Tudor's reign at Juventus

A year ago, around this time, most Juventus fans were beside themselves with excitement and expressed their joy at the arrival of Thiago Motta with lavish praise and high-sounding phrases . It was as if the Italian-Brazilian had instantly erased "the winter of our discontent, transforming it into a glorious summer, and every cloud that had darkened our house was buried deep in the ocean." We all know how that ended. "Much ado about nothing." So much so that even the most ardent #AllegriOut supporters were left feeling guilty in a sea of ​​Lady Macbeth-esque guilt. The new season, however, is about to begin with a certain understatement .

Igor Tudor , though never the first choice, seems like the right coach for the current situation the team and club are experiencing. He seems to have stepped out of a medieval saga: a Croatian giant, a former warrior on the pitch, now a strategist on the bench. His name evokes great battles: the unforgettable one in 2003, when he ended it with his phenomenal left-footed strike in the 93rd minute, securing qualification for the Champions League quarterfinals against Deportivo La Coruña. Incidentally, before that goal, Tudor scored only one other time that year, in the league against Parma. Even though the wind has blown his captain's hair away, his way of leading the team reflects that very spirit: he doesn't seem to seek consensus but victory, which at Juve—even the Belgioi fans will be convinced of this—is the only thing that matters. Furthermore, he's a no-nonsense type, not a philosopher.

Sure, he's not Guardiola, nor Klopp. Nor Conte. But we shouldn't be fooled. Our coach's last name is even more resonant. And let's hope it brings good luck this time, given that last year, despite his last name, his counterpart risked being fired long before he could eat his Christmas cake.

As in the famous War of the Roses that shook England in the 15th century, the battle for supremacy will begin this evening in Turin, hoping to "encircle our brows with the victor's laurels." Far from fourth place! And above all, with the hope that "our tiring Champions League vigils will be transformed into carefree celebrations."

Between 1455 and 1485, the war between Lancaster and York, the two different branches of the ruling House of Plantagenet, tore England apart and extinguished the male lines of both houses. With a time jump worthy of CR7 vs. Sampdoria, we arrive at the end: Henry VII Tudor, of Lancastrian descent, married Princess Elizabeth, the last representative of the York family, unifying the two branches and becoming the founder of one of the most important dynasties of modern Europe.

Just like Henry, our Tudor has the task of revitalizing enthusiasm and, why not, even giving us a little entertainment, things that, I am convinced, will be capable of uniting even the most extreme Allegrian and Mottian fringes under the one banner that truly matters, avoiding sterile and fratricidal polemics.

At the end of the war, Enrico even created an ad hoc emblem: the Tudor rose, a combination of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York. Ours, however, has a far more difficult task: reconciling the remnants of Allegri's and Motta's squads, amidst a "comedy of errors" of acquisitions and sales, ultimately unsuccessful, and attempting to revitalize players who no one cares about . He will have to exploit Yildiz's technical nobility, blending the fury of ambitious youngsters with the solidity and experience of veterans like Bremer and Locatelli to create a compact and lethal force. Then, if Tudor were also able to resurrect Teun Koopmeiners, who until now has been seen as the ghost of Hamlet's father, he too would deserve to enter the history books. Of course, it's a daring task, given that the 'Juventus house' in recent times seems to have lost the grandeur of its past. But let us not despair, because "though she is small, she is fierce."

In any case: "Restless lies the head that wears the crown." Especially when it comes to a bench like ours. But Tudor, unlike his predecessor, seems to know exactly where he is, and he wanted this burden with all his might . Otherwise, he wouldn't have driven ten hours from Split to Turin to sign the contract, accepting, moreover, the possibility of being dethroned just a few months later. But—and it's still a question of the last name—he could only have been labeled "temporary coach." In the meantime, let's enjoy this midsummer night and leave Parma. This time with a little more patience. After all, the War of the Roses lasted thirty years. Let's just hope that Juventus's greatness returns a little sooner.

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