First words from Igor Tudor on being appointed new Tottenham head coach until end of season

We check out the first words from Igor Tudor on being appointed as new Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach until the end of the season.

The former Juventus boss will take charge at Spurs, having has been out of work since October, but as it stands, Tottenham will look to name a long-term successor to Thomas Frank later in the summer.

Tudor took Juventus to fourth in Serie A and sealed Champions League qualification after losing just one of his 11 games.

He won five of his nine games at Lazio, losing just once, to secure a seventh-placed finish and a berth in the Europa League.

Tottenham is his 10th club in 13 years, having also managed the likes of Galatasaray, Udinese, Hellas Verona and Marseille among others.

We are pleased to confirm the appointment of Igor Tudor as Men’s Head Coach until the end of the season, subject to work permit.

🔗 https://t.co/IqK72rpNSg pic.twitter.com/31rCpoVQTj

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 14, 2026

CLUB STATEMENT:

We are pleased to confirm the appointment of Igor Tudor as Men’s Head Coach until the end of the season, subject to work permit.

Igor joins us with a clear focus: to improve performances, deliver results and move us up the Premier League table. His mandate is straightforward – bring organisation, intensity and competitive edge to the squad at a decisive stage of the campaign.

Speaking about his arrival, Igor said: “It is an honour to join this Club at an important moment.

“I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.

“There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.”

On the appointment, Sporting Director Johan Lange said: “Igor brings clarity, intensity and experience of stepping into challenging moments and producing impact.

“Our objective is straightforward – to stabilise performances, maximise the quality within the squad and compete strongly in the Premier League and Champions League.”

A Serie A title-winner with Juventus as a player and former Croatia international, Igor has regularly delivered improvements following mid-season appointments.

After spells with a range of clubs including Galatasaray, Udinese, Hajduk Split and Hellas Verona, Igor led Marseille to a third-place Ligue 1 finish in 2022/23, securing Champions League qualification.

In March 2024, he joined Lazio, delivering a strong finish to their Serie A campaign to secure Europa League qualification, and most recently at Juventus, guided them to the Champions League having arrived in March 2025.

”A tough person as a manager”

Analysis from Sky Sports Italy on Igor Tudor, with the former Juventus manager preferring to play with a ”strong aggressive press” 💪 pic.twitter.com/kIb7gqHdI0

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 13, 2026

Marco De Micheli from Sky Sports Italy spoke on Igor Tudor: “We know Tudor very well because he used to play as a defender here in Italy, especially for Juventus, and then as a manager. He did very well with Verona, he did quite well with Lazio, and then he had the last experience here in Italy with Juventus.

“The first part of it, the spell during last season, was very good. He brought Juventus back to Champions League football. He came in March to train Juventus after Thiago Motta, and he could bring the team to the fourth place in the table, which means Champions League football.

“The start of this season didn’t go so well, that’s why he was sucked before Luciano Spalletti came in. He is a very tough person. He was a tough defender and he is still a tough person as a manager.

“He has a quite clear style of play. When the other team has the ball, he likes to have a very strong and aggressive pressing. He likes to play man-to-man football, and instead, when his team has the ball, he likes to develop the play on the wings. He has a very wide style of play. For example, a player like him, we are now used to seeing him go a lot, very often towards the middle of the field, very close to the box.

“When there was Tudor, he used to play more on the left, more on the wings. This is his kind of play. He can speak English, so you’ll be ready to listen to him speaking because he has a lot of experience also abroad.

“His career as a player and as a manager was mainly in Italy, but he played and coached also abroad, so that’s why he has no problem, no issues with it.

“As I said, it’s just a few months for him because he signed the contract until June, but if he does well, he may stay even for a longer period. The same he did last year with Juventus.

“He came to Juventus in March, he signed until the end of the season, but then his contract was renewed after he brought Juventus back to Champions League football.”

Here’s how fans reacted to the first words from Igor Tudor on being appointed as new Tottenham head coach until the end of the season…

@TheRoadManRantz: Let’s back him. People may say why would a decent manager take a job like this. For me it takes a stronger character to come in at a time like this.
Mass injuries
Moral at rock bottom
Fans angry
Just a general shit show.
We need points lets hope he can bring them.

@KevJStewart: Like any reasonable Spurs fan, I hope he works wonders for us, but it’s a strange choice on paper. No PL experience, no Spurs links, only ever won one cup as a coach (despite being at some huge clubs), and has a style that requires serious fitness (we’re injury-ravaged) 🤷‍♂️ #COYS

@_iamchrisf: Igor Tudor is now officially announced…. There’s no need for any negativity with Thomas Frank now gone! I’ve hit a reset, I’m fully behind the new boss and players and hopefully we can have a somewhat positive end to the season where we can then refresh in the summer. #COYS

@dougbagleyfdl: Welcome and best of luck to Igor Tudor. If you can win next Sunday then you will be remembered by Spurs fans forever. You have a very difficult job for the rest of the Season. Including sorting out some of our lazy, underperforming players with bad attitudes. Come on you Spurs!

@HotspurEdition: Not going to pretend I know insane amounts about him but from what I’ve seen every time he’s come into a club midseason he’s managed to get a tune out of the team and get short term results. Lets back him.

@Don_Falcone2: Sorted. Getting Igor Tudor’s portrait tattooed on my left Ass cheek. Igor Tudor’s blue and white Army!!! Welcome Igor 🙌

@HarryScarfe22: Whatever we think of this appointment, we must get behind him and the team. Every game is a final until the end of the season. Welcome, Igor Tudor.

@HimothyReports: I can’t say I know much about him. But I’ve seen in his last 2 stints at Juve and Lazio, when he got appointed around the same time he’s done really well. That’s all we need from him, I’m suddenly excited again to watch Tottenham after Thomas Frank’s departure. Welcome Tudor.

@oligamp: No more booing. No more negativity. Whether you back this appointment or not, get behind the team. He’s going to need all the support he can get.