Igor Tudor told his first press
conference since taking over from sacked Thiago Motta as
Juventus coach that he really believed in the team and that
there would be no excuses for not meeting its ambitions to
qualify fort the Champions League after a poor run left the
Bianconeri fifth in Serie A.
"The emotions are there, but not only for Juve because it is a
club that everyone would like to coach: there is a desire to
work, to do well, to achieve the objectives", said the Croat,
46, who has previously managed Udinese, Verona, Marseille and
Lazio and who spent most of his playing career as a defender at
Juve.
"I believe a lot in this team, there is little time to work but
I will give everything, yesterday everyone arrived but there are
no excuses and in my life I have never looked for excuses: I
look for responsibility from the players'.
Tudo went on to explain why he had accepted such a short
contract with the Old Lady, just until the end of the season,
albeit with an option to extend for another year, and added that
Italy midfielder Manuel Locatelli would be his captain.
"If I had a 10-year contract it wouldn't change much for me: I
live in the present and that's it, I always make choices from
the heart.
""The captain is Locatelli, he has the right skills to do it and
Vlahovic is very strong: I'm happy to coach him, he and Kolo
Muani can play together or one or the other. Koopmeiners and
Yildiz are also very strong, they are among those who have to
score goals and I will look for the position to make them
perform at their best".
Tudor said he was looking forward to his first test against
12th-placed Genoa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
"The fans have always been important, I'm sure they'll give
their support on Saturday: the club is loved even in moments
like this, the lads care and I'm sure we'll start well.
"It will be a difficult challenge, (Genoa coach Patrick) Vieira
is doing well and the Rossoblu have skills and quality and they
are a dangerous team: I want a Juve that attacks with many men
but also that doesn't concede goals, we need a complete job".
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