TURIN (ITALPRESS) – “I will give everything not to disappoint anyone and do a fair job. Juve is a club that everyone would like to coach but there is a desire to work, to do well and succeed in reaching the goal that we all know. I believe so much in this team, they are strong players. There has been little time to work but no excuses.” Igor Tudor has only been at Continassa for a few days but he already knows what he has to do. Juventus, the club where he grew up as a player and where he had already returned once, as Andrea Pirlo’s deputy, called him to save a season so far well below expectations AND where fourth place and qualification for the next Champions League are crucial to achieve.
And the Croatian coach for the club is the right person. “With Thiago there is and remains a great relationship of esteem and respect, he can be a coach at a great level and I wish him all the best – was the premise of Cristiano Giuntoli, opening the press conference for the presentation of Tudor – After Florence we analyzed with a cold mind the performance of the last competitions, we were not worried about the defeats but about how they had come and we decided to give a turn. The choice went to Igor not only because of his past but also because of his technical, human and moral qualities. He will stay until the end of the season, including the Club World Cup, then we will sit down and the hope is to continue together.”
A few months of contract in which to play for confirmation but this is not the former defender’s priority. “In my career I started coaching quite early, I’ve been around quite a bit. Sometimes I can be particular but I make choices with my heart, you live in the present. Having 10 years of contract or not changes little, I do my job the same.” Among Tudor’s first tasks is to revive players who had failed to express themselves at their best under Motta (“Koopmeiners? My job is to make him perform at his best, and I’m sure I will do that”) or finished in oblivion.
“Vlahovic is a very strong player and I am happy to coach him. He has all the qualities that a first-class player must have, he can score goals, he is a dragger. He comes from such a moment, we talked and got to work. He has a desire to start again, he is there, Kolo is there, they can play together, everything can be done. The important thing is to have strong players, it’s a young squad but it’s challenging. I saw the boys sorry because when a coach leaves they know that the responsibility is also theirs. But they are willing and determined to start again. Here I learned the culture of work, I tried to pass it on in all the teams I coached and I want to do it here as well – continued the new HCL coach – The captain will be Locatelli but everyone has to take responsibility, all go in the same direction. We have to work on everything, give light-heartedness but also mental nastiness and motivation, from the tactical point of view we have to do the right things, we have to go hard being aware of what we represent,” adds Tudor, who does not give an opinion on the defensive set-up, whether three or four because “the difference is made by the spirit, the sacrifice and it’s up to the coach to transmit these things.”
“There is to put on the helmet and pedal, you have to put nastiness but without anxiety, without pressure,” he insists, “Do I like attacking? I want people to enjoy it, you always have to score one more goal but you also have to run and defend. I like attacking with many but also not taking goals. The work must be complete, managing players, changes during the match. Soccer has to go in the direction of being more and more interesting because the world is more and more demanding.” His debut will be Saturday against Vieira’s Genoa: “It’s a dangerous team, Patrick is a capable coach, we respect them a lot but aware of our means.”
– photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
