“Udinese are part of my destiny.”
Daniele Padelli – fresh from sealing his return to the club from champions Inter – revealed the special bond he has with the club as he appeared on Udinese TV on Monday evening.
“I made my Serie A debut in Udine when I was playing for Bari,” he said. “I then came to play for Udinese and got married here, then my first Serie A match for Inter was in Udine again.
“My time in Udine was wonderful. We had a great team full of top players and our coach was brilliant. That was a fantastic few years. I have great memories of that time and that’s what made me want to come back.
“After Udine I went to Turin and then to Milan. I’ve played in the Europa League and built up a lot of experience, which I can’t wait to share.”
Padelli went on to explain how his move back to Udinese materialised.
“It was a quick decision,” he said. “I only got the offer from Udinese recently but it was an offer I couldn’t refused. The season just finished was an incredible experience which makes all the effort I’ve made in the past worth it. It was a one-off.”
Padelli joins Udinese after a period spent serving as back-up keeper at Inter.
“Players do the training and live to play and feel the adrenaline of the match,” he said. “Starting games is the best thing in the world. Sometimes in your career you have to make different choices in order to try new things, because if you only ever make the same choices you’ll only ever get the same results. I couldn’t turn down the offer from Inter – it gave me the chance to win something. It meant I didn’t make so many appearances, but it gave me an awful lot too.”
The Italian goalkeeper – now 35 – hopes that his experience will be a useful addition to the Udinese dressing room.
“I’ve built up a fair bit of experience so I hope I can help the group and help many of the youngsters that might not know the Italian league so well,” he said. “I can’t wait to start helping the club and the team. Working hard during the week, being professional on and off the pitch and leaving nothing to chance are all fundamental aspects in your career. I hope I can pass on some of the professionalism I’ve always tried to maintain to the younger players.”
Juan Musso was the starting goalkeeper at Udinese last season – and Padelli, who hasn’t yet picked a squad number with his new club, was full of praise for the Argentine shot-stopper.
“I’ve always liked Musso,” he said. “I think he’s an excellent goalkeeper with great potential. He’s already played in a couple of different leagues. He’s a very good keeper. He’s still young and still has scope to improve.”
Last but not least, Padelli was asked about his ambitions at Udinese.
“You can still dream in football,” he said. “Just look at what Atalanta are doing. Over time, they’ve built up a structure on and off the pitch which is enabling them to consistently compete near the top of the league. I believe Udinese has everything it takes to achieve some good results, because it’s one of the best clubs in Italy. Some seasons have been better than others, but staying in Serie A is a good sign. Gradually, we have to build a structure that will allow Udinese to get back to where we were.”