Even if the recent generation of Udinese Calcio isn’t living up to its early 20th century European conquerors, le zebrette seem to be the one Italian club who knows what they are, why they do what they do and what they stand for – staying in Serie A.
To call it a transit lounge is unfair, but for those who’ve shined in Udine it’s sadly just a temporary stop on the way to bigger and better things, or in some cases just a bigger club, not better times.
Home to what was commonly described as ‘the world’s best scouting network’ Udinese have seen their fair share of world class footballers come and go and being asked to pick a all time XI isn’t an easy task, one which is obviously open to interpretation, but I believe I’ve represented Udinese and their history in an Alberto Zaccheroni inspired 3-4-3.
Sidenote, I could line this side up with five forwards so my apologies to those I left out. You know who you are.
Goalkeeper: Samir Handanovic
Forget about the aging keeper who was slow to the ground and prone to the occasional clanger keeping the goal line warm in Milan, we’re talking the Udinese version of Handanovic, ‘Batman’, an acrobatic and agile, world class, renowned penalty stopping, shot stopper.
The Slovenian keeper, who donned a Lazio jersey for one match in 2006, made his debut for Udinese at the ripe old age of 20 and had an eventful start to his Italian adventure getting sent off in his club debut in the 91st minute of a 2004 Coppa Italia match against Lecce.
Handanovic returned to Udine in 2007 after loan spells at Treviso and Rimini, where he remained making 212 appearances keeping 71 clean sheets in the process before joining Inter Milan in 2012.
In the 2010-2011 season Handanovic went on the save six penalties, equalling a record that stood since 1948-49 and although I could have easily settled on Morgan De Sanctis here, the Slovenian’s all-round game and outstanding performances for the club earn him the number one jersey.
Central Defender: Alessandro Calori
The central defender joined Udinese from Pisa and went on to spend eight seasons with the club making 286 appearances in all competitions, many as club captain, from 1991 to 1999.
The tough tackling no-nonsense defender, there will be a theme here – wait for it, won the hearts and minds of the faithful home support with his man marking abilities, and strength in one-on-one battles.
Despite forever being linked with his time in Udine, Calori will be fondly remembered by many for scoring the decisive goal in the final matchday of the 1999-00 season helping Perugia to a 1-0 victory over Juventus, ultimately costing the Turin side the Scudetto to Lazio.
Central Defender: Valerio Bertotto
Bertotto’s record speaks for itself across fifteen seasons at the club, including being capped by the Italian national side four times between 2000 and 2001 all whilst playing for Udinese. The defender was a part of the Udinese UEFA Intertoto Cup winning squad in 2000, making over 400 appearances for the little Zebras.
The defender, who only scored three goals across his 15-year-spell in Udine, was comfortable playing in a back three as a right sided central defender or in a back four as a right back, and was known for his tough-tackling, no holds barred, uncompromising tackling techniques as well as being solid in the air, despite his slight stature.
Central Defender: Roberto ‘Nestor’ Sensini
The Argentinean starts in both TGU All Time XI’s for Parma and Udinese, thanks to his lengthy spells in Italy, arriving in Udine in 1989 where he remained until 1993, and returning back to the club in 2002 for another four-year spell.
Capped 60 times by his country, Sensini went on to play at three FIFA World Cups (1990, 1994 and 1998), winning the Copa America twice (1991 and 1993) however he is unfortunately remembered by many for conceding what could be considered a dubious penalty in the 1990 FIFA World Cup final against West Germany.
The tough tackling, no holds barred, uncompromising Sensini (I told you this would be a theme) went on to greater success as a collective with Parma however is still fondly remembered in Udine. Sensini returned to the club in 2006 for a short spell as manager however he resigned when his co-manager Loris Dominissini was sacked, yet this ill-fated stint as manager hasn’t harmed the Argentineans reputation as one of Udinese’s finest players.
Midfielder: Fabio Rossitto
The unheralded Rossitto wasn’t the most glamourous of players but knew his role and did it well during his two spells at the club.
During his first spell at the club between 1989 – 1997, Rossitto’s all-round game and work rate won him both the love of the locals, and one cap for the Azzurri, before going on to earn a spot in the 1996 European Championship squad, one of three Udinese players involved in the tournament – Oliver Bierhoff and Thomas Helveg being the other two.
On the international front Rossitto was also a part of the Azzurrini winning squad that conquered the 1994 U21 European Championships defeating Portugal in the final after extra time. Rossitto spent most of his playing career under the guidance of Alberto Zaccheroni in Udine before making a big money move to Napoli where ultimately things didn’t work out. The midfielder returned to Udinese in 2002 for two more seasons.
Midfielder: Gökhan İnler
Declaring my interest up front, I loved Inler and he was one of my favourite players during this time period in Italy. The combative Swiss international was the heart and soul of the Udinese midfield between 2007 to 2011, prior to his move south where he went on to win the hearts and minds of the Napoli faithful.
Inler arrived in Udine after the club met his buy-out clause with FC Zurich and he went quickly about establishing himself as an immediate starter appearing in 37 matches in his debut season helping Udinese finish in 7th position.
