Tudor has been set the task of securing a top four finish to earn Champions League soccer next term, and inherited a despondent squad that’s low on confidence.
He knows the Turin team inside out, having savoured a trophy-laden playing career and then picked up silverware as assistant coach to Andrea Pirlo.
Tudor is back. He was announced as interim head coach on Sunday, having driven the 1,000km from his home in Split, to replace axed Thiago Motta.
Tudor kicks off positively
Tudor took his first training session on Monday, with 13 players absent because of international duties. He explained after training: “I saw a group that was sorry about the change of coach, but also motivated and eager to start again. And that is what counts.”
The following day defender Federico Gatti, right winger Nicolas Gonzalez and striker Dusan Vlahovic returned to training despite being given the day off as they believe in Tudor.
Vlahovic, who had only started one Serie A game in 2025, will be brimming with renewed confidence as he has long-term admirer Tudor at the helm and last weekend he ended his two-year scoring drought for Serbia.
There is renewed optimism within the squad after Project Motta left a sour taste in the mouth for the club hierarchy, fans, pundits and indeed players.
Hefty back-to-back Serie A defeats to Atalanta and Fiorentina turned Juve’s season upside down. The Bianconeri tackled Atalanta as outsiders to lift the Scudetto, but this pair of reversals has seen the side slip to fifth place and outside the Champions League berths.
Make-or-break Serie A matches
Tudor has arrived to steady the ship and has nine league matches to achieve the all-important task of scoring a place in European’s leading club competition.
He’s a big fan of left-back Andrea Cambiaso and Vlahovic, who he deems to be the best in their respective positions throughout Serie A.
Newly-installed Tudor revealed in a press conference this week: “Vlahovic is a very strong player, I am happy to be able to coach him, he has everything a top-class striker needs.
"He scores, he is intelligent, he shows great character and he knows how to motivate his team-mates. It's a unique period for him, but he wants to work hard and that is the most important thing.
"We have him and [forward] Kolo Muani, both strong players, and their presence in the squad is an advantage for the team.”
Juventus players up for grabs
Like Cambiaso and Vlahovic, Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz is being monitored by Premier League clubs seeking a bargain deal in the summer as Juventus will probably allow players to be sold at knockdown prices if they fail to secure Champions League soccer next term.
Tudor added: “Yildiz and [Teun] Koopmeiners are players with rare characteristics, which makes them very valuable. They are guys who can and must score goals, because in football those who play further forward are decisive.
“My job will be to find the right positions to allow everyone to perform at their best and contribute to the team. The important thing is to have quality players, because without those a coach can do very little.”