bestianera
19 Aug 2002, 03:20 PM
First occasion to watch the new Udinese for its fans (12.000 of them,myself included); however Lazio and Torino step on the pitch first.
the romans impress,they play with a spectacular and efficient passing game and are quick in the pressing when they have to win back the ball; Crespo and Fiore light up the match with great plays,the latter operating out of his natural position as winger.
conversely,NT right fullback Oddo is anything but outstanding,an actual evidence of the struggle to find valid men on the wings for Italy (he's been called by Trapattoni for the Italy-Slovenia match in Trieste)
Torino looks like serie B material,i hope for the good of serie A there are not 4 worse teams in the league next season... poor overall quality but few ideas.
Lazio wins 3-0 and it could have been uglier,believe me: the biancocelesti outclassed il Toro in every department
finally it's Udinese's turn,against Torino: starting defensive line (minus Sottil,still recovering from the knee injury) but second lines in midfield and attack.It's plain 4-4-2
Renard (a great save!)
Bertotto on the right out
Manfredini and Sensini in the middle
Pieri the left back
Martinez
Bedin probably leaving for a serie B club soon
Muntari
Jorgensen first official test for the Dane,as always affected by a series of health issues
Di Michele
Iaquinta groan...
the squad is sporting the provisional uniforms: an elegant but undistinct kit comprised of black shorts and socks,white shirt with a black stripe running on the side under both arms
the reserves didn't make the best of the opportunity; initially Torino had a certain superiority and Ferrante was a pain in the ass,then the bianconeri took over. notables:
MUNTARI a true talent,a Vieira-type anchor of the midfield,strong and skilled,with excellent vision and outstanding personality... consider hes' only 19 and played in the Primavera team last season. As often the case with these early african talents the motivation to improve and work on his game will determine if his career will resemble more Vieira's or the downhill route of ex-Udinese great promise Stephan Appiah
DI MICHELE the only other reserve who seemed motivated enough - and skilled enough - to prove he belongs with the regular starters; the usual array of impressive,crowd-pleasing skills,this time backed with the victory goal,but also the same sturdiness in attempting one dribble too many instead of searching for the open man. However if he played like that all the times i'd me more than content
JORGENSEN only played 20 minutes; he isn't fit and the staff is as cautios as possible in risking yet another injury
JANKULOVSKI was one of the anticipated "first sight" by Udinese fans,the other being Jancker but he sprained the ankle in a tackle (knee might be involved too) before he could leave his mark on the match (he came in for Jorgensen to play as left winger,although he's a tendency to drift to the middle almost automatically); a couple of great accelerations is all he was able to deliver before going out on a limp
MARTINEZ a ghost on the pitch,ridiculous performance; he didn't seem interested
IAQUINTA the worst news of the week was the signing of Bierhoff by Chievo: that means we'll probably keep this irritating giant scrub; he's the same old waste of meat and bones
overall an under par performance graced by the plays of Di Michele and Muntari.
Udinese-Lazio of course was the more anticipated match up... Udinese fields all its starters minus Jankulovski and Jorgensen,so the void on the left wing is filled by Pieri; Lazio also are at full force initially (except for Nesta,relieved by F.Couto,and Sorin), but in the last 15 minutes the turnover gets heavy
strict 4-4-2
De Sanctis
Bertotto
Manfredini
Sensini
Gemiti
Alberto
Pizarro
Pinzi
Pieri
Muzzi
Jancker
loud cheer for Carsten Jancker as the speaker announces him: it's obvious that the lack of a true tower up front was the main reason of the struggles on home soil last season,and we look at the german "Panzer" (yep,he's really big!) as a saviour
the level of competition is remarkably higher than the previous two halves,although the play initially is not that brilliant: i especially expected more from Lazio after the great showing against Torino but maybe they're tired... or Udinese simply is a tougher nut to crack open.The match however takes on fire after the goal by Muzzi and the draw by Pancaro (which i both missed,damn my low-capacity bladder!!! :mad: ); Lazio has more ball possession but Udinese counterattacks are incisive although Jancker displays his notorious iron foot... but he's clearly very helpful to teammates,with his size he can touch and control lots of balls and direct them - by foot or head - to Muzzi or upcoming midfielders. Too bad Jankulovski could not be in the game,he is the midfielder who's expected to take the most advantage from the touches by Carsten,with his powerful and accurate shot
Lazio win on penalties,thanks to a mistake by Di Michele; who cares...
Udinese left a good impression: the newcomers will upgrade defense,midfield and attack; there's good overall quality and the arrival of Jankulovski will make the many DNPs of Jorgensen less dramatic for the club's fortune.
