Who is Igor Tudor? Tottenham’s potential new interim manager, career stats, style of play
Tottenham’s search for a new manager appears to have taken them in the direction of Igor Tudor, at least on an interim basis.
After sacking Thomas Frank, a number of potential candidates for the Spurs job emerged. Ranging from club legends, to current coaching staff, and left-field ideas from further afar, it would seem the Lilywhites are spoilt for choice.
While Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be the top target, Spurs will likely have to wait until the summer to get their man. Meanwhile, Roberto De Zerbi decided to take a break despite links to Tottenham, leaving the club more open to temporary options.
In that vein, Igor Tudor’s name came up and things are looking promising. So, here’s everything you need to know about the big Croatian boss.
Igor Tudor could take over at Tottenham
On Friday, February 13, reports claimed Tottenham had opened talks with Igor Tudor about taking over the managerial post until June.
It’s believed, if successful, the 47-year-old would oversee the first team for the remainder of the season before departing in the summer.
Apparently, a short-term contract has been offered to Tudor, and he has already accepted those five-month terms, so we could well see him in the dugout sooner rather than later.
Where has Tudor managed before?
Tudor left Italian giants Juventus back in October 2025, after just seven months with the club. During that time, he went on an eight-game winless run and only managed ten wins from 24 games.
Before that, he had spent even less time at another Serie A side, Lazio. There, he won six of his 11 matches and impressed in such a short period.
Incredibly, Tudor’s longest spell with a club in the last decade has been a 48-game stint with Marseille. He was in charge of the French outfit for the 2022/23 campaign.
He has worked in Italy regularly, with previous spells at Hellas Verona, two stints with Udinese, and an assistant manager role at Juventus for the 2020/21 season.
Tudor began his managerial career in his native Croatia with Hajduk Split. Between 2013 and 2015, he oversaw 70 matches there, winning 32 of them. He would return to Split in 2020 — via spells with PAOK, Karabükspor, and Galatasaray — for a further 18 games.
It’s worth noting that Tudor has also served as assistant manager to Igor Stamic for the Croatia national team across eight games in 2012-2013.
What could we expect from Igor Tudor at Tottenham?
Interestingly, Igor Tudor would likely bring a very different style and system to Tottenham. Primarily, he prefers a 3-4-2-1 formation.
That would probably mean a back three of Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, and Micky van de Ven, assuming all of them are fit. Then, out wide, we’d see Pedro Porro (once he is back), Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie and Souza battling for wing-back roles.
There would be plenty of room in midfield to accommodate a healthy selection from the likes of Archie Gray, Conor Gallagher, Pape Sarr, Joao Palhinha, and Lucas Bergvall once he returns from injury.
Meanwhile, those two more advanced roles would likely be split across Xavi Simons, the wider players like Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus, and out-and-out strikers Dominic Solanke and Richarlison.
We know Tudor likes his teams to be aggressive and play with intensity. He demands his team overwhelm their opponents and give them very little time on the ball — so, lots of pressing in the final third, fast counter-attacks, and overloads triggered largely by wing-backs getting forward.
Igor Tudor’s playing career explained
A lot of Tudor’s managerial habits can be traced back to how he was as a player, to be honest. He was a big, powerful centre-half, and he loved to make life difficult for his opponents.
After developing through the Hajduk Split academy and youth teams, Tudor made a good impression in the first team and sealed a move to Juventus in 1998.
There, he made 174 appearances over a seven-year period, providing reliability and strength at the back, while also contributing 21 goals. Tudor won two Serie A titles, two Italian Super Cups, and even won the Serie B title with Juventus when they got relegated after financial issues.
One controversial incident worth mentioning came in 2002, when Tudor slapped Roma legend Francesco Totti in the face during a game. The Roma faithful were pretty annoyed about this, but Tudor apologised on Italian television shortly afterwards, and all was forgiven.
He spent a season on loan at AC Siena in 2005/06, before leaving to rejoin Split on a free transfer in 2007. Tudor retired from playing a year later.
At international level, Tudor was capped 55 times by Croatia and scored three goals. Injuries played a big part in limiting his progress for both club and country, but he didn’t have a bad career by any means.
Personal information
Igor Tudor was born in Split, Croatia, on April 16, 1978.
He is 1.93m tall, which is roughly 6ft2in.
Although he lives a rather private life, we do know Igor has two children, and is very close to his mother and sister.
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