ROME :New Juventus manager Igor Tudor backed his squad after they were held to a 1-1 draw at AS Roma in Serie A on Sunday, saying that his team will improve as they get used to his ideas.
Juventus dominated the early stages and captain Manuel Locatelli put them 1-0 up at the break with a brilliant strike from outside the box before Eldor Shomurodov levelled for the hosts soon after the interval.
“I really liked the first half, we pushed well,” Tudor told DAZN after his second game in charge.
“They changed something in the second half, but in the end we wanted to win it more.
“Considering the period that the team is coming from, both physically and mentally, we’re on the right path. The draw gives us confidence.”
Juventus lost four of their last six games in all competitions ahead of the Tudor era, which included exiting the Champions League and the Coppa Italia in late February.
Things have improved for the Turin side, however, since Tudor replaced Thiago Motta during the last international break.
“(We scored a) great goal, it’s always the quality of the players that decides,” Tudor said.
“We wanted to bring many players forward, but not concede on the counter-attack. We saw the right mentality.”
Former centre back Tudor, who played for Juve from 1998-2007, was Andrea Pirlo’s assistant coach at the club in 2020-21.
“I’ve been here for 10 days, the emotion subsides after a while and you have to think about work,” Tudor said.
“You care, you think about all the details and there is little time to enjoy. It’s a job that from the outside seems to more enjoyable, but from the inside less.”
The players appear to be enjoying playing for Tudor.
“The coach, when he arrived, asked us right away to believe in ourselves,” Locatelli said. “Playing games like this we can get some satisfaction.”
