Udinese, A Tactical Introduction

It happens to be Udinese loving season and followers of the Italian game have rightly lauded and written about the Udinese business model which sets the club apart from most clubs. It is a buy cheap/young then sell-on for profit model. It involves tapping unexploited markets bypassed by other clubs. It also involves the acquisition of raw talent and molding such talent into very attractive acquisitions for “bigger” clubs. Credit has to go to Giampaolo Pozzo, the Chairman of the club and it is expected that Fabrizio Larini who took over from Sergio Gasparin as Sporting Director at the start of this season can continue to be successful with this system. Larini’s experience working at reputable youth set-ups at Parma and Atalanta can only be good news for the Zebrette. For now, Udinese will still have to rely on their ability to spot talent in different footballing communities around the world.

This can be considered as your short guide to the Udinese tactical set-up under Francesco Guidolin for the next few months (By next season, some key players barring Di Natale would probably have moved on).

BUILD-UP
The system relies on ball retention to some degree. The goalkeeper hits the ball to one of the three centre-backs (Some teams have countered this by employing 3 forwards during Udinese goal-kicks to force the side into long-balls). This action is followed by a direct pass to one of the two of Di Natale who though a poacher drops deep into space and is quite effective at this. If this method isn’t successful in end-product, the players consider a more measured approach by attempting to build possession by taking advantage of flank overloads, and flank switching.

Flank Overload.
This usually entails utilizing Mauricio Isla as an option down the right flank. Giampiero Pinzi, and Alexis Sánchez move into this channel to create an overload on this flank and the ball-playing abilities of this trio and their fluid movement allow the trio to lose their markers and dominate this zone. From this zone, crosses to the far post for Antonio Di Natale or cut-back crosses for late runners into the box are engineered.

Flank Switching.
With play heavily focussed down the right channel for the Zebrette, opposition teams can be easily deceived into ignoring the threat of Pablo Armero down in the left channel. If little success is achieved in the right channel, a quick flank switch involving the midfield duo of Gökhan Inler and Kwadwo Asamoah is used to bring Armero into the game. Armero, the Colombian wing-back has similarities in his game to Daniel Alves. The p-words, pace and power, and a brilliant dribbling ability are key attributes which he utilizes to wreck havoc down the left channel creating chances for himself and his teammates. Ignoring him while Udinese overload the right channel is a mistake sides are prone to.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
The Zebrette usually have two midfielders in the midfield region in the attacking phase of their play. When play is built-up on the left, it is usually Inler and Pinzi and if it is down the right, it becomes Inler and Asamoah. Whenever play is built through the midfield, Udinese can have about five players in midfield (If Di Natale drops deep) but usually have use a 4 man midfield (Sánchez drops deep) to create a numerical superiority in midfield to control the game. This usually makes it difficult for sides to play the ball around them in midfield. The ball-winning abilities and work-rate levels of Pinzi, Inler and Asamoah are up there with the best in Italy.

THE DEFENCE
Udinese have the luxury of having defenders who are comfortable on the ball and possess good technique. Their three man defence also allows them to have a spare man at the back when playing two man attacks and their ball playing ability means they do not become redundant when playing against a lone striker.
As expected of any team (that is not named Barcelona), there are periods when Udinese come under bombardment from the opposition and their midfield shift around to combat the threat of the opposition attack. The back-line becomes a 5-man defence as expected. Udinese games also provide entertaining match-ups between wing-backs if the opposition relies on their wing-backs for width. As teams attack, Di Natale and Sánchez lie in wait on the break looking to execute quick counter-attacks that rely on direct cross-field passes and quick movement.

KEY PLAYERS
It would do no good if a tactical break-down of Udinese goes without mentioning players like Di Natale, Sánchez, and Inler as good tactics rely on players successfully executing their given roles.

“Toto” Di Natale
Di Natale plays as a poacher for the side and he usually makes his runs off the last defender. He is equally capable of playing as a seconda punta for any other side as he has the passing ability and creativity required. He drops deep and attempts exploiting his creative attributes to create chances for his other teammates making runs from deep.

Alexis Sánchez
Guidolin’s 3-5-2 is actually a 3-5-1-1 with Sánchez playing as the 1 behind the striker. Sánchez, actually a winger has taken to this position brilliantly after developing cold feet about it early on. He reads the game superbly and easily picks the spaces in the opposition defence with ease. While his pace, flair and dribbling skills are something to behold, his end product can not be considered frustrating and it is time the “raw” tag attached to players of his age and style, is dropped whenever his name is mentioned as it probably is cliched. Possessing brilliant technical skills, his tactical attributes such as his movement and decision-making have improved brilliantly this season and a combination of both enable him to fashion out chances for himself and his teammates.

Gökhan Inler
While Inler can be considered your typical box-to-box midfielder, he leaves most of that to his partners in midfield and plays a more conservative role in the side. He retains his position in front of the defence from which he displays a sound passing ability and good ball retention. From this base in midfield, he bosses games and is key to the Udinese system.

Any new follower of the Serie A will not be disappointed watching Udinese. One is treated to an attacking 3-5-2 which is both exciting to watch and tactically fascinating. Expect lots of flair on display, goals and it’s actually better than watching Barcelona because a win isn’t assured.

FORZA ZEBRETTE!!!!

If you enjoyed this, you can also check out James’ personal football blog here or follow James on twitter @stonegold546