An unlikely and unexpected loss away to Genoa could have put a big dent into Francesco Guidolin’s title aspirations had Diego Milito not come to the rescue on Sunday night. The argentine’s derby winner along with Juventus’ inability to dispatch Cagliari still keeps the Bianconeri a mere three points off the top spot in Serie A.
The match at the Luigi Ferarris was spectacular for any neutral watching but gut wrenching for the away fans. The performance was inconsistent which made for excellent viewing and ultimately allowed the Rossoblu to snatch victory. Genoa coach Pasquale Marino appears to be Guidolin’s nemesis – having now beaten the Zebrette coach in their four previous direct confrontations.
However, despite the 3-2 reverse, coach Guidolin defended his team’s performance. He told journalists, “We lost concentration, it happens sometimes. It has nothing to do with the absent players as I won’t comment on individuals”, referring to those away on African Cup of Nations duty. “We need to get back that attention to detail, that focus which allowed us to get the results we have previously obtained.”
Morale still appears to be high in the camp, but two defeats (including the Coppa Italia loss to Chievo) must raise some concerns on whether the Udinese locomotive is beginning to run out of steam. Interestingly, the squad has been preparing this week by testing out a change in formation. Though it is not envisaged that the coach would decide to drop his favoured 3-5-2 approach, over the last two days the team has experimented with a back four. This could be for one of many reasons which we can only begin to surmise.
Does the coach feel he will not be able to replace the impressive Mehdi Benatia for the time he is away on international duty, rendering his defensive trio too fragile for Serie A? Does he want to sharpen up the players with a different tactical approach, fearing they have some how become stale? Or, it could simply be that with Catania on the horizon, Vincenzo Montella’s three pronged attack would be better contained with a defence made up of 4 covering players as opposed to three.
As if this was not already enough for fans to deliberate leading up to the weekend match, Chilean Mauricio Isla is again a doubt and would be a major blow to preparations if he fails to pass any late fitness test. We did comment last week that he was struggling to make it for the Genoa game, and although he did play last Sunday, the midfielder has not trained properly since that match. A problem with his left thigh is hampering his involvement and it is possible that he will forfeit the confrontation with the Sicilians.
Giampiero Pinzi was also missing from the last session but this was more of a precaution and he is expected to be fully fit for the weekend. Also absent was Thierry Doubai who has been loaned out to French club Sochaux for the remainder of the season.
One player that fans will be hoping to get a look at very soon is the newly acquired Bryan Carrasco. The right sided Chilean winger, blessed with speed and skill has arrived on loan to bolster the attacking options. Nicknamed ‘El Velociraptor’ fans at the Stadio Friuli will be hoping the new man will be able to tear his way through the opposition defences and lessen the load on captain Antonio Di Natale.
Supporters will equally be hoping the Udinese scudetto challenge will not be going the same way as the dinosaurs…an unexplained disappearance from view.
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