Juventus terminated Thiago Motta and hired former player Igor Tudor as manager on Sunday after two successive severe losses in a poor season, placing them sixth in the league. After leading Bologna to Champions League qualification last season, Motta was hired by Juventus in June on a three-year contract, but he failed to inspire a recovery.
Following an ugly 4-0 loss at home to Atalanta, Juventus were defeated 3-0 at Fiorentina last weekend, dropping Motta’s team to fifth in the standings, 12 points behind Inter Milan and overtaken by Bologna.
Tudor’s contract expires at the end of the season, but Juve can opt out until July 30 if they qualify for the Champions League. Since joining Juventus in 1998, Tudor, 46, played most of his career. The Croatian assisted Andrea Pirlo at Juventus in 2020.
Tudor managed Hajduk Split, where he started and concluded his career, in 2013, and Udinese, Hellas Verona, and Lazio in Italy.
Tudor replaced Maurizio Sarri as Lazio manager in March 2018 and led the club to a seventh-place finish and Europa League qualification before leaving. Motta’s Juventus finished 20th in the Champions League and lost to PSV Eindhoven in the playoffs last month.
Juventus lost to Empoli at home in a quarter-final penalty shootout less than a week later, a “shameful” performance according to Motta.
Juve went 21 league games without a loss earlier in the season, but Motta’s club drew 13 matches, meaning they would never compete for the title. After the initial loss to Napoli in January, Juventus won five straight, but the manager has paid for the recent hefty losses that have infuriated fans.
