After helping Juventus secure Champions League football for next season on Sunday night in Venice, it appears as though interim manager Igor Tudor has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to his future at the club.
And it also sounds like we will find out shortly as to whether the Croatian will be Juve’s manager going forward — and even at the Club World Cup this summer.
During his post-match media availability on Sky Italia following Juve’s 3-2 win over Venezia that secured a fourth-place finish and Champions League qualification, Tudor said that he will discuss his future with the club “very soon.” On top of that, Tudor essentially said that it makes no sense for him to manage Juventus at the Club World Cup if he is not confirmed as the head coach for next season — which goes against something that we’ve heard from the club’s management for much of the last couple of weeks and again from Chief Football Officer Cristiano Giuntoli after Sunday night’s game that Juve will decide on their next manager after their participation in the tournament.
To add to the situation, Fabrizio Romano and others have reported following Juventus’ win over Venezia that the qualification for the Champions League has activated a clause in Tudor’s contract that extends the deal through 2026. Juventus can either keep Tudor for the 2025-26 season or payout a buyout — believed to be around €1 million — if they want to go a different direction with their next manager.
Here are Tudor’s words regarding his future as Juventus’ manager beyond Sunday night’s season finale:
“I can say that we will know very soon, a little patience and we will decide, before the World Cup.”
[…]
“You’re making me get into discussions about which I can’t say anything. We’ll see each other soon and a decision will be made soon, we were all focused on this finale, on the games. I don’t even have to talk about it for a question of concentration, now there’s the World Cup but everything can be resolved beforehand.”
(Source: ilbianconero.com)
It had also been previously reported in the days leading up to him officially signing with the club that Tudor’s hiring on a short-term caretaker basis included being manager at the summer tournament that will see Juve play at least three games in the United States.
Juventus begin group play at the Club World Cup against Al Ain FC from the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday June 18, at Audi Field in Washington D.C.
Tudor has every right to both know what the future holds for him at Juventus and the stance to not be a lame duck coaching Juventus at the Club World Cup when he already would know somebody is coming in to take his job once the tournament is over. One of the biggest clubs in the sport, Real Madrid, have already set up their managerial succession line and will see it get officially underway this summer, with Xabi Alonso coming in for Carlo Ancelotti, who will now head to the Brazilian national team.
With rumors spinning that a certain former Juventus manager — and teammate of Tudor’s during his playing days in Turin — might be leaving Naples after leading Napoli to the Scudetto this season, the Bianconeri might be trying to rekindle their old flame shortly.
And if that’s the case, then they may as well have their new manager start work and evaluating this squad at the Club World Cup no matter who is actually available to play.
Tudor was brought in to get Juventus in the Champions League and the next step was still to be determined.
If they have determined that Sunday night’s win in Venice was the last time he will be on the sidelines and somebody else will be hired on a full-time basis, then it seems like we’re going to know in relatively short order.
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