Igor Tudor

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Igor Tudor (born 16 April 1978) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Serie A club Juventus.

Capable of playing either as a defender or defensive midfielder, Tudor spent most of his playing career at Juventus, winning several trophies during that time. He was a part of the Croatia national team at UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 and 1998 World Cup, but missed the 2002 World Cup due to injury.<ref name="Addio Mondiali per Tudor"/> Tudor announced his retirement on 22 July 2008 at age 30, after problems with his right ankle reappeared. He spent his final season playing for his youth club, Hajduk Split.

As manager, Tudor took charge of Hajduk from 2013 to 2015, and spent eight months with PAOK in the 2015–16 season. In Turkey, he managed Karabükspor from 2016 to 2017, and Galatasaray in 2017. From April to June 2018, Tudor managed Serie A side Udinese and in that time, saved the club from relegation to Serie B. In March 2019, he came back to Udinese. After he returned to Hajduk in January 2020, Andrea Pirlo invited Tudor to join his coaching staff at Juventus in August 2020, an offer which Tudor accepted. He became manager of Marseille in 2022 before leaving the club after one season in 2023. In March 2024, he returned to Serie A and was appointed as manager of Lazio before resigning at the end of the season. In March 2025, he returned to Juventus in the position of manager but was sacked in October after a poor start to the season.

Playing career

Following three successful seasons at Hajduk Split, Tudor was noticed by Italian club Juventus in 1998 and signed for them shortly afterwards; he later won the Croatian Player of the Year award in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At international level, Tudor earned a total of 55 appearances, scoring three goals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Style of play

Tudor was considered one of Croatia's best defenders in the period between the late 1990s and mid-2000s. Tudor was a large, hard-working, strong and imposing defender who excelled in the air, making him a dangerous goal threat during set pieces.<ref name="Gli eroi in bianconero: Igor Tudor">Template:Cite web</ref> He was also a tight man-marker and a hard tackling defender, with great tactical intelligence.<ref name="Gli eroi in bianconero: Igor Tudor"/> Despite being primarily a central defender, he was capable of playing anywhere along the back line and even as a defensive midfielder, which was made possible due to his tactical versatility, stamina, and his surprisingly capable technical skills, ball control and distribution for such a large and physical player.<ref name="Gli eroi in bianconero: Igor Tudor"/> Despite his talent, he was also injury-prone, which is often thought to have affected his playing career.<ref name="Addio Mondiali per Tudor">Template:Cite news</ref>

Managerial career

Early management career

Tudor managing Hajduk Split in August 2014

On 4 February 2015, Tudor resigned from Hajduk Split after managing the club for more than year and nine months.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 18 June 2015, Tudor was appointed coach of PAOK, signing a three-year contract.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He lost 2–1 against Lokomotiva in his debut with PAOK for the second qualifying round of UEFA Europa League.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was sacked on 9 March 2016 due to "unsuccessful results and raging comments about the quality of the team".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 18 June 2016, he was appointed coach of Karabükspor on a one-year contract.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 15 February 2017, Tudor was appointed coach of Galatasaray, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract with the club.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was sacked by the club on 18 December.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Udinese

Tudor during Udinese training session in 2019

On 24 April 2018, Tudor was appointed coach of Italian club Udinese.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 13 May 2018, he led the club to a 1–0 victory against Verona.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 7 June, despite saving Udinese from relegation to Serie B, Tudor left the club after choosing to not extending his contract club's management.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 20 March 2019, he became for a second time, the manager of Italian team Udinese.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His first win as Udinese's manager came on 30 March 2019 in a 2–0 home victory against Genoa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following poor results, Tudor was sacked on 1 November.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Return to Hajduk Split

On 23 December 2019, Hajduk announced that Tudor has been selected as new manager.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 2 January 2020, he officially took his role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 2 February, Tudor led his first match with Hajduk after three-and-a-half years in a 3–0 victory against Varaždin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Juventus (assistant)

On 23 August 2020, Tudor resigned from Hajduk Split<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and accepted to assist Andrea Pirlo in the Serie A club Juventus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were sacked after Inter Milan reclaimed its Serie A title.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hellas Verona

On 14 September 2021, Tudor was appointed coach Serie A club Hellas Verona in place of Eusebio Di Francesco.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tudor immediately managed to turn the club's fortunes, ending the season in ninth place and achieving impressive performances throughout the season. On 28 May 2022, Verona announced to have parted ways with Tudor by mutual consent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Marseille

On 4 July 2022, Tudor was named as the next manager of Marseille in the French Ligue 1.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League, Marseille were knocked out after finishing bottom of their group, following a 2–1 home loss against Tottenham Hotspur.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 1 June 2023, Tudor announced that he was to part ways with the French club at the end of the season, stating in an official press release of his "tiredness" with the club.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon his departure from the club, Tudor had secured a third place finish in Ligue 1,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> therefore guaranteeing Marseille a place in the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League qualification stage.

