Tudor was named Juve coach on Sunday night after the dismissal of Thiago Motta. The former Juve defender has signed to the end of the season with an option for 12 months if they qualify for the Champions League.
Tudor was unveiled to the local and international press this morning.
How have these first few days been?
"Hello everyone, I know you a little. I thank the director, the whole club for this opportunity and the chance to coach this club. I will give my all, to do the right job, which must be done. There are emotions, clearly, not because Juve represents what it is. Everyone would like to coach Juve. That stuff is there. Above all, there is a desire to do the job, to do well, to reach the objective and we all know what it is. I believe so much in this team, it has strong players, there was little time to work. Everyone arrived yesterday, first training session. There are no excuses. I have never looked for them in my life, I look for challenges, excuses, responsibilities. Here we start like this."
How did you see Dusan Vlahovic?
"Dusan made a nice gesture. He is a very strong player and I am happy to coach him. I have already spoken about him in the past, that's how it is. These are facts, not words. A player who has all the qualities that a first-class player must have. He can score goals, he understands, he is intelligent, a motivator, he comes from a moment like this. We spoke, we exchanged opinions. He wants to work. We have him and Kolo who are strong players. Can they play together? They can play together, one or the other, you can do everything. It is important to have strong players, otherwise a coach can't do anything. It is stimulating. You know that it takes everything, when there is youth it is a beautiful thing."
On Kerem Yildiz and Teun Koopmeiners?
"When someone is strong, they can play anywhere. I saw all the lads disappointed, when a coach leaves it's also their responsibility. At the same time, I saw them very eager, motivated to start again. Koop the same. They are players with rare, important characteristics, they can and must score goals. They make the difference in football. Those who play near the goal. I will try to find the right positions to make the players perform better."
What will you have to solve?
"There are always these beautiful descriptions, I know they go one way or the other. Almost always it's not black or white, even if we are black and white. I consider myself a coach. In my career, and I started coaching quite early due to injuries. I've been abroad for many years now. I can be a bit particular, but I make choices with my heart. I come, contract or no contract, if I feel it's right I continue, if it's not right I go home. This situation happened, but it has nothing to do with it. You live the present, even this job here. Having a 10-year contract doesn't change much. I would like to have a 10-year contract, but I still do my job. There's the match on Saturday, we motivate ourselves, this is the life of a coach. We can't control what's in the future. Today I live today's training, I have to talk to the players, this is the life of a coach."
Who are the leaders of this team?
"I met someone yesterday, I can't tell you in 2-3 hours what people are like. I can give you a comment. It's true that this youth, it's clear. The generations are different, even the young people who arrive. The culture is different from 20-30 years ago, there was more personality everywhere. It must also be said that a path of change has been taken and there are many players. When there are also many players together, it can slow down this growth path of the team. That too has been underestimated a bit. When you are at Juve, no one cares, if you are young or old, you have to be strong.
"Work that is for everyone. Juve is that club because it does the right things by making the right choices with the right people. I went around and I didn't see that. If you make the wrong person, you don't do well. Here there has always been this strength, starting from the people above. The work culture here is what was given to me here, living 7-8 years here. This culture. Del Piero, Zidane, the humility of that people, Montero... All the ones I remember. You play the Champions League on Wednesday and you win, you play against a weaker team, in the warm-up it was crazy, that small team had an almost greater desire. This is what I tried to convey where I coached and I want to do it here too."
Who will be the captain?
"Everyone must take responsibility. The captain will be Locatelli. We will make two or three more names in the next few days, they arrived yesterday. Manuel is a good guy, a good person, he has the right skills to do it."
What will you focus on the most?
"We need to work on everything and give a bit of lightheartedness. At the same time, give something from a tactical point of view. Nastiness, but also the right things. Work on all aspects and don't neglect anything, but go strong, aware of what we represent. But we need to go strong."
Is it fair to expect a 3-man defence right away?
"I played with 4 in defense, but also with 3. I did man-targeting and zonal pressing. These are important things, but you have to look at the characteristics of the team."
How will Juve be different? How will they use Koopmeiners?
"I can't compare. I do my own thing. I see in training, and Saturday must be a consequence of that. Now there have been few, 2 or 3. I hope to show something. The spirit. It must not be missing. Head and heart. From a tactical point of view too, for the right things it will take 2-3 weeks, that's how it is. Koopmeiners? He's a strong player who wants to do. I want to make him perform at his best. I'm sure he will do it."
What did you think when Juve called you? What did you say to the boys?
"It was a great thing. I said a lot of things to the boys. It was a special week because they were coming from the national teams."
When did you grasp the sense of belonging of this club?
"I told them to Perin yesterday. I arrive at 20 years old. Zidane is in the locker room. I sit there waiting for therapy. There are those who get up and it's my turn. I see Zizou and I go away, he moves me and says: it's you, I'll come later. I was a young man. Another good thing: I take off my socks after training, Del Piero comes and says to me: look, you have to wear them like this, there's Romeo, we know who he is, he has to turn them. Why do you do that? It doesn't cost you anything. They are two beautiful things about who he is, that humility."
What do the players need?
"It's an individual thing. Now it's right to give a bit of positivity, but then we have to put on our helmets and pedal. We have to start again but without anxiety. We know the pressure of being at Juve."
Should we expect an offensive team?
"We must not give up anything. I want people who enjoy themselves. I always want to score one more goal. I like to attack with many, but I don't want to concede goals either. The work must be complete. Football must go in a direction that makes it more and more interesting, the world is increasingly demanding. Everyone watches so many games now and they can also bore. I see and read. I think we need to go in that direction, but we must not neglect balance."
Do you want to ask the fans something for Saturday?
"The fans have always been important and I'm sure that on Saturday they will support us, because the club is loved. The lads care and I'm sure that we will play a good game. The game will be difficult with Vieira who is doing very well."
A judgment on Randal Kolo Muani and Khephren Thuram?
"Yesterday I spoke to Lilian, we had a chat. Look, if he does something wrong, slap him right away. No, he is well-mannered, I know Khephren from Nice, I met him from Marseille. I saw Kolo yesterday, a very strong player, I don't have to say it. I saw him play. We met yesterday. We will try to use the team in the best way."
What insights did you get from the team?
"But you feel it, you smell it, you talk to it, you hear what the players say. Heart, belonging, you can't win with that. Otherwise we bring the biggest fan and let him train. All points of view. Motivations, both tactical and not only. Work of the whole club. Players are great protagonists. You have to make them perform at their best. The player understands everything, as one did, as the other did. If he sees one thing, he doesn't see the other. He loses or gains credibility. That's not how you win."
Did you perceive little Juventus DNA?
"I've talked a lot about this and I don't have much to add. I've said everything I wanted to say. You have to do the right things."
How do you explain a Juventus that has such a hard time scoring goals from set pieces?
"I don't want to comment on what happened before, in the sense that I'll get to work and we'll see. Explaining why something was there or wasn't there isn't even polite on my part. I like set pieces and it's an important asset both defensively and offensively. It will be more and more so, you earn points, you move up the standings with set pieces. It's an aspect that is becoming increasingly important in today's football. We need to work hard on this. We need to work hard on this aspect."
Have you heard from Marcello Lippi?
"He brought me to Juventus. When I think of him, I think of Juventus. His way of communicating and managing the locker room. I love him very much."