After a long, hard summer spent preparing the team for the new season, Andrea Sottil is champing at the bit ahead of Udinese’s Serie A curtain-raiser against Juventus.
“It’s here at last!” the coach exclaimed on the eve of the match. “We’ve been preparing for this for over 40 days, working hard, at a good pace, so we’re ready for this explosive start. We’re playing against Juventus, at home in front of 25,000 fans. We’re ready to go. We know how good our opponents are, but equally we’re aware of what we have to do.”
Sottil revealed he has no doubts about his team selection, with Beto and Florian Thauvin – who performed well during the friendlies – set to start up front. The coach explained that the quality of play shown by the two forwards has come as no surprise.
“This is Beto’s first real pre-season. Last year he did separate training. He’s improved a lot. He’s humble, hungry, he’s found his spark again and he can get even better.
“The same goes for Thauvin, who lost some intensity after two years in Mexico. He’s got great technique. They complement each other well. They’re both in great shape.”
Udinese’s first opponents are Juventus, a team that needs no introduction.
“They’ve always been a very competitive team in all departments, and they’ve got a great manager. He’s brought in fast-paced players like Timothy Weah and Andrea Cambiaso, who are very skilful. Everything else works like a well-oiled machine, with players of outstanding quality.”
However, Sottil knows what he wants from his players.
“We must think about our own game. We’ve prepared well and we want to start off well. We have to continue on this path. There’ll be things we need to fine-tune but the team is ready for this game. I want to play a faster, more aggressive type of football, thinking not one match at a time but one half at a time. First we concentrate on the first half and then the second. With five substitutes, we can change half of our outfield players. Stoppage times are huge and so many games have been won in the final few minutes.”
Sottil also commented on Lazar Samardzic’s situation before expressing his relief that the transfer window will soon shut.
“Lazar is an Udinese player who’s gone through this change of circumstances, which can happen in football. What matters to me is he’s available for selection. He’s trained regularly with the squad.
“Luckily, we’re nearly at the end of the transfer window. It’s stressful for a coach, navigating so many months like this. It distracts the players and you never have the certainty of starting and ending pre-season with the same squad. We’re lucky that the ownership is always quick to fill the empty spaces.”