Igor Tudor is under massive pressure at Tottenham after Atletico Madrid mauling in the Champions League.
Speculation surrounding interim boss Igor Tudor’s future intensified after Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
Since replacing Thomas Frank at the helm, Igor Tudor has seen his side lose all four of his matches in charge. Defeats to Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace in the Premier League was followed by a mauling by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, intensifying calls for the Croatian’s sacking from the fanbase, ex-players and pundits.
Igor Tudor attracted a lot of criticism for his mishandling of young goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky against Atletico Madrid. Having handed him his first start in the Champions League, the Spurs boss decided to hook Kinsky off after 16 minutes following his two high-profile errors. Legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel blasted Tudor for “killing” Kinsky’s career, while ex-Spurs shot-stopper Paul Robinson feels the 47-year-old is “not the right man” to lead the Lilywhites.
Spurs podcaster names Jurgen Klinsmann as an option to take interim charge of the club
For now, Tudor stays in charge of Tottenham, and he appeared to have been given the vote of confidence by the board after it was confirmed he will take this Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Liverpool.
Nonetheless, Tudor remains on thin ice, and several ex-managers have been linked with the Spurs job in the last 10 days. Reputable Spurs podcast Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham has now named 53 G/A (at Tottenham) Jurgen Klinsmann among the candidates to replace Tudor at the club’s helm.
“Four games managed, four games lost, 14 goals conceded, a feeling of going backwards, I don’t see how Igor Tudor gets us out of this relegation battle that we absolutely are in,” John Wenham exclusively told Tottenham News.
“A change is needed, you are probably looking at a club man to come in now, that gives you a shortlist of Glenn Hoddle, Harry Redknapp, Jurgen Klinsmann or Chris Hughton.
“They would have to come in with a younger coach as well, with a more modern understanding of football, possibly a Ryan Mason or even Tim Sherwood.
“I don’t see Tudor, the way he handled the Kinsky substitution and his other behaviours on the touchline were not impressive, he should be replaced at this stage with a club man to come in and galvanise the support and the players.”
Should Tottenham go for Klinsmann?
Wenham isn’t the first person to come up with the idea of sacking Tudor and replacing him with a ‘club man’. Many ex-players and pundits have suggested the same thing with the objective of seeing Tottenham avoid the drop.
As far as Jurgen Klinsmann is concerned, he spent two seasons at White Hart Lane (half-year on loan) and became a fan favourite. The 61-year-old has been in the management for more than 20 years now, leading the German national team, Bayern Munich, USMNT, Hertha BSC and the South Korean national team. The German great’s last managerial stint with South Korea didn’t go as he had hoped, with the Korea Football Association firing him after just one year in February 2024.
Having said that, Klinsmann may have been a popular figure during his stint at Tottenham as a player, but the same cannot be said if he is appointed the manager during the current crisis.