The following season Inler continued his upward trajectory going on to reinforce his position as one of the leagues most underrated midfielders and helping Udinese to a consecutive 7th place finish.
Inler’s last season in Udine saw highlights galore despite the slow start from the Friulian side. At one point early in the season Udinese sat in last position before their steady climb up the ladder but it was a season of highlights for the club. There was a 13-match undefeated run, they thrashed Palermo 7-0, stole a 3-1 win over Inter Milan, grabbed two victories over Scudetto challengers Napoli and played out an entertaining and crazy 4-4 draw with eventual champions AC Milan, to finish in fourth position
The tenacious and tactically astute Inler is still playing as we write and won three league titles in three different countries (Switzerland, England and Turkey). Any Udinese greatest XI would be incomplete without the Swiss number 88.
Midfielder: Rodrigo De Paul
There may be players with more games, and more goals or perhaps even more historically linked to Udinese but for mine, De Paul is a walk-up starter in this side. The Argentinean had a slow start to life with Udinese, and what first looked like a repeat of his first spell in Europe with Valencia, turned into a golden period for De Paul.
In De Paul’s first season at the club he spent time rotating positions between playing as a support striker, a number 10, and even out wide as a winger at one point, before eventually finding home in a central midfield role. One of Europe’s finest with the ball at his feet, De Paul made his home in Udine for five seasons going on to become one of the Serie A’s best midfielders before eventually making a big money move to Spain.
Comfortable bringing the ball deep out of his own territory, doing the defensive dirty work, dictating his sides possession, or playing a crucial role in attack, De Paul is an elite midfielder, and that’s mainly in part, not only to his upbringing and regeneration as a player, but largely thanks to his time with Udinese.
Midfielder: Zico
Just get him on the field: it’s Zico.
Forward: Antonio Di Natale
Few knew what lay in store for Antonio Di Natale when he joined Udinese from then Serie B club Empoli in August in 2004. Not only did he go on to only become club captain, but he also led Udinese to third and fourth place finishes, reached a double figures goal tally in nine consecutive seasons and won the Capocannoniere in 2010 and 2011. On top of this, he won the AIC Serie A footballer of the year prize in 2010, became Udinese’s top appearance holder and goal-scorer in Serie A with 191 goals in 385 appearances and just to prove his loyalty to Udinese turned down three lucrative moves away from the club.
First came a reported €10 million annual contract from Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, followed by an offer from an unnamed MLS club of $8 million per season in 2014-15 then for the icing on top of the cake the forward reportedly rejected an offer to Juventus in 2010, thanks to his family commitments.
Di Natale also took financial responsibility for the disabled sister of late teammate Piermario Morosini, who passed away due to a sudden cardiac arrest in 2012 when playing on loan for Livorno, and finished his career with 209 Serie A goals in 445 appearances (and that’s playing for Empoli and Udinese) – the 6th highest goal scorer in Serie A history.
Di Natale’s ability and natural talent allowed him to adapt to any strike partner and his relationship with his teammates was there for all to see so it’s easy to see why the small forward is considered one of the greatest, and most prolific, attacking players of his generation and an automatic starter for and Udinese greatest XI.
Forward: Abel Balbo
The Argentinean striker had spells at four different clubs in Italy (Parma, Udinese, Roma and Fiorentina) and is remembered well not only in the nation’s capital but in Udine where he made his Serie A debut.
Balbo made the move across to Italy at the age of 23 and went on to score 11 goals in his debut season, and despite Udinese being relegated, the striker stayed with the club going on to finish Serie B top scorer with 23 goals in 25 appearances, this in a season where Udinese finished in 8th position, in Serie B.
The forward’s final season with the club in 1992/93 was a standout as he helped Udinese avoid relegation, finishing 15th in an 18-team league, by scoring 21 goals in 32 matches.
The following season he made the move south to join Roma, and despite winning more trophies with Roma and Parma, a Scudetto and Italian Super Cup and UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia respectively, he’s still fondly remembered in Udine as one of their greatest strikers and has done enough to earn the imaginary number jersey 9 in this side.
Forward: Oliver Bierhoff
The German shot to fame scoring the winner in the Euro 96 final, and the first Golden Goal in international football, helping his country defeat the Czech Republic and catapulting the then-Udinese striker into the limelight.
Not known as the most technical of strikers with the ball at his feet, Bierhoff had an innate ability to play the role of a powerful centre forward, who could play back to goal or as a target man, to perfection.
Bierhoff’s first stint in Italy was with Ascoli, spending four seasons at the club between Serie A and Serie B, and he finished his Italian adventure at Chievo Verona, so it was his time in the black and white stripes that helped him earn the big money move to AC Milan and prove he was more than just a one-dimension player.
In Bierhoff’s final season at the club playing alongside Italian forward Paolo Poggi and Brazilian forward Amoroso in a fearsome front three, and under the guidance of Alberto Zaccheroni, the German finished the season with 27 goals, and the title of capocannonieri, ahead of the likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Alessandro Del Piero, Ronaldo, and Roberto Baggio, to help Udinese to a 3rd place finish.
The German finished his Udinese career with 62 goals in 96 matches in all competitions, a remarkable strike rate at any club in any era.