Tudor reveals he asked Juventus players for tactical ‘preference’ | OneFootball

Igor Tudor reveals he asked his Juventus players where they prefer to play and ‘went with their sensations’ as well as bringing his own very different approach to Thiago Motta.

The Bianconeri remain unbeaten under their new coach, who has overseen a pair of tight home victories over Genoa and Lecce, plus a 1-1 draw away to Roma.

This evening saw two well-worked early goals with Dusan Vlahovic providing the assists for both Teun Koopmeiners and Kenan Yildiz, but a late Federico Baschirotto header on a free kick made it a surprisingly nervy finale in Turin.

“We could’ve killed it off earlier, the last 10 minutes were bad. Khephren Thuram gave the ball away, then we conceded that goal and the lads got anxious,” Tudor told Sky Sport Italia.

“I don’t want people to think we’re unhappy with the result, we should take it as a lesson to be learned, also from the players who came off the bench. They need to give something more.

“It was a good performance overall for 87 minutes, the first half very good, then some tension set in when they scored, but it’s fine. We go forward.”

Koopmeiners had been dropped by Tudor for the first two games, but the midfielder celebrated his return to the starting XI with this morale-boosting goal.

“Koop needed a goal, he had a good game, I saw his legs and his mind working better today. He is on the right track,” said the coach.

“Dusan sacrificed himself for the team, he had chances that he usually puts away, but it’s fine, he provided two assists for his teammates.”

Tudor has transformed Thiago Motta’s Juventus

TURIN, ITALY – APRIL 12: Igor Tudor, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on during the warm up prior to the Serie A match between Juventus and Lecce at Allianz Stadium on April 12, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Juventus called on Tudor after sacking Thiago Motta, so did he find the team was struggling more physically or mentally when he arrived?

“Psychologically it was a bad moment, as they went out of the Champions League and Coppa Italia, were coming off two really heavy defeats, so that’s obvious. Physically, every coach demands different things from his players, training sessions work well for some styles of football and not others,” explained the coach.

“For the football I like, clearly there is a very particular physical preparation that is required, as I like more pace and covering the width of the field. You can win in many different ways, we each have our own, and naturally we train based on the style we’re after.”

TURIN, ITALY – APRIL 12: Nicolas Gonzalez of Juventus is challenged by Tiago Coelho Oliveira and Lassana Coulibaly of US Lecce during the Serie A match between Juventus and Lecce at Allianz Stadium on April 12, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Tudor has changed the positions of quite a few players who struggled under Thiago Motta, including Koopmeiners as a trequartista and Nico Gonzalez on the right.

When Andrea Cambiaso came off the bench, he was placed on the right flank, with Tim Weah going to the left.

“Timothy prefers to play on the left, while Andrea I think actually does better on the right. It is how they feel most at ease, so I asked them and went with their sensations.”

The second goal was a very well-worked move with a series of give and go passes through the centre, which the Sky Sport Italia pundits suggested was the kind of football Thiago Motta dreamed of, but with the added bonus of the vertical approach preferred by Tudor.

“I don’t like these comparisons with anyone, especially a coach who was here before me. That’s never nice,” replied the Croatian.

“It was a lovely goal, that I can say, and we had two or three training sessions on how to develop those moves. It is important for me to work on these concepts that the players can enjoy, then it is up to them to bring their quality to the game.”

This is potentially a very favourable weekend for Juventus in the hunt for fourth place, because Atalanta face Bologna, while Lazio take on Roma in the Derby della Capitale, so they are bound to take points off each other.

Thanks to this victory, the Old Lady will inevitably be fourth at the end of this weekend, as they leapfrog either Atalanta or Bologna.

Considering the improvement, is Tudor thinking beyond the end of this season and to potentially extending his contract?

“I always answer the same way, I am very happy to be on the Juventus bench, I take it one day at a time and that is all.”