An Open Letter to Udinese’s Pozzo

Dear Giampaolo Pozzo,

Let us begin by saying: thank you.

Thank you for everything you have done for Udinese. From sticking with us in the 1980s through scandal and regulation to building a brand new stadium that still incorporates our beloved arch into the renovated design.

We appreciate your scouting tactics, whether it be young players moulded into Serie A superstars or having faith in implementing innovating coaching regimes.

We are grateful that we can proudly wear Muntari, Bierhoff, Sanchez, Handanovic, among other greats, on the back of our jerseys because of you.

We are indebted to the fact you helped us become a household name, a team to be feared, a team to be respected, and a team that has the potential to be a European qualifying force.

You made us into Davids that defeated the Goliaths of Italy.

Believe us when we say we are honoured that you took our little Friulano team into a new era. You have been at the helm of the Zebrette for nearly 30 years and you have become our second father, our Pari Pupa Pozzo, and we love you.

But, we need to talk.

The above is all true, we are grateful and appreciated and proud; but we are also frustrated, annoyed, and desperate. And worse, we do not see any alleviation in the near future.

Over the past few years, we have watched players raise the profile of Udinese under your careful and gracious guidance and we have watch them become the foundation for the pillars of Udinese’s success.

We watched their success, their triumphant, and their maturity into top class players. And then we have watched them leave to carry on their glory elsewhere.

Which would be fine, if they were replaced with players of equal calibre and experience, instead of the fresh-faced, unheard-of’s that are constantly being added to our squad, with the hope and gamble that they will be the ‘next big thing’.

Only to be, once again, sold and replaced with a greenhorn standby.

The idea of Udinese as a feeder team is not working. We are supplying the players to make Europe’s biggest clubs even better, and then we struggle to compete against them.

Alexis Sanchez was sold to Barcelona for €26 million, Fabio Quagliarella to Napoli for €18 million, Mehdi Benatia to Roma for €13.5 million, Samir Handanovic to Inter for €11 million, , and, just recently, Luis Muriel could also be going to Sampdoria for a reported €10.5 million.

What have you been doing with the money? Why are you not replacing the ‘next big thing’ with a ‘current big thing’? Why don’t we see the fruits of our team’s labour, replacing what we have sowed?

Over the last few years, we have acquired a taste for glory and we like it. We deserve it. And we need an owner, a leader, a Pari Pupa who believes we deserve it too.

We have watched our little team explode worldwide; in our 118 years of existence, Udinese has never experienced such a global impact as it has in our last 10 years and we want to keep that momentum going.

Pari Pupa Pozzo, we ask you, Furlan to Furlan, to buy someone this January transfer window. A name we have heard of; a name we can be proud of, rather than become proud of. Give us someone we respect to prove you respect us.

And, please, do not immediately send him to Watford.

Buine fortune and graciis,

Your Zebrette.

Follow Sonja Missio on Twitter at: @SonjaMissio