What Igor Tudor will bring to Tottenham: Why his ‘Jurgen Klopp’ style of play was was too attacking for Juventus, success with Randal Kolo Muani and a new mantra – ‘I want fans to come here and be entertained’

Igor Tudor, who was born in the month when Tottenham were last promoted from the second tier, is the man now charged with keeping them in the Premier League, 48 years later.

Spurs have struck a deal for Tudor to take over as interim head coach until the end of this season and expect him in position by Monday when players return to training for the first time since Thomas Frank was sacked.

If it goes well the former Croatia international centre back, who has been out of work since he was sacked by Juventus in October, will be invited to compete for the job on a permanent basis. If not, well, we can expect more heads to roll in N17. Tudor style.

Spurs moved stealthily after sacking Frank on Wednesday within 12 hours of a 2-1 home defeat against Newcastle. Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange identified Tudor for his experience and his ability to make an instant impact in mid-season.

He did this most recently at Juventus who had slipped to fifth under Thiago Motta in March last year after two heavy defeats inside eight days to Atalanta and Fiorentina.

With Randal Kolo Muani, now waiting for him at Spurs, up front, Tudor lost only once in nine matches to the end of the Serie A season to finish fourth and signed a new contract until 2027, before leading them at the Club World Cup where they lost to Real Madrid in the last 16. Kolo Muani, who had been goalless in eight matches before Tudor’s arrival, hit five in 11 games down the stretch.

With his Juventus players in the Oval Office last June as part of their participation in the Club World Cup

Randal Kolo Muani, who is now under his tutelage again at Tottenham, spearheaded Tudor’s Juventus side last season

It quickly unravelled this season, however, and he was sacked in October with Juventus down in eighth after eight games without a win, and he was replaced by Luciano Spalletti.

For many Italians, his style lacked tactical refinement, but he was admired as a strong leader with an imposing presence, capable of commanding respect in the dressing room.

He likes his teams to play physical and energetic football. He usually adopts an aggressive high press and locks in for one-v-one duels across all areas of the pitch. It is a philosophy which should go down well with those who thought Frank’s football was cautious and boring.

One Italian source likens it to Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund. While it did ultimately prove too wild and chaotic for Juventus, it had been well received during a thrilling year at Marseille.

‘I want courageous and intensive football,’ said Tudor upon his appointment at the Stade Velodrome in 2022. ‘Not solely based on the defence. I want people who come to the stadium to be entertained and not disappointed.’

Antonio Conte’s Spurs beat Marseille home and away in the Champions League group stage in that season. Tudor’s team came bottom of the group but fared better in domestic competition. They made a terrific start and knocked Paris Saint-Germain out of the French Cup before trailing off to finish third in the league behind PSG and Lens.

Tudor did not stick around, though. He left citing ‘personal reasons’ and, such was his appetite for disagreement, felt the need to add that he was ‘not angry with anyone’.

He reappeared in Italy, replacing Maurizio Sarri at Lazio in March 2024. They were ninth when he took over. He had six games in charge, winning his first, the second leg of a cup tie against Juventus which was not enough to prevent elimination and five games unbeaten in Serie A, winning two. Lazio improved to finish seventh and again he chose to move on.

Tudor played 174 times as a commanding centre back for Juventus, having joined from boyhood club Hajduk Split

It quickly unravelled for Tudor in the dugout this season, and he was sacked in October with Juventus down in eighth after eight games without a win

Tudor has a long association with Italian football. He playing career started and ended at hometown club Hajduk Split and peaked at Juventus under Marcelo Lippi. He was a centre half capable enough on the ball to be used at times in midfield.

He won two Italian titles and started in the 2003 Champions League final, a goalless draw at Old Trafford when Juventus lost on penalties to AC Milan. For Croatia, he won 55 senior caps and scored three goals, including one against England in Euro 2004 when he played in midfield and Wayne Rooney ran the show in a 4-2 win for the Golden Generation.

Injuries forced him to retire at 30 and he returned to Hajduk to launch his restless coaching career.

Tudor has never stayed anywhere longer than two years. Since leaving his first job at Split he spent nine months at PAOK in Greece and moved to Turkey where he spent eight months at Karabukspor and 10 months at Galatasaray.

There was a month at Udinese and he saved them from relegation but opted not to stay but returned a year later and lasted eight months before he was sacked.

A second spell at Hajduk lasted eight months before he quit for a season as assistant to Andrea Pirlo at Juventus and then a year at Verona and onto Marseille.

Tudor’s brief at Spurs will be to avoid relegation. There is no extension clause written into the deal. It will be purely on an interim basis until the end of the season.

If he wants to keep the job, it will help to go deep in the Champions League as well, which might involve another encounter with Juventus, one of the four possible opponents for Spurs in the last 16 next month.

If he wants to keep the job, it will help to go deep in the Champions League as well, which might involve another encounter with Juventus

Tudor scored three times in 55 Croatia caps, including against England at Euro 2004 in a game his side lost 4-2 thanks to a Wayne Rooney masterclass

Three wins from a dozen Premier League games should be enough to avoid the ignominy of relegation for the first time since 1977

But a key part of Tudor’s appeal for Spurs will be for him to work effectively in a short time frame.

Three wins from a dozen Premier League games should be enough to avoid the ignominy of relegation for the first time since 1977.

But the squad is decimated by injuries and his first test could not be sterner – at home against rivals Arsenal on Sunday week.

If he can damage their title hopes in his very first game though, stabilise the club and put them in a position for an emotional reunion with Mauricio Pochettino after the World Cup, it should be enough to crown Tudor with cult hero status on the blue-and-white side of north London’s great divide.