Igor Tudor’s ill-fated north London venture is over, but his managerial career is far from done.
The Croatian’s turbulent time as Tottenham manager was brought to a merciful end on Sunday, meaning his stint lasted just 43 days.
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Tottenham won just once from seven fixtures across all competitions under Tudor, although that came in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid having lost the first leg 5-2.
A 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Tudor, who did not conduct any post-match media commitments having learned the tragic news that his father passed away.
Given the alarming run of results Tudor oversaw as Tottenham boss, some clubs may be tempted to steer clear should his CV land on their desk during their next managerial vacancy.
However, speaking on eSPORTY’s Trans Euro Express, Italian football journalist Daniele Fisichella believes many will look beyond Tudor’s English misadventure, especially because he remains ‘well regarded’ in Italy.
Fisichella: ‘Wrong choice in the wrong moment’
“I think it (Tudor’s Tottenham stint) would be forgotten,” Fisichella said.
“He still has a good reputation over in Italy.
“I don’t think that one sacking or two sackings, as he had this season, must define your career. He was the wrong choice in the wrong moment.
“I think stepping down now and finding a mutual agreement was the right choice also considering that he has had extra issues and family issues and the bereavement. We must not forget that as well.
“He’s a well-regarded manager in Italy that has been able to get the job done in different clubs as well as he did in France. He always left a good impression overall on fans. I think his career doesn’t end here.
“Where should he go next? Take a break, of course, he has already done it. But I think next season, or mid-next season, he will be on the books of many, many clubs in Italy.
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“Before hiring Paolo Vanoli, Fiorentina were thinking about him. So that shows you that he was already being considered for another job in Italy. And I’m sure others will come.”
As Fisichella pointed out, Tudor and Italian football are no strangers.
Short-term gain, but long-term pain?
To date, Tudor has been a manager of four different Italian clubs: Juventus, Lazio, Hellas Verona and Udinese.
However, Tudor’s career indicates he is not a man who sticks around at a club for long.
Over the course of his time as a manager, Tudor has been in charge of a team for 50 games or more just once.
That abnormality came in his first-ever role in April 2013 when he managed Croatian club Hajduk Split for 70 matches.
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Since then, Tudor has tended to leave clubs when the proverbial saloon doors are still swinging from his entrance.
Prior to taking on the Tottenham gig after Thomas Frank’s sacking in February, Tudor was the Juventus manager for 24 matches.
His appointment by the Old Lady was an eyebrow-raising one in the sense Tudor was Juventus’ first foreign boss since Didier Deschamps in the 2006/07 campaign.
Although he secured Juventus a Champions League berth nearly two decades later following a strong end to the 2024/25 season, Tudor was axed just two months into the new term having overseen an eight-match winless run.
Now another club stands to be the beneficiary of Tudor’s managerial capabilities, but they’ll have to forget about the disaster that was in north London.
