No Rest for Zebrette

By: vin | September 21st, 2008

OK. We I have a lot of ground to cover following my grad school-induced disappearing act, so let’s get right into it.

Juventus 1 – 0 Udinese

First off, Juventus looked fantastic last week. It seemed like every time a player in blue (the color of Udinese’s away kits) got a touch on the ball, he was surrounded by what I’m calling the “Oreo sandwich.” Point being, much credit goes to the Old Lady, as they were the better team on the day. HOWEVER, (You knew this was coming), I’m going to maintain that the Zebrette’s loss was due as much to their tactics as it was to Juve’s prowess. Marino himself admitted following the match that they were “trying” a different look here, and well… it showed up in the result. I hate the fact that I’m even saying this, but it appeared as though Udinese were demonstrating their own painful-to-watch brand of catenaccio, with eight or nine men behind the ball, and a huge gap between them and the strikers… strikers who were caught off balance by the surprise return of Chiellini. Yup. I’m chalking this one up to a lesson learned. Marino’s not going to make the same mistake twice. If there’s any positive to take from this, the fact that Udinese only lost by one goal following a 90-minute Juve onslaught is testament to the fact that the defense isn’t as shaky as I had feared.

Borussia Dortmund 0 – 2 Udinese

Not only did Udinese manage to completely stun in their UEFA debut with two unanswered goals AT Dortmund (Holy s**t!!!), but they also managed to do so (for the most part) without Quagliarella or Di Natale! Therein lies the most significant take-away message from this match: Udinese’s fate does not rest on the shoulders of Toto and/or Quags alone; the rest of Strike Force Udinese are fully capable in their own right. How the Zebrette are going to hold on to all of this talent come January is beyond me, but for now, Marino has an arsenal at his disposal, and he’s shown us that he’s not afraid to mix it up a bit. I’ll be honest: I *never* would’ve guessed that he’d sit his two biggest stars, but then again, I’m thinking Borussia Dortmund never would’ve guessed it either. Thank you, Mr. Marino, for not giving a f**k, and for keeping everyone guessing. Well played, sir.

Udinese 0 – 0 Napoli

What can be said here? Napoli are like Udinese’s southern doppelganger, and as a result, I had no idea what to expect, since both are relatively young squads with potent attacks that happen to be in good form following big UEFA wins. The Zebrette can be thankful that Lavezzi and Hamsik didn’t play, because they may have made a fatal difference on the day. I’m not going to say that Udinese can also be thankful or Santacroce’s red, as I honestly believe that Napoli are just one of those squads that play better a man down. We did see more striker rotation, which seems to be Marino’s modus operandi as of late.

Looking Ahead…

This. Is. Going. To. Be. ROUGH.

Bologna – Udinese (Wednesday, Sept. 24 – Three days since prior match)
Udinese – Siena (Sunday, Sept. 28 – Four days since prior match)
Udinese – Borussia Dortmund (Thursday, Oct. 2 – Four days since prior match)

Here’s the problem: Neither Bologna, nor Siena are pushovers, and either one can bite Udinese right in the arse on any given day. Moreover, Borussia Dortmund has just one match (compared to Udinese’s two) between now and October 2, and theirs is a day before Udinese’s, which means that they’ll be less fatigued going in, *and* they’ll have an extra day of rest. On the upside, the match is at Friuli, but I’m not sure that it matters; Borussia will be out for Zebrette blood. I’ll have more to say about this as we move through September, and the injury picture is clearer. At this point, the squad has been remarkably healthy, but stick four to five matches (depending on whether or not you count Sunday, Oct. 5) in a span of two weeks, and depth is bound to be an issue. That said, Marino’s striker rotation is making more and more sense, isn’t it?