The double ex of Udinese (1989-1992 and 2007-2009 as Primavera coach) and Lecce (1984-1989), Rodolfo Vanoli, spoke during our Warm Up broadcast to talk about the direct clash for salvation but not only that. The moment of the two teams, their identity and his past in black and white: face to face with Andrea.
Did you expect Udinese to be so low?
“No for the initial staff I didn’t expect it, then there are years that start out wrong, there have been some coaching changes that haven’t helped anything and today we find ourselves in a complicated situation. Knowing the work of the Pozzo family, there is regret in seeing certain things not go well.”
Will there be three finals?
“Beyond my career as a coach I have played several matches, I remember a match with Udinese against Ancona, they were matches for real men. But on Monday I didn’t see this great enthusiasm, this desire to hurt Napoli, I saw a scared team, as if with the handbrake on, the opposite of Lecce, with Gotti they cleared their minds. These are the things that worry me. Maybe these kids don’t realize the harm they do to the Friulian people, they are a silent people, very polite, but who don’t forget. They should understand this, the education of Udinese fans is unique, some kids perhaps pay for this lack of knowledge.”
Can Pinzi’s presence among the staff give that sense of belonging that is missing?
“I’m sincere, I don’t believe in these things, Giampiero is a precious person, he loves Udine, he will try to bring this thing to the locker room but it had to be done at the beginning, you can’t make these guys understand in two weeks what it means to wear this shirt. These are phrases and things that I have never tolerated even as a player, we need to really understand where the problem lies, today I hope that Cannavaro is able to convey this, then we need to see how he gets there in these matches, I don’t see a team that was going full speed back then . Cannavaro says that he wants more motivation, but I haven’t seen it, in one-on-one matches Napoli were going for the double. You either have certain things inside you or you don’t.”
Against Napoli the substitutes were decisive, can Cannavaro change anything?
“Maybe someone comes in angry and tries to show the coach that he should have played, then maybe he starts from the beginning and the opposite turns out to be true. Mazzone said that at the beginning of the year you find starters and reserves, then obviously you need everyone. We’ll see how Cannavaro decides to face Lecce, they’re a team that can hurt, with wingers who go inside, they have two top attackers. If you keep the fifths low you risk having another defensive game and if you then concede a goal what happens? You open up, you have to expose yourself and change the plan. I liked Sottil’s start last year, against Inter we saw a very lively team, without fear of the opponent, then there was a metamorphosis that is difficult to explain. I don’t think Lecce has much more than us in terms of quality, but they have serenity. We must not be afraid, football is also made up of these things.”
There are so many individual errors that cost important goals, how can they be removed?
“I think the only remedy to make up for mistakes is training, even specific training, today many coaches try to start the game with the goalkeeper and don’t teach the defenders how to defend themselves. If Calzona had been the central defender and the left back I would have left them in Udine, you can’t concede a goal like that where everyone is attracted to the ball. In my time I marked Maradona, Van Basten, Gullit, if you had looked at the ball they would have scored three goals per game. Udinese also missed out because perhaps the coaches took it for granted that the player knew. Not all players are the same, you must first train the individual one-on-one and then the collective.”
Lecce could already be safe on Monday, can this factor change the match?
“I have home in Lecce, I’ve seen them often, I have two teams in my heart, Udinese and Lecce. I saw that the Curva Puglia in training with open doors brought closeness and a spirit of belonging, there are foreigners in Lecce too , but it’s a team that has been playing together for several years, in terms of the group it has a little something more. I played there for seven years, even if you save games, in Udine it’s an elegant crowd, there’s ignorance there. good sense of the word, they push you from all sectors, they push you. If Udinese makes this calculation they are wrong, if the players think about this they will be wrong, if you want to play the game of your life you have to go there to hurt Maradona’s Napoli were beaten at the time, Mazzone’s Lecce still has the points record, I remember well that the fans pushed us hard.”
How many points can you save?
“I have always spoken from the heart, if today I am no longer on the Udinese staff it is because even when I was inside talking to the Pozzos I always told the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. In my experience I led the Udinese Primavera two times in the final and the budget was more or less the same as now, but I gave a sense of belonging. For the points we have to think about getting one more than the others, you can’t think of losing on Monday and you have to win the two against Frosinone and Empoli, there’s no point in making calculations, you have to set your mind on scoring points without calculations to save the team. This year I was a bit like this because I had a handshake with Alex Menta in Trieste but then it didn’t work out. I would also accept a good Spring project, but in Italy we are a bit of a country of toys, whereas in Europe those who have followed the right paths show up with a CV and work, whereas here they train first and then get their AI licences In my time there were many teachers, today there are many professors and few teachers”.
Good luck for the future:
“We have to say good luck to Udinese, I will be at the stadium with Empoli, the chants against the Pozzo family bothered me because in a year there can be mistakes in signings, but the Pozzo family has supported this team for 30 years Udinese. I have seen many clubs fail, Venezia, Triestina, but our Udinese has remained standing thanks to the Pozzo family. I am a correct person, today we must only think about the good of Udinese, then at the end of the championship if there is anything to criticize the Pozzo family will do it, but now we need the support of the Curva and it doesn’t matter if the players don’t put their leg or face over the obstacle, but today we need that, the 0-0 is no longer needed, we all have to go further to the obstacle”.
