who was sacked alongside Andrea Pirlo by Juve at the end of the 2020/21 season.
Giuntoli’s head is on the block and should the club underwhelm then his position as sporting director will be heavily scrutinised in the summer.
Buffon speaks out
Yet legendary Juventus shotstopper Gigi Buffon has every faith in his former team-mate Tudor being at the helm. Buffon, who made over 500 appearances for the Bianconeri, was brimming with confidence when he spoke to Sky Sport Italia.
He explained: “Igor [Tudor] has always stood out when joining a group because of his physical presence, and because he passes on important ideas.
“I believe it’s a team with important technical and moral qualities. So far they haven’t been able to express themselves. Hopefully Tudor will put them in the best conditions to fulfil their potential, technically and morally.”
But the 47-year-old then fired off a warning shot: “He will bring positive energy, and I wish him good luck. He needs it to achieve the [winning] results.”