Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 09:29 / Updated Tuesday, February 17, 2026 09:36
His leadership Tottenham took yet another radical decision, after the sacking of manager Thomas Frank.
At Spurs, the “purges” continue. Just days after firing Thomas Frank, the Chiefs did the same to his second in command, John Heitinga.
John Heitinga's nightmare continues
The former Netherlands international had been hired as Frank's assistant on January 15 and his sacking is just the continuation of a nightmare. In November 2025, after 5 disastrous months, Heitinga was released including by Ajax!
According to the “Football London” daily, together with the Dutch technician, the other second coach, Justin Cochrane, will have to leave. Heitinga hoped to stay at least until the end of the current season, as “interim”, but the club appointed Igor Tudor, the former coach of Juventus.
Igor Tudor knows Radu Drăgușin from Juventus
Tudor came to Tottenham with his staff, made up of 3 coaches, and will debut on the bench on Sunday, in the derby with Arsenal. The team is in 16th place, 5 points off the first relegation place (18), and the club asked the Croatian technician “to take the team higher in the ranking and improve the performances”.
He had been out of contract since the end of October when he was sacked by Juventus. On the bench “Bătrănii Doamne” managed only 10 victories in a total of 24 matches. Radu Drăgușin's advantage with Tudor on the bench?
The Croatian knows Drăgușin well, considering that he worked at Juventus, as Andrea Pirlo's “secondary”, in the 2020/2021 season. Radu played 4 matches for the Bianconeri first team that season.
Igor Tudor: “This team has a lot of quality”
On his installation at Tottenham, Tudor said: “I understand the responsibility I have been given and my aim is clear. To bring more consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every game.
This team has a lot of quality, too my job is to organize it, energize it and rapidly improve our results.“