Carsten Jancker will open up defenses at home;Alberto - back after the passport scandal and a year long injury - must be considered as a new acquisition as well and it was evident last night how much of an upgrade he is over Martinez: actually the brazilian right winger started slowly,almost lazy but was the main inspirator of the fast breaks later in the match vs. the biancazzurri
Manfredini played well,Sensini is a welcome tranquilizer to the defense (and has all the tricks of the trade in his bag); Gemiti was diligent,but i had the impression he could do much more once given free reins; i hope he supplants Pieri,who demonstrated once more that he's useless when he doesn't anticipate the opponent with timing: too raw technically to dribble even the poorest defender,and not that quick after all.A liability in defense and looking indecisive too often: didn't improve one bit during the summer
Muzzi,Pinzi and Pizarro are already doing well; some more words for Jancker: he's obviously highly motivated by this new adventure,he worked his butt on the pitch and showed a good understanding with Muzzi. As already mentioned,he's not a deadly finisher but will probably be the more important addiction to Udinese regardless,he's made so many balls available to his partners up front! the fans have supported him when he was missing the target (while they booed Pieri and Iaquinta mercylessly),they (we) know how important he is to this team.
a middle of the table dinish shouldn't be a problem for Udinese 2002-03: the only important piece missing from last season is Turci (Morgan was a bit indecisive last night - Renard made a great impression though) while it added Jancker,Jankulowski,Sensini,Alberto: quality and much needed experience to a group of somewhat promising but often erratic youngsters). And there are new faces who seem ready to emerge: Muntari,Gemiti,Renard,Kroldrup. For Pinzi and Pizarro this should be the season of the consacration.
yep,i'm optimistic.
last word for Lazio: spectacular,incisive,athletically brilliant... right now they'd probably outclass any other italian team,by what i've seen on tv friendlies.should they keep on playing like this,sky's the limit; but there were complaints coming from Fiorentina headquarters and observers last season that the team was completely worn off by January,the cause being a light athletical preparation by Mancini and his training staff.
If that's the reason of the early brilliance of Lazio,then expect a quick start from the blocks followed by fragorous fall come springtime. We'll see
le pagelle by Messaggero Veneto:
RENARD 6,5
DE SANCTIS 6 .
BERTOTTO 6
SENSINI 6,5
MANFREDINI 7
PIERI 6
GEMITI 6,5
MARTINEZ 5
ALBERTO 5
BEDIN 5,5
PINZI 6
MUNTARI 6,5
PIZARRO 6
JORGENSEN s.v.
JANKULOVSKI s.v.
IAQUINTA 5,5
DI MICHELE 6
JANCKER 6
MUZZI 7
the romans impress,they play with a spectacular and efficient passing game and are quick in the pressing when they have to win back the ball; Crespo and Fiore light up the match with great plays,the latter operating out of his natural position as winger.
conversely,NT right fullback Oddo is anything but outstanding,an actual evidence of the struggle to find valid men on the wings for Italy (he's been called by Trapattoni for the Italy-Slovenia match in Trieste)
Torino looks like serie B material,i hope for the good of serie A there are not 4 worse teams in the league next season... poor overall quality but few ideas.
Lazio wins 3-0 and it could have been uglier,believe me: the biancocelesti outclassed il Toro in every department
finally it's Udinese's turn,against Torino: starting defensive line (minus Sottil,still recovering from the knee injury) but second lines in midfield and attack.It's plain 4-4-2
Renard (a great save!)
Bertotto on the right out
Manfredini and Sensini in the middle
Pieri the left back
Martinez
Bedin probably leaving for a serie B club soon
Muntari
Jorgensen first official test for the Dane,as always affected by a series of health issues
Di Michele
Iaquinta groan...
the squad is sporting the provisional uniforms: an elegant but undistinct kit comprised of black shorts and socks,white shirt with a black stripe running on the side under both arms
the reserves didn't make the best of the opportunity; initially Torino had a certain superiority and Ferrante was a pain in the ass,then the bianconeri took over. notables:
MUNTARI a true talent,a Vieira-type anchor of the midfield,strong and skilled,with excellent vision and outstanding personality... consider hes' only 19 and played in the Primavera team last season. As often the case with these early african talents the motivation to improve and work on his game will determine if his career will resemble more Vieira's or the downhill route of ex-Udinese great promise Stephan Appiah
DI MICHELE the only other reserve who seemed motivated enough - and skilled enough - to prove he belongs with the regular starters; the usual array of impressive,crowd-pleasing skills,this time backed with the victory goal,but also the same sturdiness in attempting one dribble too many instead of searching for the open man. However if he played like that all the times i'd me more than content
JORGENSEN only played 20 minutes; he isn't fit and the staff is as cautios as possible in risking yet another injury
JANKULOVSKI was one of the anticipated "first sight" by Udinese fans,the other being Jancker but he sprained the ankle in a tackle (knee might be involved too) before he could leave his mark on the match (he came in for Jorgensen to play as left winger,although he's a tendency to drift to the middle almost automatically); a couple of great accelerations is all he was able to deliver before going out on a limp
MARTINEZ a ghost on the pitch,ridiculous performance; he didn't seem interested
IAQUINTA the worst news of the week was the signing of Bierhoff by Chievo: that means we'll probably keep this irritating giant scrub; he's the same old waste of meat and bones
overall an under par performance graced by the plays of Di Michele and Muntari.
