Igor Tudor has already lost his job at Tottenham Hotspur. Those responsible have suspended the Croatian coach after just seven games.
On Valentine’s Day, Tottenham found a new “crisis manager” in Igor Tudor – only to sack him again around one and a half months and seven games later. Goalkeeping coach Tomislav Rogic and fitness coach Riccardo Ragnacci are also no longer part of the coaching team, as the club announced on Sunday.
Instead of the hoped-for sporting impetus, Spurs plunged even deeper into crisis with their Croatian coach. The 1:4 defeat against an in-form Arsenal on Tudor’s debut was immediately followed by further defeats against Fulham (1:2) and Crystal Palace (1:3). What was long laughed off as an unlikely scenario has long since become reality: Tottenham are in the midst of a relegation battle. As 17th in the table, they are just a single point clear of the first relegation spot, which West Ham United occupy after 31 games.
Tottenham’s only real bright spot this season was the Champions League, even under Tudor’s predecessor Thomas Frank, who lasted less than seven months at Spurs after seven years at Brentford FC. As the surprising fourth-placed team in the league phase, the Premier League club made it straight through to the round of 16. However, this was already the final stop.
Consequential experiment with Kinsky
Tudor was also not entirely uninvolved. He had opted for a bold line-up in the hefty 5-2 defeat in Madrid. The 47-year-old gave his 22-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky an unexpected Champions League debut. However, the Czech collapsed under the pressure and was substituted in the 17th minute for regular starter Guglielmo Vicario after two serious mistakes.
“I’ve never done that in 15 years as a coach,” Tudor explained afterwards. The anger of the fans was certain, as were the doubts of those responsible. Despite the growing pressure from outside, they left Tudor in office for the time being. This was followed by a 1:1 in Liverpool and a 3:2 against Atletico in the second leg, which could no longer prevent the team’s exit from the round of 16.
But the 3:0 at home against direct rivals Nottingham on Sunday was the final straw for the bosses. The threat of relegation to the Championship is becoming ever more real – with 13 league games in a row without a win. That had not happened since 1934/35.