Igor Tudor first press conference

At his first press conference as Juventus coach, Igor Tudor took the stage to address the media. During the event, he took a moment to speak with Giuntoli.

Cristiano Giuntoli started …

“I wanted to start by thanking Thiago Motta and his staff for their commitment during their time here. I wanted to make it clear that our relationship remains a good one. I’m sure he’ll have a great career.”

“During the international break we reflected on the results, about what we saw on the pitch, and we decided to change direction. We immediately thought of Igor Tudor, firstly for his technical and personal qualities, and not only for his past with the club.”

“Igor will be with us until the end of the season, the Club World Cup included, and then we’ll sit down and discuss a future that we hope to share with him. We’re confident about the future.”

Now is Igor Tudor turn

“Firstly I wanted to say hello to all of the familiar faces I’ve seen here at Juventus, and then thank those who decided to trust me. I’m proud to be here, but above all I’m hungry to work. We know we don’t have a lot of time, but we know our objectives and there are no excuses. This is a great challenge.”

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“Vlahovic is a very good player, I’ve said that in the past as well. They’re not just empty words, it’s a fact. He has all the quality and characteristics of a great player, he’s had a tough time and we’ve already spoken about it.”

“Now, we’ve started to work, he’s hungry and he can not only play alongside Kolo Muani, but they can do great things together.”

“When a player is strong, it’s easy to find a role for them. Everybody was disappointed by what happened, they all felt responsible, but they’re keen to restart, including Koopmeiners and Yildiz. They both have characteristics that aren’t easy to find, they can score goals and I’ll try to find a place for them on the pitch that will get the best out of them.”

“In my coaching career, which has been about 15 years, I’ve shown that I make choices with my heart. If something stimulates me, I take it on and that’s it. If I had a 10-year contract, not much would change. I do my job to the utmost every day. We can’t control what happens in the future.”

“I met some of the guys yesterday, so I can’t tell you what they’re like. I need to get to know them better. They’re young, and the culture now is different from 20 or 30 years ago, when everything was based on personalities and characteristics that no longer exist today. Here at Juve, nothing else matters beyond needing to grow, perform and, above all, win.”

What Juventus is?

“I’ve always said that Juventus is a club that does things well because they choose the right people. All of that is combined with the culture of work, and the humility with which champions train. I remember it well, Juventus is the desire to always give your best, every day and in every situation.”

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“Everybody needs to take responsibility. We all have to pull in the same direction. We have to build a group mentality. Locatelli remains the captain, and we’ll discuss the other two or three names in the next few days. Manuel is a good guy, he has the traits for the role.”

“We have to work on everything, trying to give that bit of lightheartedness to the players as well as unity and mental toughness, the ability to get the best result possible. We have to be strong on the pitch, aware of what we represent.”

“I can’t compare my teams with the one that played up until last week. I want to see that what we’ve tried in training is carried out on the pitch. We’ve been training for a few days and we need to approach the game, first and foremost, with the right spirit.”

“I’ve said a lot to the guys this week. I’ve told them what I’m looking for, and of course the group has grown through the week with the internationals coming back.”

“We need to add a bit of nastiness to what we do, but without anxiety, without adding to the pressure that’s already on us. I want the fans in the stands to enjoy themselves, my belief is to score a goal more than the opponent, but the work must be complete in attack and defence, there needs to be balance.”

The fans? Igor Tudor continue

“The fans have always been important to me, and I know we’ll have their support on Saturday. They’ve always shown that they love this team. The guys care, and I know we’ll approach it well. It won’t be easy against Genoa, Vieira is a good coach and we respect them, but we know what we can do.”

“I spoke to Lilian Thuram yesterday on the phone and he told me: ‘If my son Khephren does anything wrong, you can slap him’. [laughing]”

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“You pick up on the mood in the dressing room. There’s always talk of heart and the bond within a team, but you don’t win with that. There’s a lot of work to do, by the whole club. The players take centre stage because they go on the pitch, but we all need to put them in the position to do their best. The players understand everything, they know if things aren’t right. You win by doing things right.”

“I took a lot from my coaches here at Juventus: Lippi, Capello, Ancelotti. It was a school of life, even before football. My team here made me what I am today, I grew a lot in Turin.”

“I don’t feel like talking about what happened before I got here, I don’t want to sit here and say what was missing etc.. We will work on set pieces, they’re an important part of football and we’ll give them attention.”

“Lippi is the coach who brought me to Juventus. When I think about Marcello, I think of this team, he represents the best. I have a lot of love for him and he’s a symbol of this club.” 🔚

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