MILAN - Juventus have sacked manager Thiago Motta and appointed their former player Igor Tudor, the Serie A club said on Sunday, following two consecutive heavy defeats in a disappointing season, with the club fifth in the league standings.

Motta was appointed in June on a three-year contract after impressing last season when he led Bologna to Champions League qualification, but his arrival in Turin failed to spark the expected revival at Juventus.

Juventus were beaten 3-0 at Fiorentina last weekend, on the back of an embarrassing 4-0 loss at home to Atalanta, and Motta's side dropped to fifth in the standings, having been overtaken by Bologna, and 12 points behind leaders Inter Milan.

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

"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 is until the end of this season, a source told Reuters, with an obligation to renew for another year if Juve qualify for the Champions League, but the club has 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 the Croatian was Andrea Pirlo's assistant at Juventus for one season.

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

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

Motta's Juventus finished 20th in the Champions League standings and were knocked out of the competition at the playoff stage by PSV Eindhoven last month.

Less than a week later, Juventus went out of the Coppa Italia, losing to Empoli at home after a quarter-final penalty shootout in a performance which 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 meant they were never going to feature in the title race.

While there was an upturn after the first loss to Napoli in January, with Juventus winning five in a row, the manager has paid the price for the recent heavy defeats which have angered supporters.

Since his arrival at Juventus, Motta has taken a hard stance with players, with Federico Chiesa told he was not part of the manager's plans before he was sold to Liverpool in August.

Former captain Danilo struggled to find a way into Motta's starting side 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 Juventus.

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Tudor's first game in charge comes at home to Genoa on Saturday and the manager will likely make an immediate tactical change, from Motta's 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-2-1, which the Croatian implemented upon his arrival at Lazio.