MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Juventus coach Igor Tudor complained about the tough weather conditions in South Florida following the team's elimination from the Club World Cup with a 1-0 loss Tuesday to Real Madrid in the round of 16.
The gametime temperature for the 3 p.m. start was 86 degrees (30 Celsius) with 70% humidity at Hard Rock Stadium, site of seven World Cup matches next year. The humidity made it feel like 90 degrees (32 Celsius).
“We played under really difficult conditions. The players were really fatigued,” Tudor said.
Tudor said 10 players asked during the game to be replaced, but he did not identify them by name.
After a 1-hour, 53-minute delay during a round of 16 win over Benfica on Saturday at Charlotte, North Carolina, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca had said the U.S. is not the right host country for the Club World Cup.
Juventus and Inter Milan both were eliminated in the round of 16, leaving no Italian clubs in the quarterfinals.
“It’s a lot of factors that weighed in," Tudor said. “It’s the end of the season. They had a lot of stress on them, that takes away energy as well and then the heat is another thing that makes things more difficult.”
Juve’s loss to Real is one of the least surprising results of the round of 16, but the heat wave in the United States during this past month has been of concern to players and their unions.
Juventus is off until an Aug. 10 friendly at Borussia Dortmund on Aug 10, then opens the Serie A season against Parma at home on the weekend of Aug. 24-25.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Andres Jaime-mendez, The Associated Press
