Tudor’s record against Chivu is the shock 1-0 defeat last term. The pair have locked horns as players, with one stalemate and one success for Tudor while Chivu picked up two victories.
The Derby d’Italia blockbuster is an important litmus test for both teams, especially as it will feature the Serie A trial of a RefCam and Inter are linked with trying to prise Juventus hot-shot Dusan Vlahovic to join them next summer.
The Bianconeri are desperate to become Serie A title contenders, having not won a Scudetto since the COVID-affected 2019/20 campaign under Maurizio Sarri. Inter Milan lost their grip on three trophies last term, to end up with no silverware.
Tudor’s task, on a two-year contract, is to end the pain of and lift the prestigious Serie A trophy. As a former Juventus defender, he appreciates the importance of the club’s motto of “Winning is the only thing that matters”.
Thiago Motta, shipped in on a three-year deal for Project Motta, got off to a flying start as Juve head coach. Yet his penchant for not losing games, as opposed to winning them, was partly to blame for his downfall and ultimate sacking after a turbulent nine months.
Wily Croatian Tudor may have bagged precious points from his nine Serie A matches as interim manager to earn Champions League soccer with a top four finish. That was only determined on the last day of the season, with victory over Venezia who were ultimately relegated.
Chivu is a tactical genius in Serie A
He only lost one match, tactically outwitted by Romanian Chivu who was Parma head coach at the time, during that short stint.
Chivu was tempted from half-a-season at Parma to take over the mantle at Inter Milan after Simone Inzaghi was lured to the cash-rich Saudi Pro League.
Former Juve target Inzaghi was in with a chance of landing another historic treble for Inter, but it ended in disaster without any trophies and a humiliating Champions League final defeat.
Tudor was at least second choice to be appointed head coach, but landed the role as ex-Juve manager Antonio Conte rejecting the approaches to return to Turin.
Now Tudor and Conte sit neck-and-neck as joint Serie A leaders from two matches. There’s renewed confidence in Tudor from fans, pundits and players. Yet these are only days, and it should not be forgotten that Motta sprinkled his magic into the club at the start of the season.
Juventus tweak on the cards by Tudor
Tudor explained during the pre-match press conference that he could shake things up: “The coach must always keep the motivation high; it's something that can make the difference in a season.
“After the international break, it's always unusual to prepare for a match. You have to balance the workload, understand who needs to rest and who needs to work harder. We've had two training sessions together, and the feelings are good and positive.
“We have strong players across the board. We’ve always played with a single striker, but getting the most out of the squad can also mean making changes.
“[Lois] Openda needs space, [Jonathan] David can also play as a second striker, [Dusan] Vlahovic can do everything and is in excellent form at the moment.
“[Teun] Koopmeiners needs some space, he's working well and was outstanding against Atalanta. [Gleison] Bremer is fine, but I think he can raise his performance even more.
“I expect to see the things we do in training on the pitch: concentration on set pieces, organisation and quality of play. I want to see a focused and prepared team.”