Juventus have sacked head coach Thiago Motta and appointed their former player Igor Tudor as his replacement, with the Turin giants languishing in fifth place in Serie A.

Motta was appointed last June on a three-year contract after impressing in 2023-24, when he led Bologna to Champions League qualification.

However, his arrival in Turin has failed to inspire an upturn in the Bianconeri's fortunes.

Juventus were beaten 3-0 at Fiorentina last weekend on the back of an embarrassing 4-0 loss at home to Atalanta.

Those results saw them slide outside the top four, below Motta's former club Bologna and 12 points behind leaders Inter. 

"Juventus FC announces that it has relieved Thiago Motta of his position as coach of the men's first team," a club statement said on Sunday.

"Juventus FC also announces that it has entrusted the leadership of the men's first team to Igor Tudor, who will direct the first training session tomorrow."

Tudor's contract will run until the end of this season according to widespread reports, with an obligation to renew for another year if Juve qualify for the Champions League, though the club have the option to withdraw from that obligation until July 30.

Tudor, now 46, spent most of his playing career at Juventus, arriving in 1998. In 2020-21, the Croatian also served as Andrea Pirlo's assistant at the Allianz Stadium for one season.

His first managerial role came in 2013 with Hajduk Split, the club where he began and ended his playing career, and in Italy, Tudor has managed Udinese, Verona and Lazio.

Tudor was appointed Lazio boss in March last year to replace Maurizio Sarri but left at the end of the campaign, after taking the club to a seventh-placed finish and Europa League qualification.

Motta's Juventus finished 20th in the Champions League group-phase standings and were knocked out of the competition at the play-off stage by PSV last month.

Less than a week later, Juventus went out of the Coppa Italia, losing to Empoli at home after a quarter-final penalty shoot-out in a result Motta described as "shameful".

Juve went 21 league games without defeat earlier in the season, but that period saw Motta's team draw 13 matches, which effectively ruled them out of the Scudetto race.

While they experienced an upturn after the turn of the year with five straight victories, Motta has paid the price for recent heavy defeats.

Upon his arrival in Turin, Motta took a hard stance with several senior players, with Federico Chiesa told he was not part of the coach's plans before he was sold to Liverpool in August.

Former captain Danilo struggled to find a way into Motta's starting lineup and left the club in January, while midfielder Nicolo Fagioli joined Fiorentina on loan in February and was one of their best players in last weekend's win over his parent club.

Tudor's first game in charge comes at home to Genoa on Saturday, after which is a trip to the Stadio Olimpico to face Roma.