Serie A: Udinese and Atalanta are thinking big

• by Terry Daley , Oct 7, 2022

Udinese is on the hunt for its seventh straight win as it awaits the visit of fellow surprise package Atalanta on Sunday, a clash between two of Serie A's model clubs.

A traditionally tiny team used to punching above their weight, Udinese is just one point behind league leader Napoli from which Atalanta is separated by goal difference.

The 19 points racked up by Andrea Sottil's team is the most Udinese have ever accumulated from their first eight games of a Serie A season and its aggressive, attacking performances have made the rest of the league sit up and take notice.

Having already thumped both Inter Milan and Roma on home turf, on Monday it fought back from a goal down at Verona to claim a 2-1 win in stoppage time in a performance that was more like one of Gian Piero Gasperini's vintage Atalanta sides than the stodgy Udinese of recent seasons.

In Gerard Deulofeu, Udinese have one of the league's brightest creative forces and the total of 17 goals is only one less than Napoli, which travels to Cremonese on a high after smashing Ajax 6-1 in Amsterdam.

Owned by the Pozzo family for over three decades, Udinese has been a Serie A fixture since the mid-1990s and are one of the few clubs in Italy to own its stadium, the old city-owned Stadio Fruili having been bought in 2013 and then refurbished into the sort of modern facility other clubs dream of having.

"The secret of our success is the Pozzo family," said Udinese's sporting director Pierpaolo Marino after the Verona win. "Thinking big helps you to win. We shouldn't be patting ourselves on the back but realize that we're good."

Atalanta is another club that, by budget, should not be anywhere near Italy's big guns but last season's eighth-placed finish now looks a blip rather than the end of an era.

Throughout Gasperini's reign in Bergamo, Atalanta has bewitched fans with its gung-ho soccer but this year is a much more sober proposition.

Just three goals conceded in its eight matches -- which include fixtures with AC Milan and Roma -- is even more impressive given the recent raft of injuries that have affected Gasperini's team selection, with Italy defender Rafael Toloi the latest to be ruled out with a thigh injury.

He joins center back Berat Djimsiti, starting goalkeeper Juan Musso, right-back Davide Zappacosta and first choice center forward Duvan Zapata on the treatment table.

Atalanta is also renovating its stadium, bought off Bergamo city council in 2017, and has attracted foreign investment in the shape of American fund Bain Capital to flank long-time owners the Percassi family.

Another club trying to build a new stadium is AC Milan, which has to stop licking its wounds after humiliation at Chelsea and prepare for the visit of Juventus.

Milan has got its title defence off to a decent start and sits three points behind the leading pair, but half of Stefano Pioli's first-choice team are out of the San Siro clash injured with Chelsea coming to Milan on Tuesday.

Juve will miss the creativity of the suspended Angel Di Maria, who set up every goal in the 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday and looked a class above everyone else on the Allianz Stadium pitch.

Player to watch: Gerard Deulofeu

The one-time Spain international has already set up six goals this season and is top of the pile for assists, ahead of much bigger names like Rafael Leao and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Deulofeu has had a bitty career but has found a home at Udinese, where he is at the center of Sottil's attack-minded strategy.

Everything flows through the 28-year-old, who will be key to whether Udinese can break down Italy's stingiest backline.

Schedule:
Saturday: Sassuolo vs. Inter, AC Milan vs. Juventus, Bologna vs.  Sampdoria
Sunday: Torino vs. Empoli, Salernitana vs. Verona, Monza vs. Spezia, Udinese vs. Atalanta, Cremonese vs. Napoli, Roma vs. Lecce
Monday: Fiorentina vs. Lazio
Viewing: Soccer on TV

td/iwd

© Agence France-Presse