Tudor stays confident despite Juve's busy schedule
Igor Tudor insisted his Juventus side is in good shape ahead of its Serie A clash against Atalanta, despite a busy start to the season.
After it FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States, Juventus has picked up 10 points from its opening four league matches while also starting its UEFA Champions League campaign with a thrilling 4-4 draw against Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.
The Italian giant drew 1-1 against Hellas Verona last time out, bringing an end to its perfect start to the 2025-2026 Serie A campaign.
As it prepares to face Atalanta, Tudor is not concerned about his squad’s fitness with another international break soon to be on the horizon.
“We had two days of rest to recharge. Now we have three matches in a row before the international break and we’ve worked well,” Tudor said.
“I’m not worried, I’m confident, and I believe the team is in good shape. Playing one match per week or three is a different kind of football; it needs to be repeated, and so a coach must be even better at making choices.
“It’s difficult because sometimes you don’t want to give up on certain players. But we paid for this, and we must make as few mistakes as possible. Certain players can play 50 games without problems; it depends on their characteristics.”
After starting its league campaign with back-to-back draws, Atalanta has bounced back with victories against Lecce and Torino, both by three-goal margins.
However, head coach Ivan Juric believes it must be wary of the threat posed by Juventus, and Kenan Yildiz in particular.
“We have to be humble,” Juric said. “We’re facing a team that have a lot of technical solutions. At Atalanta, we have to think about ourselves.”
“He’s [Yildiz] always made the difference. For me, he’s a complete player and we will have to do our best to try and contain him.
“They have [Francisco] Conceicao, [Edon] Zhegrova, Yildiz and also three very good strikers. They have speed, technique and a lot of different solutions. We will have to be ready in both the defensive and attacking phases.”\
