Patrick Vieira, who has transformed Genoa’s fortunes since replacing axed manager Alberto Gilardino in November, brings his mid-table team to the cauldron of the Allianz Stadium with just one defeat in their past six games.
His Genoa side will be sporting their new fourth edition kit for the first time when they face Juventus, which could prove uplifting for the I Rossoblue.
Debuts for Genoa and Juventus
Their navy blue jersey with a yellow stripe across the center design is inspired by the colors of Boca Juniors. The Argentine club, founded by Genoese immigrants in Buenos Aires, is celebrating its 120th year anniversary.
It will also be a debut at the weekend for Igor Tudor, who verbally agreed to become the interim head coach on Saturday and was unveiled the following date after Thiago Motta was given the boot.
Back in the dugout for Tudor
He will back in the dugout for the Bianconeri and the former fans favourite is intent on getting the club back to winning ways, following their blip of shocking back-to-back hefty Serie A defeats.
The Croatian enjoyed a trophy-laden playing career for Juventus, and was Juve’s assistant head coach Andrea Pirlo for the 2020/21 season. It could be third time lucky for the 46-year-old.
He’s already half-joked during a press conference that he would like to remain at the helm after his short-term €500,000 (US$648,000) contract expires on 30 June, by stating that he would ideally like to be the Juventus boss for the next 10 years.
The club are already sounding out potential other permanent candidates, with big name coaches touted by one investor. This is despite Tudor and Juventus leaving it open about extending his deal for a year, if he succeeds during his nine-game Serie A stint.
Tudor is expected to shuffle the squad for Genoa’s visit. His objective is to bring some stability, shore up the sorry-looking defense by implementing three top-quality players and play wing-backs to help provide striker Dusan Vlahovic with goal-scoring chances.
Ex-Serie A star speaks out
Former AC Milan and Inter Milan midfielder Viera, who is managing his fifth club in a decade, spoke in a press conference about playing Juventus.
He admitted: “We are yet to beat a big club this season, but the positive thing is that we were able to compete.
“We expect a difficult match considering the quality of the Juve squad, but also because a change of coach brings fresh energy to the group.
“It would not have been easy even if [Thiago] Motta had still been in charge. The players always give a response when there is a change of coach, especially at a big team like Juve.
“We are ready to face them with the intention of winning the game. We are a team who want to confirm the good work we’ve done in recent weeks, as there are many positives from those performances.
“In order to win we must do better on the details as we still haven’t achieved our objective, which is to secure Serie A status.”