Juventus sack manager Igor Tudor

Igor Tudor has been dismissed as Juventus head coach after 24 games in charge.

The 47-year-old’s last game was a 1-0 loss to Lazio on Sunday, leaving the side in eighth in Serie A. The defeat followed a 2-0 defeat in the league against Como and a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The loss extended Juventus’ winless streak in all competitions to eight games, having followed up three consecutive season-opening wins with five straight draws and then three defeats.

Ivan Javorcic, Tomislav Rogic and Riccardo Ragnacci, members of Tudor’s backroom staff, have also left the club.

Tudor was appointed in March, replacing Thiago Motta who only lasted nine months at the helm of the Turin-based club.

Juventus finished fourth in the Italian top-flight that season after only losing one of their remaining games under Tudor, but finished without a trophy. General manager Damien Comolli confirmed the head coach would stay in his role for the 2025-26 season in June, but Juventus have not won a match since September.

After making 174 appearances over nine years and two league titles (2002, 2003) with Juventus as a player, Tudor began his coaching career with Croatian side Hajduk Split in 2013. He has since had spells at PAOK, Karabukspor, Galatasaray, Udinese before rejoining the Turin-based side as part of Andrea Pirlo’s coaching staff in 2020. After leaving at the end of that season, Tudor coached at Hellas Verona, Marseille and Lazio.

Juventus return to action when they host Udinese in Serie A on Wednesday. Massimo Brambilla, who coaches the club’s reserve team Juventus Next Gen in Serie C, will take interim charge of the side.

There was a time when Juventus always gave managers until the end of the season before making a judgement. That has changed in the last 18 months.

Juventus cut short Max Allegri’s second spell at the club in the aftermath of the 2024 Coppa Italia final. Thiago Motta, his successor, lasted until March of this year. Igor Tudor got seven months. The volatility is indicative of a restlessness of a club that is no longer itself. Juventus have struggled for identity at boardroom level ever since Andrea Agnelli’s resignation in the winter of 2022. His cousin John Elkann has delegated to executives from the family holding company’s other businesses.

The sporting director he hired from Napoli, Cristiano Giuntoli, was fired at the end of last season. Damian Comolli, Juventus’ new general manager, decided to give Tudor the benefit of the doubt. It falls to him to find a replacement.

Luciano Spalletti is available although whether Juventus can afford him with Motta and Tudor still on the pay-roll remains to be seen. A new board is to be selected at the beginning of next month.

Tether, the crypto firm, has been increasing its shareholding in Juventus and has put forward its candidates. But for now Elkann must find a way to imbue Juventus with the spirit of the Agnelli family, which has owned the club for more than a century.