Marco Silvestri and Lazar Samardzic have spoken to Udinese TV for the first time since joining the club this summer.
The 30-year-old keeper and the 19-year-old midfielder were joined by Technical Director Pierpaolo Marino, who formally welcomed the two new signings to the club.
“I’m delighted to be able to welcome these two very good signings to Udinese,” said Marino. “They are excellent recruits both for right now and looking to the future.”
Marino first spoke about the signing of Silvestri, who has joined from Hellas Verona.
“Silvestri needs no introductions – he’s a player that has already proven that he is a top Serie A operator in his position, and he’s already been called up to the national team,” said Marino. “We’re proud to have him with us. The negotiations took a little while, but there was a happy ending thanks to the contribution of the player himself, who was desperate to come to Udinese. I can only thank him for that. We reached the agreement when Marco was in hospital for the birth of his second child, so I was able to give him double the congratulations.”
Silvestri confirmed that Udinese were his first choice in terms of potential destinations this summer.
“I was linked with a number of clubs at the end of the season, so there was a possibility I could move on,” he said. “The offer came in from Udinese, who had put my name at the top of their list after selling [Juan] Musso. I got a good vibe from that straight away – if a team wants you to replace such a good player, that’s a good start. There were some negotiations and by then I knew I wanted to come to Udinese, and now I can say that I’m pleased with my decision.”
The Italian keeper was full of praise for his new club after his first few weeks in Udine.
“Udinese is a top club – I’d never seen such an operation in terms of facilities and staff,” he said. “It’s something my former team-mates had told me about – [Davide] Faraoni, [Antonin] Barak, [Kevin] Lasagna – and now I’m experiencing this great club for myself.
“I didn’t know Udine as a city before, but I liked it right away and now that I’ve found a house I’m feeling more at home. We couldn’t go any longer playing without fans – it was horrible getting used to playing with the stands empty. Everyone is desperate to get back to the stadium and I think if they do fully reopen we’ll see much bigger crowds than before. It was great to have fans behind my goal on Friday and now I can’t wait to play in a completely full stadium.”
Silvestri knows that he is following in the footsteps of some great goalkeepers at Udinese.
“It’s no easy feat to continue the rich goalkeeping tradition at Udinese,” he said. “There have been some top class goalkeepers here over the years. I hope that through my hard work and my performances on the pitch, I’ll be remembered like some of those that came before me.
“When I was at Verona I’d never been asked to pass the ball to the defenders – I used to go direct to the striker – whereas now I’m being asked to pass the ball more. I don’t like forcing things or taking risks for the sake of it, so if the situation is a bit tricky I prefer to kick it long even if that means taking a bit of flack. That style [playing out from the back] is 50% the goalkeeper and 50% the defenders, so everyone needs to work together to ensure there are no costly mistakes. It’s something you have to work on, like everything. I don’t think we’re going to have any problems.”
“I’ve been impressed by several of my new team-mates. [Nahuel] Molina is incredibly talented, then there’s [Roberto] Pereyra and all the defenders. I’ve clicked with everyone, even those who have played less. I think we have everything we need to finish in the top half of the table and personally I want to do as much as possible to help my team-mates achieve our targets, hopefully with a few good saves along the way.”
Last but not least, Silvestri admitted that he dreams of getting another Italy call-up.
“The national team is always an objective of mine – it’s the ultimate,” he said. “I think I’m at the right club to achieve that. We’re working hard and there are two top goalkeeping coaches here. I get on well with [Daniele] Padelli, [Simone] Scuffet and [Edoardo] Piana too. I think I have everything I need to have a good season. I know I still need to improve, but I also know that I have plenty of years ahead of me to do that.”
Pierpaolo Marino also talked about the arrival of Samardzic from RB Leipzig during the broadcast.
“Lazar is one of the most promising young players in world football,” he said. “We’ve very proud of this signing. The lad still has to develop but we’re sure that he’ll be able to make a contribution straight away, because he has talent to burn. You don’t necessarily need to be 23 or 24 to establish yourself. Like [Destiny] Udogie, he’ll show that he’s ready now. We’re pleased to have brought such a big prospect to Udinese. We completed the deal quickly, bringing him in Leipzig, a club that don’t usually let players of his calibre get away. In two or three years, we’ll be talking about where these players came from to be what they’ve become.”
Samardzic himself spoke of his delight at having joined Udinese.
“I’m honoured to join Udinese,” he said. “This is a club with a great operation behind it and lots of history – I know how famous this club is. I like the way of working here and feel at home. It’s like being part of a family. Serie A is the best league in Europe – I know it’s different from the German league, but I’ve come here to play and have more of a chance to show what I can do than last season.
“My first impressions of the city have been very positive – I love it. The people in Udine are very welcoming and show the players a lot of love. It’s a small city and I feel at home here because of that. I’m going to work hard to learn Italian.”
The 19-year-old German went on to discuss his preferred position.
“I’ve always played as a central midfielder, but I can play off the wing or as a trequartista,” he said. “My favourite position is just behind the forwards.
“There are a few players who play in my position that I try to draw inspiration from, especially Bruno Fernandes, who used to play for Udinese. [Leo] Messi too.
“There’s a wonderful, tight-knit squad here and all the players have made me feel at home. We have some great players like [Roberto] Pereyra, who scored twice in the Ascoli game, as well as [Nahuel] Molina, [Jens] Stryger Larsen, [Gerard] Deulofeu and [Ignacio] Pussetto.”
Samardzic revealed that he was put straight into the action by coach Luca Gotti after joining the club.
“Straight after I arrived, Gotti asked if I could play in the friendly against Cjarlins in a couple of days,” he said. “I started working hard right away because I want to play and show what I can do. The coach gives me a lot of detailed instructions.
“My aim is to play a lot of football, help the team and score goals. We have a very good team here with a lot of quality. We have the potential to finish high up the table.”