Turin, March 23, 2025 | Juventus have pulled the plug on Thiago Motta’s tenure as manager, ending his stint less than a year after he took the reins of the Italian giants. The club confirmed the sacking today, March 23, appointing former player Igor Tudor as his replacement in a bid to salvage a season teetering on the edge. The decision, announced at 5:35 PM WAT, comes hot on the heels of two crushing defeats 4-0 to Atalanta and 3-0 to Fiorentina that left fans stunned and the Bianconeri’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.
Motta’s exit marks a sharp fall from grace for the 42-year-old, who arrived last summer riding high off a stellar 2023-24 campaign with Bologna, where he secured a fifth-place finish and Champions League qualification. Juventus, eager to shake off the stale air of Max Allegri’s departure, banked on Motta’s fresh ideas and attacking flair. For a while, it worked 42 matches yielded 18 wins, 16 draws, and 8 losses across all competitions, with a stout defense keeping them in the Serie A mix. But the wheels came off in recent weeks, and the back-to-back thrashings exposed a team unraveling fast.
“We thank Thiago Motta and his staff for their professionalism and passion,” Juventus said in an official statement, their words polite but clipped. “The club wishes them the best for the future.” In his place steps Tudor, a former Juventus defender known for his grit, who’ll take charge of his first training session tomorrow, Monday, March 24. The task? Drag Juventus back into the top four a must for the club’s fragile finances and steady a ship that’s been lurching since January.
For fans like Marco Rossi, a Turin local who’s bled black and white since childhood, it’s a gut punch. “We started dreaming of a title charge a week ago,” he said, nursing a coffee near the Allianz Stadium. “Now we’re fifth, 12 points off Inter, and praying for fourth. How did it come to this?” Posts on X mirror that shock @JFC__Sammy recalled the hype before the Atalanta loss, while @Joelazzo questioned keeping the same squad-building strategy that’s left Juventus scrambling.
Motta’s reign wasn’t all doom. He kicked off with a squad overhaul Douglas Luiz, Teun Koopmeiners, and Lloyd Kelly among the new faces and held firm until a January loss to Napoli cracked the facade. Draws piled up (13 in 21 league games), and Europe was a mess 20th in the Champions League league phase, then ousted by PSV Eindhoven in the playoffs. The final straw? Seven goals conceded in a week, with no reply. “He lost the plot,” said Carlo, a season ticket holder. “No shape, no fight just collapse.”
Tudor’s arrival stirs cautious hope. The 47-year-old Croatian, last at Lazio, brings a no-frills style that could suit a squad needing grit over glamour. But the clock’s ticking ninth-placed AC Milan are just six points back, and missing the Champions League could spell financial chaos. “It’s a rescue mission,” one club insider muttered off-record. “Tudor’s got to deliver, or we’re sunk.”
Tonight, as Turin buzzes with reaction, the mood’s a cocktail of relief, regret, and raw nerves. Motta’s vision once a beacon faded too fast, and Juventus are betting Tudor can patch the holes. For a club that’s tasted glory but stumbled lately, it’s a roll of the dice. “We’ve seen worse,” Rossi shrugged. “But we deserve better.” Come Monday, the work begins again.