With a winless run of six games, facing a midweek trip to tackle Real Madrid in the Champions League is going to be extremely tricky for Juve to bounce back to their best.
Their best, at least under Tudor, has been back-to-back FIFA Club World Cup victories over relative minnows. Apart from the flurry of goals against Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, there’s been little in terms of entertainment for Juventus fans under the uninspiring appointment of Tudor.
The Croatian was meant to be a stop-gap solution, given nine games to secure a top four finish. He achieved this task on the last day of the season at Venezia, but slip-ups by rivals gifted Juve more Champions League soccer this term.
Juventus kicked off this season with straightforward victories without conceding against Parma and Genoa. Since a dramatic stoppage time earned maximum points in the Derby d’Italia over Milan more than a month ago, the Bianconeri have been stuttering along.
Five draws on the bounce, followed by a timid performance to lose 2-0 at Como, leaves Tudor under the cosh. There’s a frightening similarity between his demise and tactic approach to former Juventus boss Thiago Motta.
With three big name managerial candidates waiting in the wings, but all expensive acquisitions, Juve could turn their attention to former Fiorentina head coach Raffaele Palladino.
Juventus big wig met former colleague
Italian sports media reported that before yesterday’s damaging Como defeat that Juventus technical director Francois Modesto met with Palladino in Milan over the weekend.
As the pair worked together at Monza, it remains unknown whether this was just a catch-up or a discussion about a potential vacancy with the Turin titans.
Palladino, whose last coaching job was at Fiorentina, has been out of work since leaving the club by mutual consent. He may be willing to accept a short-term deal, until the end of the season.
After former midfielder Palladino retired, hanging his boots up at Monza in January 2019, he immediately started coaching the youth team at the club.
He was appointed as head coach of the Primavera team in July 2021. With his favored 4-2-3-1 tactical approach he steered the side to the 2021/22 semi-final promotion play-offs, which earned him a contract extension.
Yet he was thrown into the deep end when promoted to the senior side. Palladino replaced axed manager Giovanni Stroppa in September 2022, despite having only 30 games under his belt and with the U19 outfit.
Palladino promoted to Monza hot seat
It was a seamless transaction. After two seasons and 73 games in the hot seat he was lured by Fiorentina to tackle the 2024/25 Serie A campaign.
He finished his first season at the Stadio Franchi by guiding Fiorentina to sixth place and a Conference League berth.
The passing of his mother during the season, a Conference League semi-final aggregate defeat to Real Betis and having clashed with fans combined to the 41-year-old making a shock resignation.
Although he had been appointed on a two-year deal and had recently signed a contract extension, it was announced that there was mutual consent for Palladino and Fiorentina parting ways.
His Fiorentina record of 25 wins from 53 games doesn’t quite hit the heady heights of such an elite club as Juventus. Yet the fact that he is an Italian tactician, having played three times for the Azzurri, is a big factor as Juve rarely opt for a manager from overseas.
Inter Milan's gamble is paying dividends
Milan took a gamble on installing Cristian Chivu to replace former Juve target Simone Inzaghi in the summer, and have become strong Scudetto contenders.
Juventus languish in seventh place, only four points behind league leaders AC Milan, but look off the pace in both Serie A and the Champions League.
Following the chaotic display at Como, Tudor faces Madrid on Wednesday before tackling former Juve boss Maurizio Sarri and Lazio in the capital on Sunday.
Two more defeats for Tudor’s troops and it will only be a matter of time when he is given the boot, with the Juventus hierarchy surely having a contingency plan in place. Whether Palladino is part of this or not will soon be revealed.
Two former Borussia Dortmund head coaches, Edin Terzic and Marco Rose, are two other names that the Italian media have thrown into the hat should Tudor be axed.