Juventus director Giorgio Chiellini insists the club remains firmly behind Igor Tudor despite some disagreements.
The Croatian manager has been put under great scrutiny, as the team hasn’t won in seven matches across all competitions.
Several sources in the Italian media believe the Croatian is walking on thin ice, also due to his frosty relationship with the club’s General Director, Damien Comolli.
On Wednesday, the Bianconeri suffered their first Champions League defeat of the season at the hands of Real Madrid, despite putting in a valiant effort. Therefore, many feel that the pressure on Tudor will become insurmountable ahead of Sunday’s Serie A clash against his former employers, Lazio.
Nevertheless, Chiellini claims that the 46-year-old position remains safe, as the hierarchy has no plans of making any changes in the dugout.
“Many things have been written and said in recent days that aren’t true,” said the Juventus legend in his pre-match interview with Sky Sport Italia via IlBianconero.
“Igor is the Juventus coach, and we have no intention other than to continue working together. There’s been talk of strained relations, but that’s not the case.
“There’s normal discussion, as happens in every club and every family. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t, but we move forward together.
“The schedule has been challenging; we could have picked up a few more points, but we’re very clear-headed in our approach to the situation.”
Giorgio Chiellini (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The buildup to the European showdown was dominated by talk of a bust-up between Tudor and Manuel Locatelli. The latter posted a picture on his Instagram account of him donning the captain’s armband, before being curiously dropped from the starting lineup.
Therefore, Chiellini tried to circle his way out of the thorny topic.
“I hadn’t even seen it (the post), but he’s the captain. A captain is a captain even when he’s not playing. The fact that he came off early in the warm-up is significant,” he told Prime Video (via IlBianconero).
“Anyone would have wanted to play today, but the fact that he’s available is important. These guys have values. It’s an important journey that needs to be undertaken to manage the pressure.”
Finally, the Euro 2020 hero identified the aspect that is sorely missing in the current Juventus squad, as he looked back on his playing days in Turin.
“Juventus have changed, the world has changed. Claudio (Marchisio) and I have been fortunate to have teammates who have passed down certain values, or you simply get involved and claim them on your own.
“Our players have a big heart and are ready to fight for the team. But right now, we’re missing a generation of players over 30 who can handle the pressure.
“Nevertheless, we’re building something. The group is growing and overcoming difficulties, embracing values that will be useful in the future to get back to winning as soon as possible, which is everyone’s goal.”
Juventus parted ways with their most experienced players when Cristiano Giuntoli and Thiago Motta were in charge. The likes of Danilo, Wojciech Szczesny and Adrien Rabiot all left during that period.
The post Chiellini backs Tudor, admits Juventus are lacking leaders: “We’re missing a generation” appeared first on Juvefc.com.
