Juventus’ Most Notable Eastern European Bosses since WWII

 

Juventus rarely signs the managers from Eastern Europe until recently with Igor Tudor’s appointment.

Juventus’ campaign this season has not turned out as expected. Despite naming one of the most in-demand and talented manager, Thiago Motta, at the beginning of the season, they have not been able to dominate Serie A. Motta’s side were stuck in the top four, instead of leading the league, and failed to progress to UCL’s round of 16 following their defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the playoff round.

Furthermore, the former Bologna’s boss even reportedly lost his control in the dressing room and suffered a humiliating 5-0 loss to Atalanta. He was then relieved from his duty and replaced by Juventus’ ex-player and assistant manager during Andrea Pirlo’s tenure, Igor Tudor.

The Croat’s appointment for La Vecchia Signora was rather unexpected. He has yet to win a silverware in his managerial career. His last job in Lazio was not really satisfactory too. Yet, Tudor was signed to take charge of Dusan Vlahovic and Co for the season reminder or further.

Tudor’s return to the touchline in Juventus stadium might seem to be normal as the former Olympique Marseille and Verona boss is one of the few gaffers to day who know the team inside out. However, there is an interesting fact about his appointment. The former centre back is the first foreign manager in Juventus since 2006 and also Juventus’ first gaffer from Eastern Europe since 1974!

Tudor’s arrival literally breaks the consecutive Italian manager’s run in Bianconeri. It will be interesting to see if the Croatian boss could finally lift his first trophy in Turin and bounce back next season, or he will be dismissed before reaching their target. Tudor is certainly hoping he could be the next notable Eastern Europe manager in the Turin side after the World War II, just like these three figures.

Gyorgi Sarosi (1951-1953)

The former Hungarian international in the 1938 FIFA World Cup was known as one of the best players in the world before World War II. Yet, he never had a single stint on his own home soil. Sarosi spent his tenure abroad, mostly in Italy.

Before taking charge of Juventus in 1951, he only had spells with Bari and Lucchesse. Neither of them ended their campaign in the mid-table. Even the former one was relegated while he was at the helm of the team.

However, his fortune was overturned when the former Ferencváros star signed for La Vecchia Signora. He won Serie A in his first season and finished second in 1953, which was also the end of his spell in Turin. That was his best result as a manager.

Sarosi attempted to replicate his success with Genoa, AS Roma and Bologna in the following years but failed to do so. His teams’ best finish was sixth place with Giallorossi and Rossoblu in 1956 and 1958, respectively. The Hungarian boss ended his managerial career with Swiss side Lugano in 1963.

Ljubisa Brocic (1957-1958)

The Serbian boss was another Eastern European manager who had been in charge of Juventus. Brocic was appointed to lead the team in 1957 and won the league in his first season, 1957/58. Unfortunately, he was sacked in the following season after suffering a humiliating 7-0 defeat to Austrian champion Wiener Sportklub in the 1959 European Cup.

Prior to his arrival in Turin, the Guca-born gaffer was at the helm of a number of teams, including the Albania, Egypt and Lebanon national teams, plus Red Star Belgrade and Vojvodina. A year before signing up for the Juventus job, Brocic led PSV Eindhoven in the 1956/57 campaign but only managed them to sit in fifth place. His second stint in Eindhoven saw improvement in their domestic campaign as they finished third in Eredivisie 1960.

Brocic’s next destination was Barcelona. He initially delivered positive results for the Catalan giant in the 1960/61 season, including knocking out Real Madrid in the second round of the European Cup. It was the first time Los Blancos were beaten in the early stage after winning it five times in a row! Sadly, he was dismissed in January 1961 and replaced by his assistant, Enrique Orizaola. He was able to help Blaugrana reach their first final in the 1961 European Cup,which they lost 3-2 to Benfica.

He stayed in Spain and joined the minnow, Tenerife. However, he failed to stay till the end of the season. Brocic then spent his managerial career in the Middle East and Oceania, where he was named Kuwait and New Zealand national team manager twice.

Cestmir Vycpalek (1971-1974)

The Czechoslovakian gaffer was the former Juventus man in the mid-1940s. He began his managerial career in Italy as a player-manager at AC Parma in Serie B1957/58. Unfortunately, it did not go well, as Gialloblu finished at the bottom of the table.

In the following season, he joined Bologna, also in the second tier but with a more improved campaign as they won promotion to Serie A in 1959. Sadly, Rossoblu went straight back to Serie B in 1960.

His managerial career seemed to be on the verge of decline as no teams from the top two divisions were interested in signing him as a manager. Vycpalek spent his tenure with the lower division sides such as Siracusa, Valdagno and Mazara in Serie D.

In 1970, the Czech boss was signed by Juventus to lead the youth team due to the recommendation from his friend who happened to be a member of Juventus management, Giampero Boniperti. His fortune began when he was named the caretaker of the first team in 1970/71 following the sudden death of the manager, Armando Picchi. Vycpalek was able to guide them to reach the Fairs Cup final (the predecessor of the UEFA Cup) but lost to Leeds United on the away goal rule as both sides shared spoils in a 3-3 tie on aggregate.

In the next two seasons, the uncle of well-known Czech-Italian gaffer in the 1990s, Zdeněk Zeman, ended the campaign on a high note as they clinched Serie A titles consecutively and advanced to European Cup and Coppa Italia finals in 1973. However, Roberto Bettega and Co. were unable to beat Ajax Amsterdam and AC Milan, respectively, in the summit. Vycpalek eventually retired as a manager after leading Bianconeri to the second place only in the Serie A 1973/74.