Motta & Tudor clash of styles: The stats highlights key differences | OneFootball

From his appearance on the Juventus dugout, Igor Tudor made it abundantly clear his brand of football is drastically different to Thiago Motta’s.

The Croatian was appointed as a replacement for the Italian Brazilian who was sacked last weekend following a series of devastating defeats against the likes of Empoli (in the Coppa Italia), Atalanta and Fiorentina.

The 46-year-old made his bow on Saturday, leading the Bianconeri towards a 1-0 victory over Genoa thanks to Kenan Yildiz’s first-half strike.

Even though it was a slim result, the implications were significant, as the players looked much more enthusiastic and at ease, especially compared to some of their atrocious outings from the previous weeks.

But while the fans were able to pick up several differences with the naked eye, it’s also worth checking the numbers, which reveal some of the contrasting aspects between Tudor and Motta’s styles of play.

IlBianconero thus compared the stats registered on Motta’s final Juventus outing against Fiorentina with the ones recorded on Tudor’s debut.

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While one must note that hosting Genoa at home is, at least on paper, an easier task than playing the Viola at the Artemio Franchi, the numbers are still worth a look.

Therefore, it is easy to deduce that the Bianconeri were ‘nastier’ against Genoa, as they were more keen on winning challenges and committing themselves to tackles.

Moreover, Tudor had no intention of maintaining possession for large spells, as was the case with Motta. The Croatian wanted his players to play direct and vertical plays rather than grabbing the ball for long and fruitless spells.

Hence, if the new manager was able to implement such noticeable changes after less than a handful of training sessions, we can only expect him to further consolidate his brand of football in the coming weeks.