Inside Udinese: Runjaic’s Tactics, Transfers and Best Players

Things have began to falter for Udinese a little.

The Zebrette had been one of the surprise packages in the early weeks of the Serie A season. At one point the Friuli side were in the top four, but since the 1-0 win over Lecce at the start of October, they’ve won just once in seven games.

Kosta Runjaic has performed admirably in his maiden voyage in the Italian game. Plucked from relative obscurity after coaching Polish side Legia Warsaw for two seasons, the German has surpassed expectations at this stage of the season.

And yet, with the campaign nearing the halfway stage, Udinese find themselves in the top half of the table, something many wouldn’t have predicted considering their 15th-place finish last season and the lack of ambitious moves in the transfer market last summer.

Such had been Udinese’s start to the season that Gino Pozzo, son of club owner Giampolo, was dreaming of a European place.

“It’s a duty to dream of Europe,” said Pozzo recently. “Because our efforts have objectives, but we know how difficult it is to secure a European spot.”

Yet Udinese’s cause isn’t likely to be helped by getting red cards within the opening minutes of games. In the 2-0 loss to Genoa, Isaak Toure was given his marching orders after just two minutes, when he clattered into Alessandro Zanoli on the edge of his own box.

It wasn’t the fastest red card in Serie A history (that honour belongs to Giuseppe Lorenzo, who earned a red card in a mere 10 seconds for Bologna against Parma in 1990), but Toure’s dismissal inside two minutes puts him on the podium. Moreover, it was his second red card in the last five outings. 

Runjaic knows he will need better discipline from his side if they are to regain the form they showed in the early rounds of the season.

Transfers: Udinese ran a rather frugal summer transfer market in the summer, spending what they brought in.

Lorenzo Lucca was their big signing, bringing the tall striker to Udine from Pisa for €8m (£6.5m) after his loan spell last season proved to be a success.

Other signings included Dutch attacking midfielder Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, who arrived from Belgian side Royal Antwerp for €5.5m. Damian Pizarro, sadly no relation to former Udinese midfielder David, also arrived from Chilean outfit Colo-Colo for €3.5m.

Alexis Sanchez, who rose to European fame with Udinese at the beginning of the 2010s, has returned to where it all started for him, joining the club on a free transfer from Inter. 

Best performers: Lorenzo Lucca is continuing to grow as a striker. Eight goals last season for Udinese, the former Pisa forward is halfway to that target already this season, with four in 10 starts.

Frenchman Florian Thauvin has been Udinese’s creative fulcrum this season, with three goals and two assists in 11 games. If Udinese are going to reach the European spots, much of it will depend on Thauvin’s form going into the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Hassane Kamara has been a solid operator in midfield.

Tactics: Runjaic began the season implementing a 3-4-2-1 system, and this led to Udinese’s good run of results in the opening weeks of the season.

However, in the aftermath of the 3-0 defeat to Roma, he tinkered with his setup, alternating to a classic 3-5-2 formation. 

This didn’t bring the expected upturn in results, and for the 2-0 defeat to Genoa, the German pivoted once again, employing a strict 4-4-2 formation.

Which system Runjaić will use going forward remains to be seen, perhaps a return to the 3-4-2-1 used at the beginning of the season will serve Udinese best, and stop the slide down the table.