As the autumn sun sank lower in the North Italian sky, it felt as though Udinese’s flying start to the Serie A season was at risk of fading too. Staring at a two-goal deficit against fellow high-flyers Atalanta, Andrea Sottil’s side were in need of a miracle.
But as the home crowd roared, the players responded, and before long hope had turned to belief inside the Stadio Friuli. A sensational free-kick from Gerard Deulofeu, whom English football fans will remember from his stints at Everton and Watford, brought the game back into life, and from that moment Udinese rediscovered the courage that had seen them lose just one of their opening eight games.
The pressure mounted and Atalanta, who had looked so assured for large swathes of the match, began to crumble. Their passing was less crisp, their touches more hurried. A frenzy was gathering among those in black and white, and the equaliser felt inevitable.
It arrived with 12 minutes to play, as Nehuén Perez powered a bullet header into the roof of the net. Cue pandemonium amongst the home support. Tolgay Arslan came close to notching a winner late on, but in the end a draw had been snatched from the jaws of defeat in spite of the football betting trends, to the point where this felt sweeter than a victory.
“We won’t ever settle,” said Sottil afterwards. “We know that we can keep challenging up top. I might seem repetitive, but we are taking it game by game.”
A Pillar of Serie A History
Udine is a small, attractive city, but its harsh weather conditions are in sharp contrast to the sunny climes most people associate with Italy. A stone’s throw from the Slovenian border, Udine is sheltered from the razzmatazz of other parts of the country. Those who visit Venice some 80 miles south west perhaps don’t feel the need to leave the glittering canals behind in search of hardier locales.
It is the football club that has put Udinese on the map. Now a staple of the Italian top flight, Udinese have been an ever-present in Serie A for 26 years, a remarkable run of consistency which has yielded European football on several occasions, notably competing in the Champions League in the 2005-06 campaign. They also reached the quarter-finals of the 2008-09 UEFA Cup, losing out to eventual runners-up Werder Bremen.
Whilst Udine may not appear to be the most attractive destinations for star players at surface level, the club have created a familial culture, where every need of players and their loved ones are taken care of without question. It’s for this reason the likes of Antonio Di Natale, one of the most iconic Serie A players of the 2000s, spurned the advances of Juventus and Liverpool to remain at his beloved Udinese.
Hope For The Here And Now
In the last decade, those adventures have been hard to come by. The club has tread water somewhat, but recently there has been a shift towards more aspirational targets. The redevelopment of the Stadio Friuli, which included three stands of the stadium being rebuilt, has breathed new life into the club, while the form of exciting players like Deulofeu and Isaac Success has ignited the fire in the bellies of Udinese’s passionate supporters.
This season, there is a newfound sense of purpose in the way the team is playing. Sottil has championed a culture where mediocrity is no longer an acceptable level, and the results are clear for all to see.
Third in the Serie A table at the time of writing, there is real belief that this season could see Udinese could mount a serious challenge for European football. To put this sudden rise into perspective, the club haven’t finished in the top half of the league table since 2013.
There is a long road ahead, but Udinese appear to be moving in an exciting direction. The courage demonstrated by the team in battling back against Atalanta was proof that there is more substance to the side than we have seen for a long time. Perhaps now is the time we see this great club realise their true potential.
