Igor Tudor’s start to life as Juventus coach has been tepid. Despite a convincing 1-0 win over Genoa and a promising 1-1 draw against the perennially dangerous Roma, the Croatian’s squad has yet to fully adapt to his system or recover from the largely calamitous period under former manager Thiago Motta.
Nevertheless, the mood at the club remains optimistic. Tudor’s rhetoric, which emphasizes victory at all costs and a return to the ‘“uventus way” lost under Motta, has instilled some hope in the club’s fans and may equally serve to galvanize the squad.
On Saturday night, in what represents Tudor’s third test as manager, the Bianconeri will face off against southern Italian side Lecce at the Allianz Stadium. Before the game, Tudor sat down to discuss team dynamics, tactics, and how the team is improving with every coming day.
Tudor provided some optimistic news on the development of the squad, proclaiming that despite the consternation of the past few weeks, his players are ready and eager to work.
“The group is doing well, we worked well on everything in this week that was a bit shorter than last week,” Tudor said. “You can see more and more confidence in the team. We worked on the technical part, and on the mentality as well. Every match should be approached like a final, I reiterated this to the whole team today as well. Past and future always count for little: I am happy because I found the lads with a desire to work and improve, this has been my good fortune. Their response surprised me positively, they are the ones who make the difference. It is not true that we coaches are not important – we are – but it is the response the players give that is the key.”
As always, he asserted that Saturday night’s match will be a difficult one. Lecce, as Juventus painfully witnessed earlier this season when the club tied them after a costly last-minute mistake from Andrea Cambiaso, are a team to be taken seriously despite being just above the relegation zone.
“Tomorrow night’s is a very difficult game,” Tudor said. “We have to focus on our game, there are no calculations to make or think about, there is no other way to do it. The focus is and must be on the match, the rest must interest us very little. Lecce? They’re an aggressive team, dangerous on the counter coached by a very good coach whom I respect. We, however, must focus mainly on ourselves.”
Finally, Tudor gave some updates on several players, first proclaiming that: “Sam Mbangula and Mattia Perin will be absent for tomorrow’s match against Lecce, but I think they will return to training next week.”
Tudor also discussed players such as Khephren Thuram, Teun Koopmeiners, Dusan Vlahovic, Randal Kolo Muani, Douglas Luiz, Francisco Conceicao, and Gleison Bremer, who are either in doubt to play due to injury or have contested spots in the starting lineup.
“Khephren Thuram trained with the team, we’ll see tomorrow who will play,” Tudor said. “Teun Koopmeiners can play further forward or further back, he’s energised and doing well. Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani? They’re well, I’m confident for the contribution they will make from here to the end, likewise Douglas Luiz, who comes from a year with many injuries, but is a player of great quality with a crazy shot and vision for the game. Francisco Conceicao is a strong player who I like a lot, he can decide a match at any time with his dribbles. I told those who I played a little less that I am very sorry. All the players we have are important, the changes we make are also crucial. Gleison Bremer? He is a very strong player with personality, he is always there to give advice, he is part of the team even if he doesn’t train with the group. He is very important and we can’t wait for him to come back.”
