Luca Gotti covered a range of topics on Udinese Tonight. Read on to find out what he had to say.
“As for our formation, we all know that 3-5-2 is an Udinese tradition and trademark in some ways, and I kept using it to get the best out of [Rodrigo] De Paul. Players like him need to be able to perform at their best and I think that formation is particularly well suited to him. That had a positive impact on my choice of formation and I know what lies ahead, even though some tweaks still need to be made. When I have the full squad available, the path ahead of us will be much clearer.
“Seeing De Paul play for Argentina confirmed to me that he has to play as a mezzala rather than an attacking or defensive midfielder. I think that if I had De Paul available in a team that plays on the front foot, I’d use him as a playmaker. A coach has to try to get the best out of everyone and also try to add something to each player’s game. That’s how the team benefits and it’s part of the coach’s mission.
“Walace is a dribbler who likes being on the ball and being involved in the move. At the start of his time here, I wasn’t pleased with his performances, but when we came back after lockdown last year, he realised he hadn’t been performing at his best and he made some changes. I expect a lot from him.
“[Nacho] Pussetto is a wide forward who has almost always played in that position, but I think he can also play as a number 9, depending on how you want the team to play.
“The first time I saw [Martin] Palumbo play for the U17s was also the last, as I moved him straight up into the first team. You can see that he has fantastic attributes and is carving out his path. He was unlucky with so many injuries last year, but he’s been on a good fitness regime. He hasn’t played much, so we’re looking into the options. We might send him out on loan to get playing time or allow him to continue his development here. We all have high hopes for him and are keeping a close eye on him.
“During my first year in charge of Udinese, we played with five defensive-minded players and two strikers. Things went differently last year, however. I tried to seek out solutions that were better suited in terms of striking the right balance, while always trying to send out as many attacking players as I could. It’s not my intention to pack the team with defensive players, to the contrary.
“As for the end of last season, journalists, fans and coaches all have their opinions. It’s natural for the first two not to offer a positive assessment of the last ten games because when you look at the points on the board, it may seem like a disaster, but as a coach, I can’t change my assessment purely based on that.
“We produced good performances against Juventus and Bologna, regardless of the results, but we arguably could’ve done better in the last three league games. That can’t have an influence on the assessment of the squad.”