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The unsuccessful tenure of Italian manager Thiago Motta at Juventus is over. The Italian giants have sacked him before the end of the current season, as the Bianconeri announced the decision to replace the former Bologna manager. After the sacking of Motta, Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli identified the former Lazio head coach Igor Tudor as the new caretaker manager until the end of the season. 

On Sunday, Juventus issued the following statement: "Juventus FC announce that Thiago Motta has been relieved of his duties as Men's First Team coach. The club would like to thank Thiago Motta and all of his staff for their professionalism and for the work they have carried out in recent months with passion and dedication. The club wish them the best of luck for the future. Juventus FC also announce that the men's first team will now be led by Igor Tudor, who will take charge of his first training session tomorrow, Monday, 24 March."

The Croatian manager was a Juventus player in the past and the assistant of Andrea Pirlo during the 2020-21 season before he moved to Hellas Verona and then to Olympique Marseille, before a short stint at Lazio after the resignation of Maurizio Sarri at the club. Tudor was meant to start a new cycle at the Italian club, but then parted ways after three months in charge of Lazio, and the Biancocelesti decided later to appoint Marco Baroni as their new head coach in the summer 2024. 

Motta's campaign at Juventus has been deeply unsuccessful after the club decided to appoint the former Bologna manager to start a new era after the sacking of Massimiliano Allegri. With a lot of expectations on his shoulders, Motta was not able to deliver and despite still being in the race for a spot in the next Champions League, Juventus are currently out of the Coppa Italia after being eliminated by Empoli and also were knocked out by PSV in the UEFA Champions League playoffs. 

More than the results, he was not able to recreate the exciting quality of football he showed when he was the Bologna manager last season, reaching the first ever UEFA Champions League qualification in the history of the club. On top of this, according to multiple reports, some key players were not happy with the coach and showed some disappointment, such as Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic and Turkish talent Kenan Yildiz. 

Juventus are facing Genoa next week in Turin, after the end of the international break, where Tudor will make his debut on the Bianconeri bench and he will take charge at least until the end of the FIFA Club World Cup, where Juventus will meet Manchester City, Wydad Casablanca and Al-Ain in the group stage. In the last two Serie A games against Fiorentina and Atalanta, the Bianconeri conceded seven goals and scored none, and in particular the 4-0 home defeat against Atalanta marked their worst home loss in a Serie A match since October 1967, when they last conceded four or more goals. Those are two games that also marked a big fracture between the fanbase and the current manager, and they pushed the Italian club to make an early decision about Motta's future.