Igor Tudor Set to Join Andrea Pirlo’s Backroom Staff at Juventus

Igor Tudor
Igor Tudor has agreed to become Juventus’ assistant coach | Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images

Former Juventus star Igor Tudor has agreed to join Andrea Pirlo’s backroom staff in Turin, and he has already signed the contract to be part of this exciting new era for the Serie A champions.

Tudor became coach of Hajduk Split at the start of the year, but he officially left that role on Friday, as rumours grew surrounding a potential collaboration with the new Bianconeri boss.

And Gianluca Di Marzio has confirmed that the 42-year-old has since arrived in Turin, and signed a two-year contract to become part of Pirlo’s new-look Juve coaching staff ahead of the 2020/21 campaign. The Croatian boss spent nine years as a player with the Italian giants, making more than 150 appearances during his time there.

He now has the opportunity to kickstart this revolutionary Old Lady side, spearheaded by the shock appointment of club legend Pirlo as first team coach. The 41-year-old had already been handed the task of coaching the Under-23 side at the beginning of August, but he was given an instant promotion following the sacking of Maurizio Sarri.

Pirlo is now building his own coaching staff which he believes to possess the right balance and winning mentality to succeed at the Allianz Stadium, and he has selected Tudor as a key figure in their future.

Tudor boasts previous managerial experience in Serie A, twice coaching Udinese and leading them to safety in both his spells in charge. His final appointment with Le Zebrette came in 2019, helping them to avoid relegation at the end of the season, but then receiving the sack in November after a poor start to the new campaign.

Another name linked with a role at Juve is Alessandro Nesta, who came excruciatingly close to taking Frosinone back to Serie A this season. The Canaries were defeated by Spezia in the play-off final, and Pirlo is considering a move to bring his former Italy teammate onto the Juventus bench.