There were plenty of bad vibes in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s shambolic 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, a relegation six pointer that means Spurs will spend the next three weeks in 17th place, one point above West Ham in the relegation zone. But that’s just sports, and sports are immaterial in comparison to real life. Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Igor Tudor did not lead the press conference following the match, leaving the duties to assistant coach Bruno Saltor, who indicated
that Tudor had suffered an undisclosed death in the family that he found out about immediately after the match ended.
That personal tragedy, according to the Croatian media, was the death of his father, Mario. Croatian paper Sportske Novosti confirmed the death of Mario Tudor, but Saltor decided not to comment on the situation at the time of the press conference. The report is light on details, as can probably be expected, but it’s understood that Tudor has left to be close to family.
This is one of those times when being a good human and having empathy and compassion trumps anything that happens on the football pitch. I maintain that Tudor, who has yet to win a Premier League match while in charge and with Spurs struggling to keep their heads above relegation waters, has not done enough and should probably be relieved of his duties for someone else in charge. In fact, under most circumstances the upcoming three week pause from Premier League play would provide an opportune time to bring someone else in and give them time to stabilize themselves before Spurs play at Sunderland on April 12.
But now is not the time for that. Now is the time for compassion and for care. In the past day I’ve thought a lot about the tragedies suffered by former Spurs manager Antonio Conte and how those losses can have a huge impact on one’s mindset and mental health. It’s possible to separate sports from personal circumstances, and this feels to me like one of those times. Tudor’s job performance can wait, as can any talk about whether he should continue to take the reins at Spurs for the next few weeks. For now, I offer my sincere personal condolences to Tudor and his family on their loss.
