Europa League Focus: Udinese Calcio

History

The Udinese Calcio was created in 1896 as the Società Udinese di Ginnastica e Scherma, (Club of Gymnastics and Fencing of Udine), which makes it the oldest club in Italy after the Genoa. Fifteen years later, in 1911, the club’s football section joined the Italian Football Federation, and entered the regional divisions of the newly founded Italian championship.
Promoted to the Italian first division for the first time in 1922,

the Udinese reached the final of the Italian Cup the same year. After years of ups-and-downs, Udinese fell to the third division and spent most of the 1930s and 1940s between the second and tiers of the Italian football hierarchy. Until its return to the Serie A at the end of a 1949-1950 season in which the team from Udine managed a second-position finish in Serie B and a second consecutive promotion.

For its fifth season in Serie A, Udinese was agonisingly close to winning the Scudetto, finishing second only to the great AC Milan. Unfortunately, between sportive relegations, administrative issues and scandals, the exaltation was short-lived. The Udinese Calcio, relegated, entered a troubled period which would last until the beginning of the 1990s.
In 1996, the Udinese put an end to eight decades of promotions and relegations to finally establish itself in the Serie A. In the slipstream of its star recruit Oliver Bierhoff and his 27 goals in 1996-1997, Udinese managed the first European qualification of its history a year later, while setting itself as a serious contender for the honours in Serie A. However, alternating European qualifications and last gasp survival, the Udinese continued proving its inconsistency during the 2000s.

Capable of the best as well as the worst, able to rival with the greatest clubs in Italy but also to escape relegation on a thread despite the twenty nine goals of its star striker Di Natale in 2010, Udinese has in common with Rennes this great sportive unpredictability despite a very solid squad. The Italian club has also become a specialist in the recruitment of very promising wonder kids, sold for millions to great European club a few years later, such as Alexis Sánchez, transferred to Barcelona last summer.
Fourth in the last Serie A championship, the Udinese missed a qualification for the Group Phase of the Champions League when they lost to Arsenal in the competition’s play-off round. On paper, the Udinese is considered as the second best team in this Group I, behind the Atlético de Madrid and slightly before Rennes. This first game at the Stadio Friuli could therefore be already decisive for both teams.

Tactics

Last season Francesco Guidolin’s Udinese played an attacking minded 3-5-2 (or 5-3-2), where upcoming wingbacks Mauricio Isla and Pablo Armero were the key figures behind star striker duo Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sánchez. After the departure of Sánchez and second option attackers Germán Denis and Bernardo Corradi, Udinese had to choose a more defensive formation for this summer’s Champions League clashes against Arsenal. In this new 4-1-4-1 formation Di Natale remained as the only striker, while Giampiero Pinzi, usually a central midfielder, went up to play in an attacking midfielder role, with Kwadwo Asamoah or Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu as defensive cover. Meanwhile, wingbacks Isla and Armero started to play as right and left midfielders. At the end of the summer, Udinese signed attacking minded hot prospects Gabriel Torje, Roberto Pereyra and Diego Fabbrini, while Paulo Vitor Barreto and Antonio Floro Flores also re-joined the team, so there’s a major chance to see a more attack-minded team against Rennes.

Line by Line

Goalkeepers - There’s no goalie problem in Udine, that’s for sure. A real penalty-killer, Samir Handanovič (27) is Slovenia’s No.1 and widely regarded as one of the bests in Europe. Young backup keepers Daniele Padelli (25) and Rafael Romo (21) were Italian and Venezuelan U20 national team members, while fourth choice Emanuele Belardi (33) brings a lot of experience.

Defence - Udinese’s rock in the defence is Andrea Coda (26), but he is currently recovering from a serious injury and he is a major doubt for the game against Rennes. Thus, new Brazilian boy Danilo (27) could replace him, joining Moroccan international Mehdi Benatia (24) at the centre of the defence. Mauricio Isla (23) can play in numerous positions, including right, centre, and left back as well as winger, centre midfielder, and even forward. If he plays on the left side, Joel Ekstrand (22) will probably be the right back, as it was the case during the games against Arsenal. If not, then newly signed Neuton (21) or Maurizio Domizzi (31) could play on the left flank, while Isla would be lined-up at right back.

Midfield - Probably the strongest part of the team. Trained as a left back, skilful Pablo Armero (24) evolved into a dangerous left midfielder, and after showing some good performances at the Copa América with the Columbian national team, he’s keen to continue his good run against Serie A and Europa League teams. Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (20) is a talented Ghanaian defensive midfielder, sometimes paired with compatriot Kwadwo Asamoah (22) at the centre of the pitch. Fans’ favourite Giampiero Pinzi (30) is the heart of the midfield, while new Romanian wonderkid Gabriel Torje (21) can be a real threat on the right wing. If he gets a chance, the highly rated young winger Roberto Pereyra (20, ex-River Plate) could also be a player to watch out for.

Attack - Team captain Antonio Di Natale (33) doesn’t need to be introduced. He is Udine’s current goal scoring hero, also the biggest scorer in the history of the club with 113 goals netted so far. In addition, he is notable for his dribbling and passing skills, for his pace, and for his ability to score from free kicks. The question is: who will be his attacking partner? Antonio Floro Flores (28) seems to be a good option. They’ve already formed a good partnership in the past and last season, on-loan Floro Flores had an impressive 18 matches / 10 goals record at Genoa. Brazilian Barreto (26), who was noticed for his scoring ability while playing for Treviso and Bari, could be also a good choice, while Young Diego Fabbrini (21) could be the star of the club’s future.

A player to watch: Pablo Armero

Columbian Pablo Armero is a product of América de Cali’s Academy, and also played for Brazilian giants Palmeiras. In Columbia he won the national championship with América, and then in Brazil he was honoured as the second best left back of the year in 2009. Udinese announced his signing last year, after a failed transfer to Parma. A very pacy, technically gifted left winger, he has good passing abilities and a good eye for goal. On top of his game, he can prove very useful for both Udinese’s defence and attack. He’s considered as a Columbian Roberto Carlos, only without the powerful, bomb-like shots…

Tactical key to the match

Udinese’s weakness is its defence. The club has recruited several new players (Danilo, Ekstrand, Neuton) at the back, who have not played together and with the rest of the squad so much. The key for Rennes to win this match will be to apply pressure high on the pitch. They will make mistakes. Also quick counters out wide could be successful, since Udinese’s wingbacks are really attack-minded, and could leave gaps open on the flanks for Rennes.

Thanks to László Balázs (udinese.hu)
Sources : Wikipedia
Photos : lazioland.com, udinese.it