Monday, May 7, 2012

This was written a couple of months ago, but I decided to post it now. Hope you enjoy it.


The Glue of Udine

    This has been a curious past couple of years for the team based out of the city Udine. Udinese has been known as the enigma of the Serie A and has had fans questioning where the team is heading. From flirting the top of the table and barely missing a European spot in consecutive years from 07’-09’ to shooting down to 15 in the league in 10’. Yet something happened in the 15th placed year that would change the club for the better moving on and his name is Francesco Guidolin.
    The man who put together and built a 3-5-2 team that would struggle at the start of his tenure, would in later years prove to have made the right choice, with the right squad, in the right league. While Udinese was dropping down the league table, Guidolin was coaching Parma who would end the season at a surprising 8th. This was all the Udine giants would need to see as they made their dash for the coach. His first year at the helm ended rough, but the second had them jump up to fourth and into Champions League qualifications for only the second time in the teams history. What a great accomplishment this is for the coach and the team. Taking a step back and looking at the teams that they had to beat in order to place fourth, is great as well. From Roma, to Juventus to the surging Napoli as well, this turned out to be a historic achievement for both coach and squad. Yet it wasn’t until this year that we would see the true wonder of the 10’-11’ Panchina d’Oro award winning coach of the year.
    A quick look of this years squad compared to last years fourth place squad, you will notice some major differences. Two of the changes stand out above the rest and with these two changes, you would expect a team like Udinese to fold, crumble and drop out of contention. These changes came because of two major powerhouses in Europe, Napoli and Barcelona. The things that made Udinese great to watch and a force to reckon with, was their midfield paired up with two of the top forwards in the Serie A. Everyone knows one of them, as he is still on the team and still scoring goals at an alarming rate, Antonio Di Natale. The other forward, a young man from Chile born eleven years after his teammate, Alexis Sanchez. This combo was putting on a show in every match that they played and Udinese was even dubbed the Barcelona of Italy. Well, with that type of reputation, it was only a matter of time before the real Barca caught wind and the eye of Sanchez, who would move to the Spanish giant in the summer.
    The midfield had the same look as the forwards, with the Switzerland International Gokhan Inler, who was moved to Serie A giants Juventus, playing alongside Kwadwo Asamoah from Ghana. This tandem, alongside the strike force of Sanchez and Toto (Di Natale), proved to be wonders in the past, but worrisome for the future. With Champions League on the horizon and two of the teams major star players gone, how would, not only the team, but the coach carry on and hold their own. Little did we all know what would happen from here on out.
    The start of the Sere A campaign for Udinese started out as good as they have hoped for. Conceding only one goal the first seven games in league play was a huge boost for the team, while the same time in Europe, they were having a much harder time getting adjusted to their new team and lack of attack up front. In their Champions League qualifiers, they were knocked out in a home and home against Arsenal with a 3-1 aggregate score and being pushed to the Europa League to try to fight for European glory there. Yet as they were shutting out the likes of Cagliari, Atalanta and Fiorentina, they were giving up goals by the bunches in Europe. In the first six matches, they conceded nine goals, most of which was topped off with a 4-0 win at the hands of Atletico Madrid. This seemed to have been the dagger in the Udine side that would end not only their chance of European trophies, but also, their chance to get back to the Champions League the following year.
    Two star players gone, hopes slowly fading away and fans worrying for the worst, somehow, this team stayed even keeled. They were held together by glue that would hold them steady enough to stay amongst the top of the Italian League tables and stay relevant just long enough in Europe to make their move. And to this writers surprise, their move was made at the worst of times. Toto Di Natale was the Leagues top goal scorer for the past couple of years and was making his approach to the same position again until he went down with injury in February, the worst time for the team. They we in a tie with PAOK Salonika of Greece in the Europa League after a very disappointing 0-0 results in Udine, Italy. With this result, they had to fly to Greece and hope for either a win or at least a 1-1 tie to move on, but without Italy’s best striker, things looked shaky. Yet this glue that was doing a masterful job of holding the team together so far would seem to prevail again. With players stepping up to the task like defenders Danilo from Brazil as well as Maurizio Domizzi of Italy and the resurgence of Antonio Floro Flores, Udinese left Greece with a 3-0 win and a spot in the next round.

    This group epitomized the meaning of a team, held together by a strong glue that has them currently in third in the Serie A standing. Held by a glue that has them only conceding seven goals when playing home, second to only the league leaders Milan. Held together by a glue that has eleven different players scoring goals. Held together by a glue that has a 34 year old playing like he is in his mid twenties and scoring goals in bunches and leading the league in goals once again. This glue is something out of this world, a substance the likes of Inter and Fiorentina would love to have. The only problem is that this glue is not for sale. You will not find it in any store nor will you find it at any other club. This glue is set on a goal and that goal is European greatness. Whether the glue is enough to achieve this goal or not is yet to be seen, but the ride is sure worth the price of admission. Francesco Guidolin is the glue of Udine and if things settle in properly, Udinese and Guildolin will be stuck together for years to come.