Tudor ‘happy’ with first full week at Juventus, reveals what he has worked on | OneFootball

Igor Tudor is ‘happy’ with what he has seen from his first full week in charge of Juventus, and has revealed which elements of the game he has tried to work on since taking over from Thiago Motta at the end of March.

The new Bianconeri head coach gave his pre-match press conference on Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s trip to the Stadio Olimpico to take on Roma in Serie A.

What Tudor has worked on so far at Juventus, what needs to happen next

“It’s gone well, we’ve worked on everything,” Tudor said when asked about his first full week in charge of the Old Lady.

Igor Tudor takes charge of his first training session with Juventus after replacing Thiago Motta as head coach, March 24 2025. (Picture: @juventus via X)

He continued by revealing which aspects of the game he has worked on so far: “I’m happy with the first full week, it was a good one. We worked on the two different phases, on set-pieces and on our physical strength. I’ve seen the boys have a desire to do well.”

While he is encouraged by what he has seen on the Continassa training pitches, Tudor does not deny that there is still a way to go. He also provided a list of elements that Juventus need to carry on working towards.

“We have to grow game after game. I strongly believe in the work we’ve done over the week, working on all the different concepts.

“We have to work on everything: Style, structure, identity, the defensive phase. A team like Juventus can’t give up on anything. There are labels for coaches, but often that doesn’t reflect reality. The team today has to work on everything and leave no stone unturned.”

CAGLIARI, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus celebrates the first goal of his team during the Serie A match between Cagliari and Juventus at Sardegna Arena on February 23, 2025 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)

Tudor also spoke about the state of the team when he took over from Motta just shy of a fortnight ago: “I took over the team in a bad moment, now we’ve picked ourselves up and are starting to pedal. I don’t know (how long it will take), and nobody can know, it’s hard to say. I’ve already seen some interesting things, but we’ll see on Sunday.”

Tudor on Roma-Juventus

Naturally, Tudor also spoke about the upcoming match against Roma, and the difficulties that going up against a Claudio Ranieri side will present.

Many feel that Sunday’s game will have a major impact on the race for the European positions in Serie A, with Juventus in fifth and Roma, the division’s form team, three points behind them in sixth.

“It’s an important match, but not decisive,” Tudor said. ”It’s an important game and we’ll go up against a team with a series of excellent results. We want to concentrate on ourselves and implement the things we’ve been working on.

Juventus’ Turkish forward #10 Kenan Yildiz (R) fights for the ball with Roma’s Turkish defender Zeki Celik (L) during the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Roma at Allianz Stadium in Turin, on September 1, 2024. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP) (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)

“Ranieri made the difference, that’s clear for all to see. I’ve always enjoyed this type of match, I’m thinking about the players. There are difficulties everywhere, they’re a well-organised team, we can’t focus on individuals.”

Tudor also gave an update on the fitness of Andrea Cambiaso and Douglas Luiz: “They came back to the team yesterday, they definitely won’t play from the start, but we’ll see.”

And on Teun Koopmeiners, he added: “We’ve talked about him too much. He worked regularly like everyone else, he had a great week, he’s hungry and available. There are always ups and downs in football, but strong players always prevail, and I think he’s one of them. He will give us a big helping hand.”

Tudor on importance of Juventus team dinner

Juventus players go for dinner at Leonardo Bonucci’s restaurant (picture: @mattiaperin via Instagram)

The full Juventus first-team squad and coaching staff went out for dinner at a restaurant owned by former Bianconeri defender Leonardo Bonucci earlier in the week.

Tudor also spoke about the importance of team bonding:“I wanted to take everyone out to have a nice dinner. Not just with the players, but all the staff. We ate good and we talked a lot. We were happy. We went home early, had a beautiful time. Everything counts in a team, even these things, the small details.”