If there’s one thing that you have to worry about with a upper/mid-table team that has a talented roster, it’s a mass-exodus, and I’ll openly admit that I feared for exactly that when Andrea Dossena left for ‘Pool earlier this transfer season. Luckily, with Quags, Di Natale and now Inler sticking around (yessssssss), it seemed like my fears were unfounded… until I looked at the defense.

Here’s the Cliffs Notes version: The Zebrette midfielders and forwards have decided to hang around for the most part (thankfully), but the back of the house looks like a high school keg party at which that the cops just arrived.

At least* seven players (including Dossena) have departed from the Stadio Friuli thus far during this off-season. While some of the players that left weren’t exactly staples of the starting XI, the killer is the loss of three main or (at the very least) relatively important defenders, plus a backup keeper.

*Depending on the source you refer to, some list more than seven names, but I get the feeling that they’re Primavera players being loaned out for the sake of experience.

Put it this way: Other than Dossena, (whom I’m assuming everyone knows is a big loss), here are the players who have left, along with the number of times (in red) that they started in ‘07/’08.

• Mesto - 26 - Right Back (Since Udinese had him on loan only, it’s not a huge shock that he’s gone, but with the rest of the backfield bolting for the door simultaneously, it hurts.)
• Zapotocny - 20 - Defender (As is the case with Mesto, this one wouldn’t hurt so bad if it wasn’t for Dossena leaving too. The Zebrette have brought on defensive reinforcements, but they’re young reinforcements.)
• Asamoah - 9 - Striker (He’s actually decent off the bench, but we wouldn’t have seen much of him this season anyway, since he’s the lowest striker in the pecking order, after Di Natale, Quagliarella, Floro Flores, and Pepe… all of whom are back for ‘08-’09. Also, the signings of Langella - ANOTHER Udine striker from Bella Napoli *and* Sanchez has made him kinda/sorta superfluous.)
• Chimenti - 3 Goalkeeper (Hmmm… I didn’t see anything about Udinese signing a replacement backup keeper, and I don’t know for sure that Saulo is back from loan… so surely, they must be in the market. Right? No, seriously… they ARE looking for another one, RIGHT? I am not comfortable with just *one* backup keeper!)
• Sivok - 1 - Defender / Midfielder (Wasn’t Spock’s dad called Sivok? In all seriousness, he was a standout at Sparta Prague, but Udine apparently had no use for him, which I do find a bit strange… but who am I to question Marino?)
• Colombo - 0 - Defender (May have been on loan from ‘Leffe. I suppose Tornio can have him. He was hardly even utilized as a substitute.)

So… yeah. Not looking too good out in the back of the house right about now. As you’ll see in my next post, the reinforcements don’t have me brimming with confidence either… but that’s another topic for another day.

]]> http://udinese.theoffside.com/team-news/at-udinese-the-cool-kids-sit-in-the-front-of-the-bus.html/feed http://udinese.theoffside.com/team-news/why-support-udinese.html http://udinese.theoffside.com/team-news/why-support-udinese.html#comments Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:53:39 +0000 vin http://udinese.theoffside.com/team-news/why-support-udinese.html

Alright. First things first: No, I didn’t get lost on my way to the AS Roma blog. Believe it or not, I’m here on purpose.

At this point, the few who recognize my name might be wondering, “why the hell is a Giallorossi supporter blogging about the Zebrette?”

Hmmm… Well, that IS a valid question, so I’d like to at least try to give you an equally valid answer, because I know that it’s not enough to just say that “if the Giallorossi didn’t exist (Heaven forbid!) I’d get behind Udinese ’cause they sometimes remind me of Roma.”

Yeah… I’m guessing that you’re probably looking for a more substantial reason than that. Well, if that’s the case, I guess it’s good that I actually have a few more reasons for supporting Udinese, and maybe… just maybe, these reasons will get you to don the zebra stripes yourself, if haven’t already.

So… why support Udinese? Allow me to tell you:

Reason #5:

Dudes who can turn on a dime and score from outside the stadium before you can say “holy s**t” aren’t easy to come by, but lo and behold, Udinese has one.

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Reason #4:

Christmas happened 17 times last season, and it he can easily happen even more times this time around.

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Reason #3:

Simple math indicates that Reason #4 + Reason #5 = pure, unadulterated calcio bliss.

There truly must be something special about Stadio Friuli… or at least, I like to believe that there is. The very fact that Udine were able to keep both Quagliarella and Di Natale through this mercato (knock on wood, as it isn’t quite over yet) has gone a long way toward keeping me from losing my faith in calcio. While it’s true that we don’t know for sure why neither widely sought-after player has jumped ship, I’d like to imagine that it has something to do with a strong sense of belonging and an even stronger sense of commitment - both of which have been rare in calcio as of late. Whatever the reason(s), the fact of the matter is that Strike Force Udinese lives on -intact- to play another season, and that’s friggin’ awesome.

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Reason #2:

Actually, come to think of it, they do remind me of Roma.

Did someone order the antithesis of catenaccio with a side of balls-out attack? Make no mistake, as much as this is Marino’s team, this used to be Spalletti’s team… and it shows, as neither coach is content to sit back and defend. If you like exciting calcio at all, watch Udinese go to work and you’ll be impressed… and if you’ve ever seen the Giallorossi play, you’ll witness a healthy dose of their trademark fast-forward ball movement peppered with an occasional cobra-quick strike from nowhere. Nothing is more effective at getting tifosi to go wild, or getting the opposition to soil their pants.

