Former Juventus coach Fabio Capello discussed the coaching change at Juventus in an interview with Sky Sport. Capello, who knows Tudor both as a former player and followed his coaching career, believes Tudor understands the Juventus environment and its objectives. “He has clear ideas,” Capello stated. “Then it will depend on the players, how he manages to motivate them, how he sets them up on the field, with order and focus. After that, it will depend on how the players perform.”
Capello anticipates a more liberated Juventus under Tudor compared to Motta`s approach. “For sure, it won`t be a team set up to just do their homework together, but I think a slightly freer team, that can transmit something different. There are teams that play very well and teams that play so-so, but they play freely. Juventus has played so-so, restrained.”
Addressing the pressure to win at Juventus, regardless of youth focus, Capello emphasized the importance of results for major clubs. “You have to win in all these teams – Juventus, Milan, Inter, Napoli, Roma – because the result is the most important thing, Boniperti was right. You become a coach, you build a team… you sign a three-year contract, and if you don`t win even in the first year, you`re not doing well and they`ll send you away. So, you absolutely have to think that the result is fundamental.”
Regarding playing style debates, Capello criticized overly cautious approaches. “Then there`s talk of beautiful play, of many theories, you can`t go and watch matches like that… then go watch matches where the ball is passed back to the goalkeeper who plays the ball 25 times. Galeone is right when he says, let`s put in a time limit to cross the halfway line like in basketball.”
On Vlahovic`s role, Capello expects him to be central to Tudor`s plans. “Is Vlahovic`s revival expected? This is mathematical, you can`t leave out Vlahovic, who is one of the most important players in the penalty area. Certainly, Vlahovic doesn`t have soft feet, they are a bit hard, the ball always bounces far away from him when he tries to control it, but you have to get into the goal area, cross and allow him to have more balls. If he touches four per game, it becomes difficult to score.”
Looking ahead to Juventus`s future coaching choices and Giuntoli`s role, Capello believes Giuntoli faces significant challenges. “I believe that Giuntoli also has significant problems to solve. He has chosen Tudor for now, he is thinking about the future and I believe he wants to wait for the response he will get from Tudor, he cannot already think about a replacement now. Certainly, he will make assessments on all the coaches who could be for Juventus, because if he makes a mistake again… he made a mistake in good faith, because we were all convinced that Motta was a high-level coach, but unfortunately he did not prove to be. So, the choice must be very, very re-evaluated, hoping for him that things go well, because otherwise he too, as happened to the coach, will be sent away, there is no mercy in football, when you make a mistake you are punished.”