Former Juventus coach Fabio Capello shared his thoughts on the recent managerial change at the Turin club, offering insights into the challenges facing new interim coach Igor Tudor and the responsibilities of the players.
Capello began by addressing the decision to replace Thiago Motta with Tudor: “Theoretically, changing coaches with nine matches left in the season, and fourth place only a point away, could be a risk. However, a club’s choices must always be contextualized, and from the outside, I have the impression that no one wanted to continue with Motta anymore. Not the fans, and not even the team: in cases like this, you need to listen to the locker room and decide accordingly. If the players were no longer digesting Motta, as I seem to understand, the dismissal was inevitable. That said, Tudor has shown courage in accepting this challenge.”
When asked about Tudor’s chances of success, Capello highlighted the new coach’s familiarity with Juventus: “He knows the environment because he has experienced it both as a player and as a coach, having been Pirlo’s assistant a few years ago. It’s a great advantage, especially in cases like this. Tudor has also taken over teams mid-season before, from Udinese to Verona and Lazio. In this sense, he has clear ideas and knows what work awaits a coach stepping in. Of course, at Juve it’s different, pressure and expectations are elevated to the nth degree, but I repeat: we’re talking about a coach who knows every corner of the Juventus world.”
Capello emphasized the need for immediate action from Tudor: “I would speak to the team very frankly, something like: ‘You brought me here, now let’s help each other.’ It’s time to remove the mask and row in the same direction: the coach alone cannot solve all the problems of a team, especially if he has little time. The important thing Tudor should focus on, in my opinion, is to restore order, perhaps without trying to impose his ideal football right away: Juventus needs normalization, we’re coming from months of confusion, too much. Unclear roles on the field, attackers playing as full-backs, captains changing from one match to another…”
Regarding the players who need revitalizing, Capello singled out two key figures: “Vlahovic first and foremost. He’s an area man, a striker who lives for goals, he needs to play and regain confidence. And then Yildiz, he has great talent and personality.”
On whether Tudor could be the right man to lead Juventus next season if he secures Champions League qualification, Capello remained cautious: “Let’s wait and see, then we’ll need to understand if it’s really the coach who makes the difference or if Juventus will wake up ‘only’ due to the players’ reaction.”
Capello concluded with a message to the Juventus players: “Now it’s up to them, they are facing a great responsibility. Backing down would be unacceptable.”
