Tudor’s gives first Juventus press conference: ‘I wish I had a 10-year contract’ | OneFootball

Igor Tudor has stressed the importance of getting to work ‘quickly’ at Juventus after replacing Thiago Motta as interim head coach, has outlined where the Bianconeri need to improve and jokes that he would love a ‘10-year contract’ at the Allianz Stadium.

Tudor replaced Motta as head coach of Juventus on Sunday, got to work at the training ground on Monday, welcomed his international players back on Wednesday and gave his introductory press conference on Thursday.

He began his chat with the press with a message of thanks to the Juventus board for his appointment: “I thank the director, the whole club for this opportunity and the chance to coach this club. I will give everything I have to do the job that needs to be done,” Tudor said, reported via TMW.

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

“There are lots of emotions of course. Everyone wants to coach Juve. But most importantly, there is a job to do, a job that needs doing well if we are to achieve the goal, and we all know what that is.

“I believe in this team a lot, we have strong players, but little time to work. Everyone arrived yesterday, first training. There are no excuses, I’ve never looked for one in my life, I look for challenges and responsibilities. That’s how we’ll start.”

Tudor: ‘I wish I had a 10-year contract’

Cristiano Giuntoli and Igor Tudor in conversation during Juventus training on March 24, 2025 (picture via www.juventus.com)

Tudor went on to provide an analysis of himself as a coach.

“I consider myself a coach. I started coaching quite early on in my career because of injuries. I’ve already been abroad for several years. I can be a bit particular, but I make choices with my heart. I come, contract or no contract. If I feel it’s right, I continue, if it’s not right, I go home. But that has nothing to do with the situation here.

“We live in the present, even in this line of work. Having a 10-year contract wouldn’t change much. I wish I had a 10-year contract, but I still have to do my job. We have a match on Saturday, we’re motivating ourselves, that is the life of a coach. We can’t control what happens in the future. I live for today’s training.”

What does Tudor need to improve at Juventus?

Journalists asked Tudor where things had gone wrong for Juventus before his appointment, but the coach was unwilling to insult his predecessor, Thiago Motta.

“I don’t want to comment on what happened before, in the sense that I’ll see it when I get to work. Explaining why something was or wasn’t working is not polite on my part.”

FLORENCE, ITALY – MARCH 16: Head coach Thiago Motta of Juventus looks on during the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Juventus at Stadio Artemio Franchi on March 16, 2025 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

He did offer one part of the Juventus game where he feels things can be improved, though: “I like set-pieces and it’s an important part defensively and offensively. Set pieces will earn you more and more points moving forwards. It’s a component that’s become increasingly important in modern football. We need to work on it, we have to work on that aspect.”

Tudor later spoke about the importance of lightening the mood in the Juventus camp: “We need to work with everyone and bring a sense of lightheartedness. At the same time, we also need to work from a tactical point of view. Nastiness, but also in the right areas. (We have to) Work on all aspects and not neglect anything while going quickly, aware of who we represent, but we have to be fast.”

“We don’t have to give up on anything. I want people to have fun. I always want to score one more goal. I like to attack a lot, but I don’t want to concede either. The work has to be complete. Football has to go in a direction where it becomes increasingly more exciting, more interesting, the world is increasingly demanding. Everyone watches a lot of games now and it can become boring. I see and I read it. I think we need to go in that (exciting) direction, but we can’t neglect the balance.

Tudor on Juventus leaders and change in football culture

Tudor confirmed that Manuel Locatelli will be the captain of Juventus moving forwards, but has not yet got a full picture of his leadership structure among the playing squad, given that he has only had one training session with the full team so far.

EMPOLI, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 14: Manuel Locatelli of Juventus reacts during the Serie A match between Empoli and Juventus at Stadio Carlo Castellani on September 14, 2024 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

He also went on to describe how the culture around football clubs has changed over the last few decades.

“I met some of them for the first time yesterday, I can’t tell you what people are like after two or three hours.

“The culture is different to 20-30 years ago, there was more personality everywhere. We’ve seen a path of change, and now there are lots of players. When there are lots of players together, it can slow down the growth of the team. That has been somewhat underestimated.

“Nobody gives a damn if you’re young or old at Juventus, you have to be strong. Juve is a club that does the right things by making the right choices with the right people. I’ve been around and I didn’t always see that. If you pick the wrong person, you don’t do well. This has always been a strength here, starting from above. This culture, Del Piero, Zidane, the humility of these people, Montero. All the ones I remember.

“Everyone has to take responsibility. The captain will be Locatelli. We will make two or three others in the coming days. They arrived yesterday. Manuel is a stand-up, decent guy. He has the right skills to do it.”

Tudor’s Zidane and Del Piero anecdotes

Tudor also provided two anecdotes that pinpoint the moment he truly felt like a Juventus player for the first time during his first stint with the club.

“I was talking to Perin about it yesterday, I came in at 20 years old. We had Zidane in the locker room. I would sit there waiting for treatment, there are all these guys who get up and then it’s my turn. I see Zizou and I leave, he grabs me and tells me ‘you’re up, I’ll come later’.

29 Aug 1999: Zinedine Zidane of Juventus during the Serie A match against Reggina at the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin, Italy. The game ended 1-1. Mandatory Credit: Claudio Villa /Allsport

“Another good one: I’d take my socks off after training, and Del Piero would come in and tell me ‘look, you have to put them on like this, you have to turn them around.’ Why would he do that? It doesn’t cost anything. Two nice things that show their humility.”

Tudor ended his press conference with a word for the Juventus supporters: “The fans have always been important and I’m sure they will support us on Saturday, because the club (and its supporters) love each other. They care about us and I’m sure we’ll play a good game. The match will be difficult against Vieira, who’s doing very well.”