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Reason #1:

These guys make Inter sweat, and if that doesn’t make them worthy of support, I don’t know what does.

Recent history provides us with proof:

2007-2008

• August 26, 2007: Inter 1 - 1 Udinese
• January 27, 2008: Udinese 0 - 0 Inter

2006-2007

• October 22, 2006: Udinese 0 - 0 Inter
• February 28, 2007: Inter 1 - 1 Udinese

How many Serie A clubs can claim that Inter could not beat them once in either season? How ’bout NONE? For that matter, only two teams (Samp in ‘06-’07 and Juve in ‘07-’08) went unbeaten by Inter in one of the two last seasons.

So… yeah. They DO make Inter sweat, but they also put the other “big” clubs through their paces as well. Last campaign, Udinese’s record against the top four Serie A squads was an evenly balanced 3-2-3, with a respectable goal difference of -1. Udine scored 10 while the top four scored 11, collectively. Point being, Udinese’s seventh place finish was not the result of stomping out struggling squads exclusively; to the contrary, when this team’s playing to its full potential, they can and will challenge anyone… and with that in mind, I think we’ll see an even better finish from this Udinese team in 2008-2009.

Forza Zebrette!

The bianconeri have been steadily improving in their form over the past few games, putting in tough performances against Livorno, Torino, and Lazio. The zebrette have been without a loss in the last five games and looked ready to impress at home today with Di Natale returning to action after his altogether lackluster performance for the Azzurri on wednesday.

With the Viola looking ahead to their UEFA Cup clash with PSV and the suspension of Mutu, the fruits of victory were ripe for the pluck.

I’d love to say more about the game, but just watch the highlights folks, it was BEAUTIFUL!

With Quags and Di Natural scoring their 10th and 15th goals of the campaign respectively, the epic strike force looked poised to finish their season strong.Quags also had some encouraging words for his side after their glorious win against the Viola this afternoon.

With the Zebrette playing like absolute kings at the moment, their current 5th place spot is well deserved. Milan and Samp are currently 1 point behind the bianconeri who finds themselves 3 points behind Fiorentina.

The bianconeri will face a Siena side next weekend that will prove no serious test. However, it will be two games from now when Udinese will face AS Roma in an important clash that will likely make or break the seasons of both sides. While Fiorentina will face PSV on Thursday, they take on Reggina on Saturday and then will face Inter in another important game. The schedules of both teams are eerily similar and the race for Champion’s League spots will be tight.

Winners:

Losers:

and finally, Ted from the Fiorentina offside after he predicted a…well just read his match preview yourself, his predictions were great….the next Ms. Cleo!

Udinese rarely looked threatening and despite the lovely Pepe free-kick, Torino shoved the ball down our throat for 90 min.

However, with AC Milan losing 2-1 to Sampdoria, the fight for UEFA Cup qualification is heating up with only 2 points separating the Rossoneri and the Zebrette.

Hopefully this win will re-energize Marino’s side and the boys can dig in for a strong finish.

What beauty!

As mentioned before, this match was a true sleeper. Torino came out swinging and continued to smother our defense with shot after shot. Stellone was particularly bothersome and our defense again looked shaky. Di Michele was another thorn in our side all match long. The beginning of the match started out rather chippy and some yellow cards were handed out in the early stages with Mesto picking one up in the 28th minute.

Udinese rarely looked threatening with Di Natale staying out of the mix and Floro Flores looking like a bump on a log during his 78 minutes of time on the pitch.

We also found ourselves terribly lucky that Zapata’s hand ball in the box was not whistled as a PK. Also, the linesman called back a Stellone goal due to a questionable offsides call.

Though this game was a bit slow, the 3 points should do well to get Udinese back to winning ways. This weekend the Zebrette will face Livorno at home and hopefully scoop up another 3 points.

Man of the match: Handanovic, the man made some great saves and kept us in the game when our defense failed. Glad to see him get back to form after a questionable game against Lazio.

For more information see: Espn.com Goal.com Channel4.com

Postscript: Still weeping…..

Coach Pasquale Marino expressed a full vote of confidence in his side before today’s game. (see Espn.com for more info) After the Lazio game, we all saw how dangerous Udinese can be on offense and how strongly they can finish a game. However, a Torino side who had gone 8 games without defeat before this weekend’s crushing 3-0 defeat to Cagliari. Torino’s fans and players will be hungry to bounce back to their mediocre form. The Granata are hoping to welcome back Pisano and Vincenzo Grella for today’s match. With recent form favoring Torino in all aspects, Udinese appears to have an uphill battle today. Not to mention the Granata have only lost twice at the Olympic Stadium all season.

With Sampdoria playing AC Milan today, the Zebrette have a great chance to move back into 6th spot and into the European contention. Marino keeps his sides’ recent performance all in perspective in his pregame interview.

With Torino missing several key players today, look for Quagliagol and Di Natural to fire at will. Also, though our defense has appeared suspect as of late, the midfield should pounce on Toro today and pick up a vital 3 points….with a little help from out buddies at AC.

Di Natale, Sigueira, and Mesto are all smiles….they love playing TORINO!

Probable Lineups:

Torino-Sereni; Comotto, Dellafiore, Natali, Lanna; Diana, Corini, Barone, Rosina; Di Michele, Stellone

Udinese-Handanovic; Zapotocny, Felipe, Lukovic; Ferronetti, Inler, D’Agostino, Dossena; Pepe, Quagliarella, Di Natale

Postscript:

The king reigns supreme!

Forza Roma!

Lazio merda.