Juventus majority owner, John Elkann, was in attendance while Igor Tudor was making his touchline debut for the Bianconeri.
The Bianconeri sacked Thiago Motta last Sunday on the back of a calamitous run that left the club out of the Champions League and Coppa Italia, while their hopes of finishing in the Top Four took major hits on the back of embarrassing back-to-back losses to Atalanta and Fiorentina.
Therefore, Tudor was called to restore order in Turin between now and the end of the season. Moreover, Juventus Football Director Cristiano Giuntoli made it clear that the Croatian could earn himself a permanent role based on the results and performances he’ll deliver in the coming months.
On Saturday, the 46-year-old marked his debut with a 1-0 victory over Genoa, while Elkann was spotted in the stands at the Allianz Stadium.
Italian journalist Giovanni Albanese believes the presence of the Exor CEO was no coincidence. Following Motta’s sacking, everyone at the club has come under scrutiny, including the players and top officials. Hence, Elkann is expected to keep a close eye on the situation in the next few months.
“Juve’s pursuit of Bologna’s fourth place is the only clue to keep in mind at this time: going beyond that with thoughts would be wrong, even if the capital strengthening proposed by Exor, therefore by the ownership, is a great show of strength that eliminates doubts about the solidity of the club regardless of how the campaign ends,” wrote the journalist in his column for Sportitalia via JuventusNews24.
“It is clear that at this point Elkann wants to see a reaction from everyone, including the management. But the intention is to secure the project also in perspective.”
Hence, Albanese believes Exor could be willing to inject another capital increase to prevent to counter the losses that would surface in case the club misses out on Champions League football next season, and thus prevent the sale of top stars.
“The possible capital strengthening of up to 110 million, to be recovered if necessary with a capital increase, frees us from the need to sell off talent and ensures resources for the market.
“Therefore, the end of the season will serve not only to do everything to reach the Champions League, but also to demonstrate that the value of the squad assembled this year is not so far from the results that were set at the beginning of the campaign.
“The managerial change was a last-ditch attempt to save what could be saved, without margin for error.”
