Another January transfer window has come and gone with Udinese making absolutely no changes to their roster; other than shuffling around players to various club subsidiaries owned by Giampaolo Pozzo.
Despite playing the worst season in recent history, despite being realistically/ridiculously close to relegation, and despite the upcoming retirement of their best player, Udinese did not feel like it was necessarily to make any changes to their disaster of a squad.
As there are no new Little Zebras for the rest of the season to discuss, let us instead reflect on some old names that are not always identified as being connected with Udinese.
Included on this list would be a previous player (that has won almost every major title titles, but was a complete bust in Udine), a confused coach (who didn’t quite get the “strange club”), and a Furlan fan (turned Canadian politician).
The Player: Dino Zoff
The Italian goal keeper is best known for his years at Juventus and the Italian National team—both as a player and as a manager. He has won several Scudetto titles, three Coppa Italias, two UEFA Cups, a World Cup, and was named Italy’s Golden Player in 2003, among other honours.
However, the 300+ game Juventino got his start in Udinese. Zoff, who is Friulano-born, began his professional career with the Zebrette, playing two seasons in 1961 – 1963, until he was traded to Mantova after failing to make an impression on his home region club.
The Coach: Roy Hodgson
The current English National coach and former Swiss National coach (among many, many other positions) had a brief six month coaching stint at Udinese in 2001.
Officially, Hodgson and Udinese departed ways through “mutual consent,” however it did not play out that way in the press. Prior to the departure, Hodgson had allegedly spoke to the English newspaper The Daily Mail about his appointment to the Northern Italian side, haven been quoted as saying, “obviously I’m very happy to be back at this level of football, but I could have chosen a better club to come back to. It’s an extremely strange club.”
Though Hodgson denied making the remarks, Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo retaliated by going on record with the Gazzetta dello Sport stating, “I am shocked by the declaration by Hodgson in the Daily Mail. It’s not really English behaviour and it’s hit me in the heart.”
Udinese has not hired another English coach since.
The Fan: Julian Fantino
While the name may be unfamiliar to the soccer world, the Honourable Julian Fantino is one that is easily recognizable in Canadian politics. He is the former Chief of Police for the City of Toronto and a current Canadian Member of Parliament.
He has held titles such as Minister of State (Seniors), Associate Minister of National Defense, Minister for International Development, and currently holds the position of Minister of Veterans Affairs.
However, along with his political portfolio, Fantino is also a diehard Udinese supporter, having been born in Udine and moving to Canada when he was 11. Recently this past June, the Canadian MP travelled back to his hometown and made a special visit to the Stadio Friuli, where he received a special custom jersey and was a feature story on the team website.