Udinese-Lazio of course was the more anticipated match up... Udinese fields all its starters minus Jankulovski and Jorgensen,so the void on the left wing is filled by Pieri; Lazio also are at full force initially (except for Nesta,relieved by F.Couto,and Sorin), but in the last 15 minutes the turnover gets heavy
strict 4-4-2
De Sanctis
Bertotto
Manfredini
Sensini
Gemiti
Alberto
Pizarro
Pinzi
Pieri
Muzzi
Jancker
loud cheer for Carsten Jancker as the speaker announces him: it's obvious that the lack of a true tower up front was the main reason of the struggles on home soil last season,and we look at the german "Panzer" (yep,he's really big!) as a saviour
the level of competition is remarkably higher than the previous two halves,although the play initially is not that brilliant: i especially expected more from Lazio after the great showing against Torino but maybe they're tired... or Udinese simply is a tougher nut to crack open.The match however takes on fire after the goal by Muzzi and the draw by Pancaro (which i both missed,damn my low-capacity bladder!!! :mad: ); Lazio has more ball possession but Udinese counterattacks are incisive although Jancker displays his notorious iron foot... but he's clearly very helpful to teammates,with his size he can touch and control lots of balls and direct them - by foot or head - to Muzzi or upcoming midfielders. Too bad Jankulovski could not be in the game,he is the midfielder who's expected to take the most advantage from the touches by Carsten,with his powerful and accurate shot
Lazio win on penalties,thanks to a mistake by Di Michele; who cares...
Udinese left a good impression: the newcomers will upgrade defense,midfield and attack; there's good overall quality and the arrival of Jankulovski will make the many DNPs of Jorgensen less dramatic for the club's fortune.
Carsten Jancker will open up defenses at home;Alberto - back after the passport scandal and a year long injury - must be considered as a new acquisition as well and it was evident last night how much of an upgrade he is over Martinez: actually the brazilian right winger started slowly,almost lazy but was the main inspirator of the fast breaks later in the match vs. the biancazzurri
Manfredini played well,Sensini is a welcome tranquilizer to the defense (and has all the tricks of the trade in his bag); Gemiti was diligent,but i had the impression he could do much more once given free reins; i hope he supplants Pieri,who demonstrated once more that he's useless when he doesn't anticipate the opponent with timing: too raw technically to dribble even the poorest defender,and not that quick after all.A liability in defense and looking indecisive too often: didn't improve one bit during the summer
Muzzi,Pinzi and Pizarro are already doing well; some more words for Jancker: he's obviously highly motivated by this new adventure,he worked his butt on the pitch and showed a good understanding with Muzzi. As already mentioned,he's not a deadly finisher but will probably be the more important addiction to Udinese regardless,he's made so many balls available to his partners up front! the fans have supported him when he was missing the target (while they booed Pieri and Iaquinta mercylessly),they (we) know how important he is to this team.
a middle of the table dinish shouldn't be a problem for Udinese 2002-03: the only important piece missing from last season is Turci (Morgan was a bit indecisive last night - Renard made a great impression though) while it added Jancker,Jankulowski,Sensini,Alberto: quality and much needed experience to a group of somewhat promising but often erratic youngsters). And there are new faces who seem ready to emerge: Muntari,Gemiti,Renard,Kroldrup. For Pinzi and Pizarro this should be the season of the consacration.
yep,i'm optimistic.
last word for Lazio: spectacular,incisive,athletically brilliant... right now they'd probably outclass any other italian team,by what i've seen on tv friendlies.should they keep on playing like this,sky's the limit; but there were complaints coming from Fiorentina headquarters and observers last season that the team was completely worn off by January,the cause being a light athletical preparation by Mancini and his training staff.
If that's the reason of the early brilliance of Lazio,then expect a quick start from the blocks followed by fragorous fall come springtime. We'll see
le pagelle by Messaggero Veneto:
RENARD 6,5
DE SANCTIS 6 .
BERTOTTO 6
SENSINI 6,5
MANFREDINI 7
PIERI 6
GEMITI 6,5
MARTINEZ 5
ALBERTO 5
BEDIN 5,5
PINZI 6
MUNTARI 6,5
PIZARRO 6
JORGENSEN s.v.
JANKULOVSKI s.v.
IAQUINTA 5,5
DI MICHELE 6
JANCKER 6
MUZZI 7