Luciano Spalletti has been appointed the new Juventus head coach following the sacking of Igor Tudor.
The 66-year-old has a contract until the end of the current season as Juventus look to rescue things after a poor start to the campaign under Tudor.
In a statement on Juventus’ official website, the club wrote: “Luciano Spalletti is the new head coach of Juventus, signing an agreement with the club until June 30, 2026.
“Born in Certaldo, in the province of Florence, in 1959, Spalletti began his coaching career 30 years ago after playing for Spezia and Empoli, among others. He began his coaching career at the Tuscan club, winning the Serie C Coppa Italia before leading the club to Serie A promotion, establishing himself as one of the most innovative coaches in Italy.”
Tudor spent the majority of his playing career at Juventus, and was appointed in March earlier this year as manager. He won just 10 of his 24 games in charge in Turin. The side currently sit in seventh place in the table after nine Serie A matches, with 15 points.
However, they have not won a single UEFA Champions League match so far this season, and are 25th in the table with two points, just outside the play-off places, after losing to Real Madrid last week.
Spalletti won the Serie A title with Napoli in 2023, with the Italian then claiming he would not manage another team in Italy. He has, however, chosen to return to domestic football in his home country after a difficult spell with the national side.
He left that role in the summer after coming under pressure following a disappointing failure to retain the European Championship title at Euro 2024, and then losing to Norway 3-0 in the first qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup.
Juventus struggled last season after appointing Thiago Motta to replace Massimiliano Allegri, before he was replaced by Tudor.
Spalletti’s first match in charge of his new side will be against Serie A newboys Cremonese, who have impressed this season.
The side, who signed Jamie Vardy on a free transfer after he departed Leicester City at the end of last term, are one point behind Juventus, in eighth place.
Spalletti enjoyed a successful spell at Roma, winning the Coppa Italia twice, first in the 2006/7 and then the following season. He moved to Zenit St Petersburg, winning the Russian Premier League in 2010 and then the 2011/12 campaign, as well as winning the 2009/10 Russian Cup and the next season’s Russian Super Cup.
In a managerial career that began in 1993 with Empoli, he has coached a host of other notable Italian sides, including Internazionale and Udinese.
Juventus have won Serie A 36 times, but their latest league title came in 2019/20, and the last honour they won was the 2023/24 Coppa Italia.