Thiago Motta was sacked as Juventus coach on Sunday after less than one season in charge with former player Igor Tudor replacing him, the Italian giants announced.

“Juventus FC announce that Thiago Motta has been relieved of his duties as men’s first team coach,” said a statement by Juventus.

“The club would like to thank Thiago Motta and all of his staff for their professionalism and for the work they have carried out in recent months with passion and dedication.

“Juventus also announce that the team will now be led by Igor Tudor, who will take charge of his first training session tomorrow, Monday, 24 March.”

The decision to dump Motta followed a 4-0 defeat by Atalanta — their heaviest home defeat since 1967 — and a 3-0 loss at Fiorentina in the team’s last two games, leaving Juve a disappointing fifth in the Italian top flight.

On the back of these results, the club’s directors used the current international break to have discussions with Motta, which led them to the decision that he was no longer the best fit for the role.

But the seeds of doubt in the club’s mind go back to well before March.

After leading Bologna to the Champions League last season, Motta, 42, arrived to much fanfare in Turin back in July of last year. But the honeymoon period did not last long.

His team rarely thrilled and collected 13 draws in the league, while expensive summer recruits like Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners failed to live up to expectations.

A situation which was exacerbated by Motta’s frequent tinkering to his starting XI — he deployed 39 different formations over the course of his 42 matches in charge.

And the Italian-Brazilian coach also made some odd choices, notably by relegating Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic and Turkish phenomenon Kenan Yildiz to the bench.

https://guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/high-society/juve-sack-motta-as-coach-appoint-tudor/