Igor Tudor has just been recently appointed by Marseille to replace Jorge Sampaoli.
The Argentinian manager surprisingly decided to part ways with the club despite being able to finish second in Ligue 1 and reach the semi final in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League. Sampaoli was reportedly dissatisfied with the club’s source for the summer transfer window. He expected more support to bolster the squad since they will be competing in the Champions League next season.
Igor Tudor was unexpectedly chosen as his successor. After convincing in a spell at Serie A side Hellas Verona, l’OM decided to put their faith in the 44-year-old. He recently left Hellas Verona for the same reason that the former Chile and Albiceleste boss did; disagreement with management.
In Igor Tudor Marseille Trust for 2022/23 Season
Tudor’s Spells in Previous Clubs
Igor Tudor had to hang up his boots at the age of 30 due to a series of injuries. The former center-back has not had an impressive CV yet. The only silverware he won was Croatian Cup 2013 with Hajduk Split. After staying for a year there, he moved to Greece to take charge of PAOK in the 2015/16 season and ended the campaign in fourth place there.
His next destination was in the Turkish Super Lig. Tudor was at the helm of Kardemir Karabükspor in 2016/17 but left the post in the middle of the season to sign for the Turkish giant, Galatasaray. Unfortunately, he was dismissed 10 months later.
However, his failure did not prevent him from receiving an offer from abroad. He was appointed as the new head coach of Udinese in 2018 and saved the club from relegation. Nonetheless, he left the following season. His second stint in Udine in 2019 was even worse than the first, since the Croat was sacked after only nine months.
The 44-year old coach finally stole the spotlight while he was in charge of Hellas Verona in 2021/22. The former assistant of Andrea Pirlo at Juventus managed to lead the cash-strapped Serie A side to ninth place on the table. They even were able to beat several top sides including AS Roma, Lazio and his former club, Juventus. He counted on the trident up front, Giovanni Simeone, Czech Republic international Antonin Barak and Gianluca Caprari in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
OM’s Probable Line up under The Croat
The Croat is likely to use the same formation with the Ligue 1 side, possibly with several new signings. The current squad does need reinforcement, particularly in the backline and up front, to be able to advance to the knockout stage in UCL.
Between the sticks, Pau Lopez remains number one. Yet, OM needs to find the proper backup after releasing Steve Mandanda to Rennes. In defense, their new center-back, Isaak Traore is expected to be William Saliba’s replacement as he returns to his parent club, Arsenal. He would be accompanying Duje Caleta-Car and Alvaro Gonzalez or Luan Peres as the back three.
In the midfield, Pape Gueye and Matteo Guendozi are indispensable in front of the backline. On both sides, Pol Lirola and Konrad De La Fuente or Sead Kolasinac will serve as wing backs. They are expected to be physically fit throughout the season due to the fact that they will be running back and forth to support the attack and defence. Valentin Rongier and Gerson could be their backup when necessary. Both are quite versatile as wing back and central midfielder.
Meanwhile, the Poland international, Arkadiusz Milik shall be the target man upfront with Cengiz Under and the skipper Dmitri Payet featuring behind him. Gerson, Bamba Dieng and the former Villarreal man, Cedric Bakambu will be their cover. They could come off the bench or be available for the squad rotation.