Juventus sack Thiago Motta as head coach and replace him with Igor Tudor

Juventus are currently fifth in Serie A, 12 points off league leaders Inter Milan

Juventus have sacked Thiago Motta as their head coach after less than a season in charge.

Motta was appointed by Juventus at the start of the 2024/25 campaign after guiding Bologna to Champions League football for the first time in their history.

He arrived in Turin as one of the most highly-touted coaches in European football, with the former PSG and Barcelona midfielder transitioning seamlessly from player to manager.

But just 10 months after receiving his big break with Italian giants Juventus, Motta’s contract has been terminated with immediate effect.

The Old Lady are currently dwindling in fifth, 12 points off leaders Inter Milan and even a point behind Motta’s former employers Bologna.

The 42-year-old’s final game in charge was Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Fiorentina, which followed a 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Atalanta that saw thousands of Juve fans head for the exits prior to full-time.

With another damning setback to their title hopes proving the straw that broke the camel’s back, the decision was made to call time on Motta’s stint at Juventus, with the club confirming Igor Tudor has been appointed in his stead.

Tudor is a Juventus cult hero, helping guide the club to back-to-back Serie A titles in 2002 and 2003 during his nine-year spell in Italy.

He arrives back at his former club as a tenured manager, enjoying spells at Marseille, Galatasaray and Udinese among others.

His last role was at Lazio, spending just three months in Rome towards the tail-end of last season following Maurizio Sarri’s resignation.

Thiago Motta lasted just 10 months at Juventus (AP)

Tudor steps in for Motta, who prior to this recent drop in form had enjoyed a somewhat respectable first season at Juventus.

After succeeding Max Allegri in the summer, Motta went undefeated in the Italian top-flight until January, when they lost to then-league leaders Napoli.

That said, Juve were struggling to win games under Motta during that time - only picking up eight victories while registering 13 draws.

They also crashed out of the Champions League in the playoffs to PSV, having only just scraped through the league phase in 20th place.

Tudor now faces an almighty task to get Juventus back in title contention with nine games to play, with Champions League qualification now the more realistic priority for this term.