Come Sunday night, a new Serie A season will officially arrive at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, as Juventus will begin the 2025-26 campaign at home against a Parma squad that some oddsmakers are tipping to be in a relegation battle come the springtime.
For Juventus manager Igor Tudor, the 47-year-old Croat has had an eventful few months since Juventus last played a Serie A fixture in Venice. He followed up the victory over Venezia that secured Champions League football for this season with an impassioned
press conference about his status at the club, only to see his contract extended and interim tag removed a couple of weeks later ahead of the Club World Cup. Then, of course, there was the tournament in the United States to contend with, as Juve bowed out in the Round of 16 after a loss to Real Madrid,
So now, all focus is on the new season after his team has been training since July 24 and is coming off two positive results in their final two friendlies of the summer, 2-1 wins against both Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta.
As is customary before every matchday, Tudor sat down to discuss things with the assembled members of the Italian press. But the difference is that the season opener always has a different kind of big picture kind of tone to it rather than simply focused a lot on the upcoming opponent.
Tudor was certainly feeling good about things as he talked about the state of his team as they get set to begin their first full season under the direction of the former Juve defender who managed the final nine games of the 2024-25 campaign after replacing Thiago Motta.
“The emotions are great. We want to get off to a good start, the team is motivated. The feelings are positive and we want to get off to the best possible start in front of our fans.
“The history of this club means we can’t just aim to qualify for the Champions League, we have to aim higher. Predictions don’t matter though, they’re just words: what matters is working hard, game after game.”
So how is Tudor feeling entering his first season opener as Juventus’ manager?
“I am happy with the team that I have at my disposal. The transfer market is still open, so we’ll see if there are any new developments in that regard. However, the lads and I are focused on our work; it’s our duty to remain focused solely on the pitch.
“This team has improved a lot. The goal is to grow in every aspect, and the path we took last season is the right one. However, we must continue to push forward.”
One of last season’s biggest conundrums was Dutch midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, who never kicked into gear after his late-summer move to Juventus. No matter if it was Motta trying to play him as a No. 10 in his 4-2-3-1 system or even after the tactical switch with Tudor’s arrival in mid-March, Koopmeiners’ struggles persisted.
Tudor views the start of the new season as a chance to hit the reset button for Koopmeiners, the most expensive of all of Juventus’ summer activity a year ago.
“I have already spoken a lot about Koopmeniners, and I’m sure this will be an important season for him.”
Speaking of midfielders, Manuel Locatelli had recently seen Al Ahli from the Saudi Pro League try and make a surprise move for him, but it was an offer that Juve quickly rejected. Tudor reasserted something that we already pretty much knew — Locatelli is Juventus’ captain and nothing is changing that.
However, Tudor did make it known how things will break down when it comes to the captain’s armband and who could be wearing it when Locatelli — who played more minutes than any Juve outfield player last season — is not on the field.
“Manuel is our captain, Bremer is the vice-captain, and I’ve identified other players such as Yildiz, Thuram and Gatti who can fill this role. These are our captaincy options, agreed with the club.
“Bremer is fine, he has trained a lot in recent weeks and will play tomorrow. Clearly, these first few games will help him get into the best possible condition. This applies to him, but also more generally to the whole team.
When it comes to summer signings, Juventus don’t have many of them thanks to much of the budget being spent on players who were already on last season’s roster after being brought in on loan deals with options or obligations to buy.
Both of Juve’s summer signings, striker Jonathan David and Portuguese fullback/wingback Joao Mario, are expected to start against Parma on Sunday night.
“David is a good player, very focused, who loves to work hard. He moves very well, especially in the penalty area. I’m happy with him, he’s a guy with important values.
“João Mário is an excellent player offensively. Defensively, as is normal, he needs to improve a lot. This is normal when it comes to players who are new to Italian football.
“Miretti has performed very well in recent weeks, he will be back running in a few days and I am convinced he will be able to help us. He still has plenty of room for improvement.”
Finally, Tudor spoke about the league as a whole, with defneding champions Napoli having had a very busy summer transfer window ahead of their second title defense in three years. Napoli are also one of the few clubs that finished in the top half of the Serie A table last season that didn’t change their manager over the summer, with Antonio Conte deciding to stay in Naples despite Juve’s very clear interest in bringing him back to Turin.
“For me, this year all the teams have excellent, strong coaches in the dugout. The players are important in every team, but the coach also plays a significant role. I think this year’s championship will be very competitive.
“The first day is always unknown for all teams. Parma is coached by a new coach, his first managerial role, but if he is in Serie A, it means he is a top-level coach.”
Juventus’ season opener against Parma kicks off at 20:45 CEST on Sunday night.
