27 August 1995 was the opening day of the 1995/96 Serie A season, with Udinese returning to the top flight after a year in Serie B. Cagliari were the opponents at the Stadio Friuli for a match which saw two club legends make their Udinese debut: Oliver Bierhoff on the pitch and Alberto Zaccheroni in the dugout.
Zaccheroni joined from Cosenza after overseeing a decent Serie B campaign with them, while Bierhoff came from Ascoli following their relegation to Serie C1. The coach picked the German for the league opener and the German repaid his trust with the match-winning goal – a header, of course. It would be the first of 62 goals in an Udinese jersey.
The following season Zaccheroni and Bierhoff were central to Udinese's first-ever qualification to the UEFA Cup and in 1997/98 they helped the club achieve a historic third-place finish in the league, putting Udinese up among the big clubs.
Both swapped Udine for Milan in the summer of 1998, after three seasons, having earned a place in the fans' hearts.
Udinese 1-0 Cagliari (HT 0-0)
Scorer: Bierhoff 56.
Udinese: Battistini; Helveg (Bertotto 33), Bia, Calori, Sergio; Ametrano, Rossitto, Desideri, Kozminski (Stroppa 46); Poggi (Giannichedda 84), Bierhoff.
Subs not used: Gregori, Marino.
Coach: Zaccheroni.
Cagliari: Fiori; Pancaro (Silva 63), Firicano, Bonomi, Villa, Pusceddu; Bisoli, Sanna (Lantignotti 76), Allegri (Bressan 50); Oliveira, Muzzi.
Subs not used: Abate, Napoli.
Coach: Trapattoni.