Return to Italy

On 18 March 2024, Tudor signed with Serie A club Lazio after Maurizio Sarri resigned.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> The same year on 5 June, he resigned from his position at the end of 2023–24 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 23 March 2025, Tudor replaced Thiago Motta as head coach of Serie A club Juventus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This appointment marked the first time Juventus had appointed a foreign manager since Didier Deschamps in the 2006–07 season. He eventually guided the club to the fourth place of league table and Champions League qualification at the end of the 2024–25 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 13 June, Tudor signed a contract extension that kept him in the club until 2028.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his first Champions League match with Juventus, he oversaw a 4–4 home draw against Borussia Dortmund, managed by Niko Kovač, 25 years after a 4–4 draw between Juventus and Hamburg in which both had scored as players.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tudor was sacked by Juventus on 27 October, a day after the team lost 1–0 away to Lazio, extending their winless run to eight games, ending his tenure after seven months in charge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Coaching style

Known for his forward-looking philosophy, Tudor seeks to impose an aggressive style of play in his teams. Describing his preferred style of play whilst manager of Marseille, he said, "I want courageous and intensive football, not only uniquely based on the defence. I want people who come to the stadium to be entertained and not disappointed."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career statistics

Source:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Croatia			League		Croatian Cup		Europe		Total
1995–96	Hajduk Split	Prva HNL	9	0
1995–96	HNK Trogir	Treća HNL	5	1
1996–97	Hajduk Split	Prva HNL	23	1			3	0	26	1
1997–98			26	4			5	1	31	5
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1998–99	Juventus	Serie A	23	1	4	0	6	0	361	1
1999–2000			17	1	2	0	9	1	28	2
2000–01			25	6	2	0	5	1	32	7
2001–02			14	4	1	0	6	2	21	6
2002–03			14	1	2	0	11	1	27	2
2003–04			15	2	6	1	5	0	26	3
2004–05			2	0	1	0	1	0	4	0
2004–05	Siena	Serie A	15	1
2005–06			24	1
2006–07	Juventus	Serie B	0	0	—		—		0	0
Total for Juventus			110	15	18	1	43	5	174	21
Croatia			League		Croatian Cup		Europe		Total
2007–08	Hajduk Split	Prva HNL	8	1
Total	Croatia		71	7
	Italy		151	17
Total			222	24	1	0	42	5	258	24

• ¹ Including 1 match in 1998 Supercoppa Italiana and 2 matches in season 1998–99 UEFA Cup qualification.

International

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 June 2004	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon	Template:Fb	2–3	2–4	Euro 2004
2	30 March 2005	Maksimir, Zagreb	Template:Fb	3–0	3–0	World Cup 2006 Qualifying
3	4 June 2005	Vasil Levski, Sofia	Template:Fb	2–0	3–1	World Cup 2006 Qualifying

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Hajduk Split	Template:Flagicon	29 April 2013	4 February 2015
PAOK	Template:Flagicon	18 June 2015	9 March 2016
Karabükspor	Template:Flagicon	18 June 2016	15 February 2017
Galatasaray	Template:Flagicon	15 February 2017	18 December 2017
Udinese	Template:Flagicon	24 April 2018	7 June 2018
Udinese	Template:Flagicon	20 March 2019	1 November 2019
Hajduk Split	Template:Flagicon	2 January 2020	21 August 2020
Hellas Verona	Template:Flagicon	14 September 2021	28 May 2022
Marseille	Template:Flagicon	4 July 2022	1 June 2023
Lazio	Template:Flagicon	18 March 2024	6 June 2024
Juventus	Template:Flagicon	23 March 2025	27 October 2025
Career Total

Honours

Player

Juventus<ref name="Gli eroi in bianconero: Igor Tudor"/>

• Serie A: 2001–02, 2002–03
• Serie B: 2006–07
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999
• Coppa Italia runner-up: 2001–02, 2003–04
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2002–03

Croatia

• FIFA World Cup third place: 1998

Individual

• Croatian Footballer of the Year: 2001

Manager

Hajduk Split

• Croatian Cup: 2012–13

External links

• Template:Sports links