Juventus Football Director Cristiano Giuntoli addressed the controversial sacking of Thiago Motta while unveiling Igor Tudor as the club’s new head coach.
It has been tumultuous times at Continassa in recent weeks, culminating with the departure of the Italian Brazilian manager. The management identified the 42-year-old as the main culprit behind the team’s shocking collapse. So one week removed from the beatdown in Florence, Motta received his marching orders.
However, the manager’s sacking didn’t put an end to the drama, as circulating reports in the Italian media claimed that Giuntoli and Motta had a major fallout in the days that preceded the latter’s sacking. The director allegedly told the coach he felt ashamed of himself for appointing him last summer.
Therefore, the 52-year-old took the opportunity to tackle these rumours. Although he didn’t expressly deny them, he insisted his relationship with Motta has always been solid.
“Good morning, everyone. I wanted to start this conference by thanking Thiago Motta and the staff for their commitment,” said Giuntoli during Thursday’s press conference via IlBianconero.
“I wanted to clarify the relationship with Thiago. It is and will remain a great relationship of esteem, respect and daily discussion. I strongly believe he can be a great coach. I wish him all the best.
“During the week after Florence, we took some time, with cool heads, to analyse the last matches, not only for the defeats, but how they came about, which had given us great concern. We decided to make a change because we think it is important for Juventus.”
The Juventus director then turned his attention to the man sitting beside him, explaining why the club decided to appoint Tudor, while revealing that this temporary choice could turn into a permanent one at the end of the season.
“We chose Igor, not only for his past as a player and assistant coach, which certainly made him fit in quickly, but for his technical, human and moral qualities.
“Igor will remain with us until the end of the season, including the World Cup, then we will sit around a table, as we hope to continue together, because we think he can have important qualities to carry the project forward.
“We think that this team can deliver great results in the near future. We are very confident as we have a young team that is also gaining experience. Hence, we can be competitive straight away.”
Tudor’s contract is only valid until the end of the season, but it includes an option for another year that the club can activate in case he manages to qualify for the Champions League.
