Andrea Sottil was a guest on Udinese Tonight and touched upon a large variety of topics over the course of the interview. Here are some of the highlights:
“We’re ramping up preparations for the restart. We’re happy with our points total so far this season and I think we’ve done well. I mentioned several times that after getting seven wins on the spin people would be saying that it was plain sailing, but that was never the case. There are various reasons why our performances have dropped off a bit, but we’ve faced some top opponents. That being said, we’re ready to hit the ground running in January.
“Regarding our front line, I feel blessed to have four great forwards who have different characteristics. Beto is great at getting in behind, as is Ilija Nestorovski. Meanwhile Isaac Success offers different attacking facets. Geri Deulofeu is a genius.
“One of the positives of the first half of this season has been Lazar Samardzic’s breakthrough. He works hard in training and has a great character. He can still improve even further.
“As for one of the highlights so far this campaign, I’d say the end of the Roma match. At the time we didn’t realise quite what we’d achieved but looking back the following day it became apparent of the magnitude of what we did. I just love watching my team in every match.
“While I don’t want to single out one new signing, I’d say that Sandi Lovric has improved the most, in every training session and in every game.
“We’ve suffered from having players out due to injury, and I’d say that Becao’s absent was really felt. His leadership is fantastic and is great at playing the ball out from the back.
“Is getting into Europe possible? I know how ambitious Udinese are. I’ve played here and am aware of the goals the club has. They’ve asked me to give the team a strong identity and stand up to whoever we face. While Europe is on our minds we’re more focused on the here and now, taking things game by game.”