When Tudor answered the SOS call from Juve sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli in March, the Croatian was given the nod over Roberto Mancini.
This was despite a respected Italian website reporting that Mancini had been offered the Juve job. The 60-year-old has remained on Juve's radar since they rejected him for the cheaper option of Tudor.
The reason for bringing back Tudor, who played in defense for Juve and was sacked by the club as assistant head coach to Andrea Pirlo, was because the 47-year-old was happy with a short-term nine game contract worth €500,000 (US$565,000).
As Tudor’s agreement runs until 30 June, he could be in the Juve dugout for the initial phase of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup finals that take place from 14 June to 13 July.
Mancini wanted a longer term deal of four months, and more money. He also demanded an automatic trigger of remaining in charge for the 2025/26 season if he earned Champions League soccer next season.
Yet Juventus seemed sceptical of committing to long-term plans after Project Motta failed, and it didn’t help that Mancini had failed miserably in his previous job as Saudi Arabia manager.
Serie A coach changes
But Mancini is a name that leading Serie A sides should be after this summer, as his glittering coaching career has been laden with trophies with AC Milan, Atalanta, AS Roma and Juventus all expected to be on the verge of changing their head coach.
Former Italy manager Mancini recently rejoined Serie B strugglers Sampdoria, where he was a legendary attacking midfielder, as technical director.
Sampdoria initially wanted Roberto Mancini to lead the team on the bench, but he declined and rallied around to help install Alberigo Evani as head coach with ex-Juve ace Attilio Lombardo as assistant manager.
Mancini would surely be open to returning to manage a leading Serie A club, having previously been the boss at Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Lazio.
However, he has not tackled the Italian top tier since guiding Inter to fourth place during the 2015/2016 campaign. Much has altered in Serie A since then.
Mancini lasted just one season at Zenit Saint Petersburg, finishing the 2017/18 Russian Premier League season in fifth.
Mancini's international forays
He took over as the Italy manager, succeeding caretaker Luigi Di Biagio, the day after leaving Zenit. Mancini won the 2020 European Championship, but resigned from the national team in August 2023.
Mancini was lured by the financial rewards of Saudi Arabia, with an annual salary of €23 million (US26m). He left the lucrative role last October, after clinching just seven wins from 18 competitive games.
His role at Sampdoria is as a consultant, acting as an intermediary between the technical area and the team, so Mancini is available to return to Serie A.
Although he has achieved managerial success in England, Italy and Turkey, these were many years ago. His last Serie A success was the 2007/08 campaign at Inter.
Tudor has yet to produce any convincing displays for Juve, with many fans wishing that the club had opted for Mancini when it was a choice between the pair.
Despite Tudor's pressing tactics there's been no eye-catching performances, and now his future at the club hinges on whether he can net a place in next season’s Champions League.
Negotiations if goal achieved
Tudor will trigger talks with the Juventus hierarchy if he achieves his objective of a top four finish. Failure means that he will probably depart the Bianconeri after his contract expires.
Mancini is a serious contender for Juventus, although understandably he has other admirers among Serie A elite.
AC Milan could stick with Sergio Conceicao, following their impressive 4-1 Coppa Italia aggregate result over rivals Inter. He will tackle Bologna in next month's final, with victory probably required to secure his job as their league campaign has stuttered since arriving in late December.
AS Roma are on the hunt for a coach as Claudio Ranieri is moving to an advisory role, while Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini could be tempted to join Juve.
Steady hands at the helm
Juventus seem set to appoint a proven Serie A coach like Gasperini or Mancini. Even former Juve boss Antonio Conte, currently in charge at table-topping Napoli, has been touted for a comeback to Turin.
The club won’t wish to risk the same problems they experienced with Thiago Motta, which would discount younger managers like ex-Barcelona boss Xavi or Olympique de Marseille chief Roberto De Zerbi.
With Mancini’s appearance on the shortlist of Serie A sides, the Bianconeri can only afford him with the attraction of competing in the prestigious Champions League.
This has been a season where the managerial situation at Juventus has been constantly scrutinized, and their next four Serie A games will determine whether it was the right choice to have selected cut-price Tudor over Mancini in April.