JUVENTUS - UDINESE 
Delle Alpi Stadium. Sunday November 09, 2003. 15.00 CET
After ensuring qualification to the next round of the Champions League, Juve gets back to business in Serie A – entertaining the other Bianconeri side from Udine here in the Delle Alpi in which all eyes will be on Alex Del Piero, making his comeback here in his crib after a 7-week injury lay-off.
Juve will have the easiest of games – at least on paper – compared to their direct Scudetto rivals as exhausted Milan travel to the Stadio Tardini to face an Adriano-less Parma fresh from their 4-0 heroics in the UEFA Cup whereas Roma get engaged in the ‘Derby della capitale’ against their eternal rivals, Lazio.
Tactical-Setup
Under Tuscan coach Luciano Spalletti, the Friuli outfit plays with the (3-4-1-2) formation which was converted from (3-4-2-1) due to Pizarro’s injury. The defence is led by Argentine veteran Nestor Sensini, supported by Bertotto and Kroldrup. In midfield, the central pairing consists of the young attacking midfielder Pazienza and the more defensive Pinzi. Left wing is occupied by Juve-bound Jankulovski while the right side is reserved for ex-Laziale, Castroman. Playmaking duties are assigned to the creative Jorgensen, who plays behind the tall Iaquinta and the deadly (hat-trick hero) Fava.
For Juve, defence was the key to last season’s success but this time the team is playing with a more attacking mentality without overlooking the defensive duties and this has left the team decently balanced. That’s why we could see Del Piero, Trezeguet, Nedved, and Miccoli all playing at the same time.
Lippi is toying with the idea of playing with (4-2-3-1) with Del Piero-Nedved-Miccoli behind Trezeguet (who was lucky to escape an elbow punishment). Defensive duo Appiah and Tacchi play further behind. Whereas the defensive line welcomes back Thuram, Legro, Montero, and Zambro.
This tactic could prove a major hit in this match as Udinese play with only 3 men behind and that would give many a spaces for Del Piero on the left and Miccoli on the right. Nedved could search for any gaps deep inside and try shots from outside the box himself.
A lot of ink will be devoted to the return of Alex in the Italian newspapers for the build-up of this match. Even though the team has copped well without ’il capitano’, he certainly adds some dimension to the squad, especially in creating assists with perfect passes, winning fouls and converting free-kicks, and what he does best: scoring goals from relatively impossible angles.
So, will the Bianconeri bad boys be in their best behaviour and honour their captain with a win on his birthday? Will Pinturichio himself mark his comeback with a goal? Will Juve finally knock Milan off the top with a win here and go solo? All questions will be answered on Sunday afternoon.
Udinese hasn’t won yet against a ‘big team’ this season. They drew against Inter 0-0 and were defeated against the capital clubs – Lazio and Roma – both at home and with the same score line: 1-2. But will Udinese pull out their first surprise of the season against Juve? Hopefully not.
Quick Facts
- Juve met Udinese in the Delle Alpi 30 times in Serie A, with Juve winning the majority of matches (22), Udinese winning only 4, and the match ended in a draw in 4 other times.
Juve have scored a total of 74 goals against Udinese, whereas Udinese replied with 31 goals.
Juve’s largest win consists of a 4 goal margin (4-0) or (5-1) achieved 6 times the latest in the 92-93 season (5-1).
Alex Del Piero is Juve's topscorer against Udinese, with 7 goals scored.
During his career, Zambrotta scored 10 goals for Juve in all competitions - 3 of which were against Udinese.
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go alex...go alex..! i hope he'll get his hat-trick on his b-day.....
