Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to hire Igor Tudor has been backed in Italy, where they’ve moved to defend the new Spurs coach.
Gianluca di Marzio cover Tudor today after Tottenham announced his appointment today. He’s signed until the summer, following Thomas Frank’s departure this week.
The deal for him progressed quickly, with Sport Witness covering reports of him being among the priorities early on Friday. By that afternoon he had verbally agreed a deal with Tottenham. Spurs then announced his appointment on Saturday.
A report today then explained why Tudor had been appointed. Basically, his short managerial career has been nothing, but firefighting and Tottenham need it.
Not just a ‘ferryman’
Now Di Marzio move to defend him. They say the Croatian has ‘excellent performances’ when called upon during the season. But calling him just a ‘ferryman’ would be putting him down.
First, they report that the 47-year-old will see Tottenham as a ‘crucial opportunity to bounce back’. A shot at the Premier League is a valuable opportunity to restore his career and prove he deserves to be at the top of the game.
The call from Tottenham was ‘unexpected’ but can be a crucial turning point. It’s certainly an opportunity he must seize. Fortunately for them and him, he has ‘consistently excelled’ at doing so over the years. In fact, they argue that Tudor has never disappointed when called upon mid-season to revive a team’s fortune.
He did so at Verona, and then again at Lazio. Juventus was less successful, but he still got them into the Champions League with 18 points from nine games. That confirmed his ‘remarkable ability’ to step into difficult situations and right the ship.
Di Marzio says you can call him an ‘excellent ferryman’, but Tudor has explained he doesn’t like that phrase in the past.
“‘Ferryman’ is a bad word; it doesn’t give me a nice feeling,” he said.
“When someone arrives, they’re a coach; they’re always alone and live from game to game. There’s no planning: the future is built today.” That should be a warning to the English media.
Tottenham the hardest job yet
Tottenham will, perhaps, be his hardest experience yet. Certainly, the most complex. He needs to restore confidence to a team that appears to be at an all time low emotionally.
But the feeling is that they have the tools to avoid a sporting failure. Tudor knows how to get the most out of his players at least.
He also has the “K factor”, namely Randal Kolo Muani. They worked together at Juventus, during which the striker shone. The hope is that Tudor can rekindle his star, who has fallen well short of expectations.
The rescue operation has already begun. But in Italy, they want Tottenham and England to show a little more respect to Tudor now he has arrived.