Juventus v Inter: Tudor faces Chivu, past meeting favoured Romanian | OneFootball

The Derby d'Italia on Saturday will offer a novel and captivating challenge even on the sidelines. Igor Tudor and Cristian Chivu will face each other for the first time as the respective managers of Juventus and Inter, in a clash that marks a historic return: for over fifty years, the Derby d'Italia has not seen two foreign coaches on the bench.

Juventus-Inter, Tudor vs. Chivu: the only previous encounter favors the Romanian coach

The last time was on January 6, 1974, with Vycpalek – Zeman's uncle – leading the Bianconeri and Helenio Herrera on the Nerazzurri bench, in his rather unfortunate return to Milan.

The only encounter between Tudor and Chivu

The two coaches have faced each other only once in their careers, on April 23 last year. At that time, Chivu was leading Parma, and Tudor had been called to replace Thiago Motta at Juventus. A surprising victory for the Gialloblù came at the Tardini, decided by a goal from Pellegrino.

That defeat remains to this day the only loss for Tudor in Serie A as Juventus' coach. His record shows 7 wins, 5 draws, and indeed just one misstep, precisely against the Romanian coach.

The significance of that victory

With that win, Chivu led Parma towards an unexpected salvation, confirming his ability to read matches and exploit the weaknesses of opponents. It had already happened earlier in the season against his current Inter, which squandered a two-goal lead and was sensationally caught by the Ducali.

Against Juve, Chivu had to immediately deal with an emergency with two forced substitutions in the first ten minutes (Vogliacco and Bernabé), but his 3-5-2, with the Pellegrino-Bonny duo in attack, managed to contain the Bianconeri and make the most of the right side of Juventus' defense, where a McKennie adapted to right-back constantly struggled against Valeri.

Tudor tried to react in the second half by switching to a 3-4-2-1, bringing on Conceição for Vlahovic to provide more balance on the right, but Pellegrino's goal scored at the end of the first half was enough for Parma to secure the three points.

Looking ahead to the Derby d'Italia

It's difficult to make a direct comparison with the upcoming big match, given the value of the squads and the tight preparation time after the international break. However, past encounters show that Chivu knows how to strike even against big teams, while Tudor will want to prove he has learned the lesson.

The field, as always, will provide the answers, but the tactical duel between the two coaches will be one of the most fascinating aspects of this Juve-Inter.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.