Serie A side Lazio have confirmed the appointment of Igor Tudor as their new head coach.
The former Marseille manager arrives at Stadio Olimpico as the replacement for Maurizio Sarri, who resigned from his post on the back of a four-game losing run.
The Italian called it quits the morning after a 2-1 home loss to Udinese, prior to which his side had also gone down to Fiorentina and AC Milan, as well as suffering a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Sarri's former assistant Giovanni Martusciello took over for Saturday's Serie A clash away to Frosinone, where the Biancocelesti snapped their streak of defeats in a 3-2 triumph.
However, Martusciello's extremely brief stint in the hotseat has now come to a close, as Lazio have now announced the appointment of Tudor on a contract until 2025.
A short statement from Lazio on their official website read: "SS Lazio announces that Igor Tudor, starting today, will assume the role of manager of the first team."
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β S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) March 18, 2024
Tudor's contract is also understood to include the option of an additional year, and according to club president Claudio Lotito, the 45-year-old turned down the chance to manage Napoli and Roma before signing on the dotted line with Lazio.
Speaking to Il Messaggero - as quoted by TuttoMercatoWeb - Lotito said: "So long chosen that Sarri suddenly resigned and we tried to convince him to stay.
"The truth is that it bothers some that we managed to resolve the problem in 24 hours on the first and only appointment. I have I picked up the phone, met the agents and received the appreciation of Tudor, who had rejected Naples and Rome."
Tudor returns to work after nearly a year out of management, having left Ligue 1 giants Marseille at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, prior to which he was also in charge of Hellas Verona and served as Andrea Pirlo's assistant at Juventus.
The Croatian - who won 55 caps for his country during his playing heyday - previously managed Hajduk Split, PAOK, Kardemir Karabukspor, Galatasaray and Udinese, winning the Croatian Cup with the former in the 2012-13 season.
Tudor takes over with Lazio languishing in ninth place in the Serie A table, eight points behind Roma in fifth spot, and his first match in charge comes at home to Juventus - whom he represented as a player from 1998 to 2007 - on Saturday evening.
