Juve Boss Igor Tudor Under Pressure Amid Deserved Como Defeat

The pressure is really starting to grow on Igor Tudor now.

The Juventus coach hadn’t been in the firing line over the past few weeks, despite not picking up a single victory in any competition since the thrilling 4-3 draw over Inter in the Derby d’Italia back in mid-September.

A string of draws punctured the confidence that was so high at the beginning of the season.

Juve’s first game after the international break was a trip to Como, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

The team by the lake had ruthlessly dismantled Lazio earlier in the campaign, and Cesc Fabregas’ side are dark horses to land a European slot come the end of the season.

Fabregas is building one of the most exciting teams in the league. A group of young bucks, led by the sumptuous Nico Paz, mixed in with some older heads, like Alvaro Morata, have the recipe to cause a lot of upsets this season.

And the 36-time champions are now the first in what could be a long line.

With Arsene Wenger and former Juve winger — now Como stakeholder — Thierry Henry in attendance at the Stadio Sinigaglia, Tudor had no answer as the home side ran out 2-0 winners.

Juve had chances, but in truth Como were more than worthy victors. Tudor had been urged by many to shift systems in light of the injury to Bremer and the myriad of options in attack.

The Croat appeared to heed such advice, lining out in a 4-3-3 system. Yet it made no difference.

Como’s opener came after just three minutes on the clock, with Pierre Kalulu guilty of falling asleep at the back post as Marc-Oliver Kempf to volley home.

The closest Juve came was a lame Teun Koopmeiners header and a curling shot from Kenan Yildiz that flashed side of the post.

In the final 15 minutes Paz showed everyone how it’s done.

Breaking down the right-hand side following a Como counter, Paz raced into the heart of the Juve penalty area, bewitched Andrea Cambiaso, and bent a curling effort into the bottom corner of Michele Di Gregorio’s goal, giving the Italian no chance.

Paz had scored one and assisted one, and it was Como’s first win over the Bianconeri for 73 years.

Henry, Wenger and Fabregas, who masterminded the 2-0 win over Juventus for Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League quarter final, would’ve no doubt been jubilant at how the latter’s side performed at the Sinigaglia nearly 20 years later.

Now the pressure is really building.

Tudor can be questioned on several issues, namely maintaining the same system when it was apparent he no longer had the correct personnel for a 3-4-2-1 system and continually flitting between Jonathan David, Dusan Vlahovic and Lois Openda in attack without seeing true results.

Yet Tudor is only partially responsible for the malaise running through Juve. The summer transfer market last summer was hindered by the one before, in which former director Cristiano Giuntoli spent over $200m on talent that failed to live up to expectations.

The end result of that significant spend means Tudor cannot bring in the players he’d like, and he said as much in his pre-Como press conference.

“The coach [Fabregas] chose all the players, which is a great thing,” remarked Tudor in the lead up.

The reference was clear: Fabregas could pick players tailor made for his system, Tudor has to work with what he’s given.

And what he’s been given isn’t exactly working out.

Juve are in serious need of a leader in midfield. Try as Manuel Locatelli might, he isn’t that kind of player. Koopmeiners continues to be one of the most head-scratching buys in recent club history, while Weston McKennie has been shoehorned into the utility man role.

Defensively, Juve were at sea even before Bremer’s injury. A back line comprising of Lloyd Kelly, Daniele Rugani and Kalulu could make the claim to being one of the club’s worst in living memory.

No matter who Tudor starts in attack, whether it’s David, Vlahovic or Openda, they all look isolated. Only moments from Yildiz or Francisco Conceicao have provided solace.

Now with Real Madrid looming on the horizon, Tudor is up against it.

Can the former Juve defender turn it around? Only time will tell.