Ever since things turned for the worse at the Turin titans, which began at the start of under former manager Thiago Motta, Juve’s backline has been regularly exposed.
Tudor arrived as the cut-price option with nine league games remaining and tasked with achieving a top four finish to secure Champions League soccer.
Although former Bianconeri boss Antonio Conte was the club’s favored manager to take over in the summer, the lack of transfer money available put him off a potential return to Turin. Yet Juve splashed the cash more than Conte’s Napoli during the last transfer market.
With Tudor playing hard ball to land the permanent role as head coach, he sensationally kicked off with impressive results in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite two big wins over relative minnows, his team were fortunate to escape as their defensive flaws were blatantly exposed.
Defending champions Manchester City were the first club to be ruthless against Juve, even with a makeshift side, which set the alarm bells ringing among Juventus fans.
Only the brilliance of keeper Michele Di Gregorio spared the blushes when they tackled Real Madrid in the knockout stages, and their defensive woes were swept under the carpet.
Reggiana upset kicked off transfers
It was only after the shock 2-2 to AC Reggiana, which kicked off their pre-season friendlies, that the club realized they needed to replenish their squad to make them competitive.
With Juventus cash-strapped, they transfer-listed many players in a bid to secure funds to buy alternatives. It turned into a summer saga for Juve, missing out on some big names because of their lack of funds.
A plethora of flops and Juventus Next Gen graduates were offloaded, many on a season-long loan.
The new arrivals at Juve were nothing to shout home about, with a seemingly desperate deadline day double swoop for Lois Openda and Edon Zhegrova favored over bolstering the defense.
Shock for defensive-minded Tudor
Tudor, a former center-back for Juve during his playing days, was sticking to his guns with his tactical system of only using three defenders for the Serie A warm-up matches.
The team were well drilled to achieve some notable results, including away victories over Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta. Then it was back to the real business of Serie A, and becoming a serious Scudetto contender.
Juventus had a string of defensive summer targets, but were relying on selling Lloyd Kelly to finance bolstering their backline, which included world-class players such as Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.
They eased into the season with gentle back-to-back games against Parma and Genoa. Juve chalked up two wins without conceding, which elevated them to joint Serie A leaders after two games.
Since the international break, when many Juventus players were more of a miss than a hit, the Bianconeri’s backline has conceded a staggering seven goals in two fiercely-fought contests inside the Allianz Stadium.
New dawn for Juve's fearless fighters
Fans will be delighted by Juve’s fightbacks with a never-say-die attitude, thanks to the belief instilled in players by Tudor and the fearless energy in the line-up courtesy of youngsters.
The Bianconeri wobbled against star-studded Inter, with Tudor’s predictable tactics exposed during the second half. The Croatian switched to four defenders, which worked wonders as they snatched a dramatic last-gasp winner for a memorable 4-3 Derby d’Italia success.
Depleted Borussia Dortmund followed three days later, and like Inter dominated large portions on Juve’s home patch yet could not achieve victory.
Another high-octane encounter was pure entertainment, and once more Juventus relied on stoppage time to maintain their unbeaten run.
Dusan Vlahovic continued his supersub role to finish as a hero, after netting twice and setting up the equalizer for Kelly to make it 4-4.
Tudor's tactics are questionable
It is rare for Juventus to concede so many goals in one game, but for this to occur twice brings serious questions about Tudor’s tactics and troops.
Tudor explained to Sky Sport Italia after the Dortmund game: “There was great heart. We are conceding too many [goals]... we are dangerous every time we attack.
“In the end, individual quality is decisive in football, like the Kenan Yildiz goal that came out of nowhere.”
He added a lame excuse for the leaky defense: We conceded the goals too cheaply, they were avoidable situations.
“It was so difficult in the second half to keep the energy levels up three days after an incredibly tough match [against Inter], whereas Borussia Dortmund you could tell had a really easy game at the weekend.”
Juve’s past two matches, great adverts for the club, could hardly have been more different from their labored Serie A successes over Parma and Genoa.
Back to basics to tackle Verona and Atlanta
They now face league travels to Hellas Verona and Atalanta before the next international break, with Tudor needing to shore up his defense before they come a cropper.
They managed to notch three added time goals to keep this term’s momentum going, but Tudor’s excuse of tired legs against Dortmund in the post-match press conference won’t wash. He has a squad to juggle and must rotate rather than continue to favor certain players.
There is a fear that Tudor’s season will be similar to Motta’s 2024/25 campaign, which kicked off full of promise and deteriorated to such an extent that Juventus looked lost at the turn of the year.
Tudor is a coach who has been more of a short-term troubleshooter rather than a safe pair of hands on a long-term basis.
No need for Juventus to panic
It is not time to panic quite yet, but there are red flags regarding his defense ever since he has been at the helm. Three goals conceded against Inter, four to Dortmund, could the sequence really continue to five when they tackle Verona?
If they concede five, then with Juve’s current streak of good fortune and resilience they will score during stoppage time and remain unbeaten.
Many fans will not mind the rare sight of the Bianconeri’s backline regularly beaten, as long as Juventus are scoring in abundance at the other end.
Although it seems unlikely to be a new dawn of box-to-box soccer and a glut of goals under Tudor, who now has a job on his hands to persuade the club hierarchy how important it is to strengthen his defense during the winter transfer window.