Thiago Motta was dismissed as coach of Juventus on Sunday after less than a season in charge with former player Igor Tudor replacing him, the Italian giants announced. “The FC of Juventus announces that Thiago Motta has been relieved of its functions as a male coach,” said a press release from Juventus. “The club would like to thank Thiago Motta and all its staff for their professionalism and for the work they have done in recent months with passion and dedication.” Juventus will also announce that the team will now be headed by Igor Tudor, who will take charge of its first training session tomorrow, Monday, March 24. “”
The decision to empty Motta followed a 4-0 defeat by Atalanta – their heaviest defeat at home since 1967 – and a 3-0 defeat at La Fiorentina in the last two games of the team, leaving Juve a fifth disappointing in the Italian elite.
On the back of these results, club directors used the current international break to have discussions with Motta, which led them to the decision that he was no longer the best adjustment for the role.
But the seeds of doubt in the mind of the club come back well before March.
After running Bologna to the Champions League last season, Motta, 42, arrived with a fanfare in Turin in July of last year. But the honeymoon period did not last long.
His team rarely delighted and raised 13 draws in the league, while expensive summer recruits like Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners did not meet expectations.
A situation which was exacerbated by the frequent DIY of Motta to his departure XI – he deployed 39 different training courses during his 42 games in charge.
And the Italian-Brazilian coach also made strange choices, in particular by relegating the Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic and the Turkish phenomenon Kenan Yildiz on the bench.
Last month, Juventus was eliminated from the Champions League by the PSV Eindhoven in the playoffs for a place in the last 16 and the Italian Cup, of which they were the reigning champions, when they lost against Empoli in the quarterfinals.
In addition to bad results, a great success in Motta was undoubtedly the perception of many club faithful that, under its direction, Juve has lost part of their DNA.
The team is no longer up to its motto as “Fino Alla Fine” (until the end) – having fired or lost 87.5% of the matches in which they have lagged behind.
All of this had led Juventus to participate in a dog fight to ensure vital football from the Champions League next season.
With only nine matches remaining this quarter, six points separate Bologna in fourth position from AC Milan, ninth, in the Serie A race for the competition of European clubs.
Tale, Pioli, Mancini?
The replacement of Motta Tudor will be responsible for obtaining fourth place, the last qualification place for the Champions League, which is crucial for the fragile finances of Juventus.
Croatian Tudor made 174 appearances for Juve as a player, before entering training. His past management experiences include Verona, Marseille and Lazio.
He was also the assistant of Andrea Pirlo when the former Italian Middle Middle was the man in charge of Juventus for the 2020-21 season.
According to the Italian press, Tudor, 46, only signed an agreement to stay in the hot seat of Juventus until the end of the current season.
In this case, club directors are probably hoping to attract a renowned coach such as Antonio Conte or Stefano Pioli – in charge of Napoli and Saudi respectively Al Nassr – to join them in June before the start of the World Cup of the new club format.
Another possible candidate is Roberto Mancini, former trainer of Inter Milan and Manchester City, who has been unemployed since his resignation from the coach of Saudi Arabia last October.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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