Tudor: ‘Juventus were tired, but right strategy’ with Real Madrid | OneFootball

Igor Tudor insists Juventus had ’10 players asking to come off’ with fitness problems during the 1-0 Club World Cup defeat to Real Madrid, but saw a ‘different strategy’ from his squad.

It was a hard-fought match in Miami and was eventually decided by a free header from Gonzalo Garcia on the Trent Alexander-Arnold cross from the right.

Goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio kept his men in it to the last minute thanks to some extraordinary saves, including on Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Arda Guler, but Randal Kolo Muani wasted Juve’s best chance in the opening minutes with a lob onto the roof of the net.

Tudor gave Juventus a different approach

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JULY 01: Igor Tudor, Head Coach of Juventus FC, speaks to Manuel Locatelli #5 and Michele Di Gregorio #29 of Juventus FC during a hydration break during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Real Madrid CF and Juventus FC at Hard Rock Stadium on July 01, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

“I have to congratulate the lads, because they stuck to the game plan we had and followed the strategy. They gave their all in the circumstances, at the end there were 10 players asking to come off,” Tudor told Sport Mediaset.

Lloyd Kelly limped off with a muscular problem, further adding to the issues in defence as Federico Gatti had flu symptoms, but Tudor raised eyebrows when substituting Kenan Yildiz.

“Yildiz was stretching, we were afraid he would hurt himself, but others were in a similar situation. There was a slot, I wanted to make more attacking changes, but Frank (Conceicao) was hurt and I was afraid we’d be down to 10 men.”

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MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JULY 01: Igor Tudor, Head Coach of Juventus FC, looks on during warm-ups prior to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Real Madrid CF and Juventus FC at Hard Rock Stadium on July 01, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Juventus bow out of the Club World Cup after two wins and two defeats, but it was an improvement on the performance against Manchester City, which was a humiliating 5-2 loss.

“We went to school against two teams of the highest level,” added Tudor.

“It’s valuable to compare where we are with these teams and learn going forward. We prepared a very different strategy against Real Madrid and it was also a different context, as the City game didn’t count, whereas this was a knockout tie.

“You don’t know when Real Madrid are more dangerous, is it when they pass it around, or go on the counter? We had a few scoring opportunities too, I congratulated the lads, and we build from here.”

Now that Juventus can begin planning for next season with Tudor at the helm, what do they need most from the transfer market?

“This is not the moment to answer these questions. We will rest now and then prepare for the next season. Let us all have a good vacation now,” smiled the coach.