LONDON (AP) — Tottenham appointed Igor Tudor as interim manager on Saturday after Thomas Frank was fired three days ago.
The former Juventus coach takes over till the end of the season at a time when Spurs is just five points above the relegation zone in the Premier League.
“It is an honour to join this club at an important moment," Tudor said. “I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.
“There is strong quality in this playing squad and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly.”
Juventus fired Tudor on Oct. 27 following three straight losses and an eight-match winless run, with the Italian powerhouse eighth in Serie A.
The 47-year-old Croatian was previously in charge of Lazio, Udinese, Marseille, Galatasaray and other clubs in Croatia and elsewhere.
Tudor is the sixth head coach in less than seven years at Spurs since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2019.
“Igor brings clarity, intensity and experience of stepping into challenging moments and producing impact," Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange said. “Our objective is straightforward – to stabilise performances, maximise the quality within the squad and compete strongly in the Premier League and Champions League.”
Frank was fired after he failed to build on his previous success at London rival Brentford.
Despite leading Spurs to the round of 16 in the Champions League, Frank has overseen a desperate domestic campaign. A 2-1 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday was greeted by boos from the home fans and left the club without a league win in 2026.
The home defeat to Newcastle extended a woeful run to one win in 11 in England’s top flight.
Spurs dropped to 16th in the standings, two places above the relegation zone.
Frank was appointed at the end of last season when Ange Postecoglou was fired despite leading Tottenham to its first trophy in 17 years by winning the Europa League, and securing Champions League qualification.
Tottenham's next fixture is at home to local rival Arsenal in the Premier League on Feb. 22.
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FILE - Juventus' head coach Igor Tudor during the Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Juventus at Rome's Olympic stadium, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP, File)
MUNICH (AP) — Banging drums and chanting for regime change, supporters of Iran ’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi rallied on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders in Munich, Germany, on Saturday, aiming to crank up international pressure on Tehran.
The large and boisterous demonstration was part of what Pahlavi described as a “global day of action" in support of Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests. Pahlavi also called for rallies in Los Angeles and Toronto.
“Change, change, regime change,” the crowd in Munich chanted, waving green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems, which Iran used before its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Pahlavi dynasty.
Some demonstrators sported “Make Iran Great Again" red caps, mimicking MAGA caps worn by U.S. President Donald Trump supporters, and waved placards showing Pahlavi. The son of Iran’s deposed shah has been in exile for nearly 50 years but is trying to position himself as a player in Iran’s future.
“Pahlavi for Iran” and “democracy for Iran," protesters yelled, as drums and cymbals sounded.
Iranian leaders are already under intense pressure, facing renewed threats of U.S. military action. Trump wants Iran to further scale back its nuclear program. He suggested Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen."
Iran was also the focus of protests in Munich on Friday, the opening day of an annual security conference in the city gathering European leaders and global security figures. Supporters of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, demonstrated against Iran's deadly crackdown on protesters last month.
At a news conference in Munich, Pahlavi warned of the likelihood of more deaths in Iran if “democracies stand by and watch."
“We gather at an hour of profound peril to ask: Will the world stand with the people of Iran?" he asked.
He added that the Iranian government's continued survival “sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people and you stay in power.”
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,005 people were killed in the protest, including 214 government forces. It has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths.
Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.
Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi stand under a huge historic Iranian flag as they attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Iranian Shah, attends a press conference at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday Feb. 14, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, show posters of people, they said was killed during the protests in Iran, at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, takes part at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, attend a protest during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
