Udinese have sacked their coach Pasquale Marino after a streak of bad showings.This is no surprise concedering that just barely 2 months ago they were among the top teams in the Serie A.
The club have now replaced him with Gianni Biasi. Udinese are currently in 14 place and with a round of tough fixtures coming up when the league resumes after the winter break, the club will be hoping that their new tactician will be able to reverse their fortunes and help them get back into a European qualifying spot. Read more... (180 words, 3 images, estimated 43 secs reading time)
Nickname(s): The Little Zebras
All-Time Ranking: 13th
2007/2008 Finish: 7th
2008/2009 Position (as of 04/07): 14th
Coach: Pasquale Marino
Key Players: Antonio Di Natale, Fabio Quagliarella, Gaetano D’Agostino
History:
Udinese was founded in 1896, making it one of the oldest teams in Serie A, but the squad would have no success until 1950 when they were finally promoted to Serie A. Just five years later, the team almost shocked the nation when they finished second to Milan for the scudetto. Soon after though they disappeared from the top flight for decades again. Read more... (223 words, 3 images, estimated 54 secs reading time)
Udinese gave themselves a timely boost of confidence ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Cup quarter-final second-leg decider against Werder Bremen as two late goals from Antonio Floro Flores earned them a 2-0 victory at bottom club Reggina.
Neither side were able to make much headway in the first half, with the hosts having won just three games all season and Udinese looking for their first away success since October. The parameters changed ten minutes after the interval, however, when Maurizio Lanzaro was sent off after bringing down Floro Flores in the area. Maurizio Domizzi blazed the resultant spot-kick over the bar, but Reggina were further hit when Antonino Barillà picked up a second yellow card on 64 minutes. Read more... (198 words, 3 images, estimated 48 secs reading time)
Udinese are convinced they can turn around their 3-1 first-leg defeat by Werder Bremen and book themselves a UEFA Cup semi-final place.
Udinese were floored by two fine goals from Bremen’s Brazilian playmaker Diego and a third from Hugo Almeida before a late strike by Fabio Quagliarella kept them in the tie. With the Italians now able to qualify with a 2-0 victory in Thursday’s second leg at the Stadio Friuli, striker Simone Pepe said that the mood of the players was defiant and upbeat. “We’re very confident about the return leg,” he said. “Everything is possible in football … and we really believe we can turn this result around. The goal we scored has shown us the way to an extent, because 3-0 would have been a bit more difficult. Now we’ve just got to roll our sleeves up.” Read more... (470 words, 3 images, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)
It has been a disappointing season for Werder Bremen. They stumbled out of the starting blocks, picking up only two victories in the first three months, and the slow start set the tone for the rest of the campaign.
Thomas Schaaf’s men currently sit in 10th place in the Bundesliga, a whopping 10 points behind fifth-placed Stuttgart, and are in serious danger of failing to qualify for Europe.
There are signs of encouragement, though. Two victories in their last three matches on the domestic front, coupled with a 3-2 aggregate victory over St. Etienne in the UEFA Cup, have given their supporters a glimmer of hope that a strong finish is on the horizon. Read more... (623 words, 3 images, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)
