Udinese’s Strama Situation

Date: 23rd December 2014 at 10:00am
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stramaccioni udineseIt was never going to be an easy task to replace Francesco Guidolin at Udinese.

So, when it was announced that Andrea Stramaccioni — affectionally known as Strama — would be taking over as head coach, people regarded the appointment with morbid curiosity.

Now, five months into the appointment, it is time to reflect back on that morbid curiosity: has Strama managed to live up to Guidolin-expectation in Udine? Has he made the team his own in such a short time? And, has he improved the Zebrette’s reputation?

To answer those questions (and more!) Forza Italian Football presents “The Strama Situation: an analytical, theoretical, and emotional look at how the Roman has been faring with Udinese, thus far.”

Analytical: Fundamentally Fatal Furlan Foibles (or, Fourth Place Fallout)

Udinese celebratingUdinese are not a great team.

They have moments of greatness, but, overall, they are painfully and perfectly mediocre. Udinese’s modus operandi has typically involved sluggish starts and fantastic finishes, which (excluding last season) have secured them a yearly European spot since 2010.

Ideally, by the Christmas break, they should be in the 20-point range, which is where they currently sit. However, when they secured a fourth place in Serie A at the beginning of the season, one would hope that they would manage to keep up that momentum.

It’s a shame they didn’t.

Strama had a chance to distinguish himself from Guidolin, to make something new with his team. At the beginning of the season it seemed as if he would, but then the powerhouse Zebras faded into the fall.

The start of the 2014/15 season saw an Udinese of seasons’ past, a fast pace attacking spirit that was once the norm from years past. Unfortunately, they were not able to keep the momentum and slipped back into an average, boring form.

Theoretical: The Di Natale Distraction

Di Natale + Andrea StramaccioniThere is one exciting thing this season though: Antonio Di Natale.

More than ever, Udinese is “The Di Natale Show.” With the whole of the Italian football world waiting to see if A) he becomes Serie A’s top goal scorer this season and B) to see if he surpasses Roberto Baggio in all-time goals scored (Baggio: 205; Di Natale: 201), matches have increasingly become Di Natale’s achievements, not the team’s.

Udinese may lose a match, but if Toto scores, that is just as good.

Therefore, Strama has been able to hide behind Di Natale’s achievements instead of being accountable for his own. Now, every game is reflective of Di Natale’s performance; the team falls second to its captain.

Ideally, Strama should be focusing on his team’s Serie A campaign, not a single player’s performance. However, as long as that player is performing and getting the immediate gratification needed — for example, adding to his own goal count, rather than his team’s points earned — Strama will not be questioned.

Emotional: Using Udinese, Interested in Inter

Andrea Stramaccioni InterBut he should be. And fans should especially be questioning his devotion to their Furlan team.

Strama looooooves Udinese. He’s, like, totally so excited to be here. His kid — who was born in Udine earlier this year — is 100 percent Furlan. He is always shown in Udinese swag during interviews. And his wife will favourite any pro-Udinese/Strama tweet on Twitter.

Seriously:

Sonja Strama feature

Strama and Udinese are BFFs 4ever. No take-backsies… That is, until Inter wants him backsies.

Inter is the love of Strama’s life, the one who got away; he has even publicly stated that he wants to return to the club.

So, where does that leave Udinese?

How can he be focusing his attention on one team, while his heart pines for another? Archie could never give the affection that Betty deserved with Veronica looming in the wings. Bella only took Jacob because Edward was unavailable. And when push came to shove, Ilsa got on that plane for Victor, leaving Rick behind.

The goal for Strama is not to be successful with Udinese, it is to be taken back by Inter. And while Udinese’s success may play a part with that rekindling, it is just a small step in a much larger picture; and we’ve all seen how this story ends: with Udinese crying in the bathroom.

Conclusion and Solution

Andrea Stramaccioni - InterStrama is keeping the status quo.

This is neither good nor bad, but rather, a reflection of what has become a rather boring season for Udinese. Mid-table purgatory is where they belong and if they continue playing how they have been, mid-table purgatory is where they will stay.

If Strama wants to leave his mark and step out of Guidolin’s shadow, he will have to do something creative and unexpected come January. He will have to focus on his current club, rather than a maybe-future one. And, he will have to push his team to strive for more than just the status quo.

Follow Sonja Missio on Twitter at: @SonjaMissio

 

One response to “Udinese’s Strama Situation”

  1. I’ve never rated Strama as a coach. Any good result that he has got tends to be in spite of him & not because of him. He reeks of indecision & his teams don’t appear to have an identity, or philosophy.