An era ends at home Udinese with the transfer of Walace. In fact, after five years, the Brazilian has said goodbye to the Bianconeri to join cruisefor a return to his homeland that had been rumored for several months and has now materialized. The former Hannover 96 player closes an adventure made up of 165 appearances and was now among the most experienced players in the team. Having arrived in the summer of 2019, his adaptation was also quite complex, so much so that the club considered selling him to Brazil after just six months in Friuli.
But then something in Walace changed and luck also played a part, which sometimes doesn’t hurt. With the injury of Mandrake the then Udinese coach Luca Gotti he is forced to give him more trust since he is the only one capable of playing the role of midfield steering wheel and the Brazilian is gradually starting to get into gear. His playing style is quite divisive. While on the one hand he does not have the typical play of a playmaker, sometimes causing a bit of nervousness due to his slow distribution of the ball, it is also true that he stands out for his sensational ability to break up the opponents’ game and recover the ball.
A say who at times proves to be unbeatable and from there Gotti decides to give him the keys to the midfield permanently. No one will take him away from there unless he is disqualified or injured, so much so as to create an almost inverse problem. It is difficult to find a real replacement with regards to his characteristics, since few players manage to stay glued to the opponents as he does. Walace also sees his individual numbers grow over the years, so much so that he fights for the title of best ball recoverer in Serie A. He also begins to accumulate such a number of appearances that he becomes vice-captain and they also happen in those moments when the future of Tucu Pereyra is unclear.
He won the title of best ball recoverer in Serie A for two consecutive times, in the 2022/2023 season and in the 2023/2024 season. A magical two-year period that also makes one think of a possible jump to a more famous team, with lots of rumors about Betis Sevilla and Milan. At the same time, however, the rumors spoke of a boy eager to return to his homeland, perhaps for a pinch of that famous “saudade” that often affects Brazilians. And so it was, after five years Walace will not be the linchpin of an Udinese that wants to change its style of play and therefore this was also the right time to endorse his request. He leaves the memory of a player who perhaps not everyone liked as he did not provide illuminating plays, but the ability to break the opponent’s game proved decisive also in arriving at this new salvation and the tears after Frosinone also testify to a certain attachment to those colors that have been part of his life for such a long time.
