Udinese – A repeat unlikely
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
Memorable. Reaching the fourth place and having a go at the Champions League was an unexpected gift for last season’s Udinese. And to think that they had started in desperate fashion losing their first four games of the season.
Manager: Guidolin
Tactics: 3-5-1-1
Players In: Torje, Barreto, Fabbrini, Doubai, Danilo, Pereyra, Neuton, Abdoul Sissoko
Players Out: Sanchez, Inler, D’Agostino, Zapata, Denis, Obodo, Candreva, Brkic, Angella, Cuadrado, Forestieri, Muriel
Current Probable Formation: Handanovic, Benatia, Domizzi, Coda, Isla, Badu, Pinzi, Asamoah, Armero, Torje, Di Natale
Guidolin had just made his return to Udine after his undulating spell at Parma. The Gialloblu incredibly traded their manager with Udinese’s Marino and history clearly shows that president Pozzo came out on top from that barter. Guidolin steered his Bianconeri to an unexpected fourth place and despite the fact that they got unlucky against Arsenal in the third round Champions League qualifier it was a feat that reminded all about this manager’s great qualities.
Most of the merits will go to Guidolin since with that same team others had failed to even go as close as he did with last season’s fourth place finish. However, it was not the first time that this club surprised and for this regularity in achieving success there must be other reasons.
The well defined framework on which the basis of the club lies has ensured sound investment and a policy which ranks them at the top of the charts in terms of business viability in the Italian Serie A. Via their elaborate network of scouts they guarantee top signings from all over the World, nurture their talent and then sell them at exorbitant prices.
A look at this year’s squad will take us down a stroll with exhibits like Tunisian defender Benatia, Chilean Isla, Colombian Armero and Ghanaian Asamoah and in clear view, ready to make their big step up towards a bigger club. That is how Udinese go about their business with the latest additions being Brazilian defender Danilo and Romanian forward Torje.
It is a risky business but the trick is handing over the leadership of this multi-variegated and multicultural group to an expert. Guidolin has proven extremely capable of remodeling the young minds, creating a compact group which attacks in surprising harmony and with stunning speed.
The midfield abounds with players eager to run for each other and help out as requested by their coach. Asamoah and Isla are strong, grinders in Guidolin’s machine. Apart from lots of stamina they have very good feet with the Chilean stinging into the box with lightning speed every time he spots the space in front of him. Pinzi dictates the timing of their game, which is fast and often developed on the flanks.
It is the wide men which mostly render this team unpredictable as it comes forward. Opposition often focuses on the players in the middle who do possess more quality but they forget about the frequent initiatives of Armero on the left and Basta on the right. The two are often liberated by their team mates and allowed to run into the box, getting their chance at goal.
Ironically, here is where Udinese’s main problems lie. Their wings are a top weapon but the players entrusted in those roles are not natural finishers. Most are modified defenders who will work and sweat blood for the team, providing excellent cover to a three-man defence that requires that kind of support in order to guarantee permeability. When it comes to being cool in front of goal none go as close to the enviable instincts of team tops corer Di Natale.
The Italian veteran who turned 34 seriously seems not to be aging at all. He still runs like a kid and his football mind is nothing short of genius when it comes to placing the ball in the net. In any way possible but much better if he is served on his feet. He has turned down Juventus a few months ago and as the years go by he has only become better, acquiring a level of maturity which is unmatched by many others. It is no small feat to go close to the 30-goal mark in Serie A for two consecutive seasons and win the tops corer award twice in a row. Platini went one better and Di Natale will not want shy away from rubbing his shoulder against a great player like that.
Predicted finishing position: 9th
Too much of Di Natale is in this squad. The sales of Sanchez, Inler and Zapata have taken away a lot from this team but Guidolin’s wisdom and sagaciousness will shelter this beautiful Pozzo creature and help it become big and strong again. Without the goals of their top man Di Natale, however, the team morphs into a confused side which creates but is unfamiliar with the necessary cynical approach required to reach last year’s dizzy heights in the table.
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