Thomas Kristensen

Central Defender - Udinese
30 Mar 2027
Tuesday
Process

Marked for Thomas Kristensen

35 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Oumar Solet shuts the door

Defensive actions: 33, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Carlo Pinsoglio keeps Udinese in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

No end in sight to Udinese's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Udinese has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Thomas Kristensen in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Zemura is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Jesper Karlström shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

Back issues
34 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Carlo Pinsoglio

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

No end in sight to Udinese's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Udinese has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Álvaro Morata was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Real improvement from José Alberto Sebastiani at Udinese

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. José Alberto Sebastiani is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Unai Gómez

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

In brief

33 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Maduka Okoye keeps Udinese in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Nicolò Zaniolo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jesper Karlström

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Thomas Kristensen falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Maduka Okoye shuts the door again

12 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Oumar Solet

Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Unai Gómez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Jordan Zemura was immovable

18 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Match

Point won or two lost for Udinese?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Atalanta? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

30 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Unai Gómez

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Nicolò Zaniolo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

José Alberto Sebastiani is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Nicolò Bertola shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

Udinese may not be able to give Jakub Piotrowski what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jakub Piotrowski wants continental football; whether Udinese can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

In brief

29 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Maduka Okoye

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

José Alberto Sebastiani says Udinese went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Nicolò Zaniolo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Juventus take the points off Udinese

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Zemura is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolò Zaniolo

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

28 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Alberto Grassi: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Udinese have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Álvaro Morata

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Efrain Ochoa wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Udinese know it.

Boardroom

Udinese beat the market to Luca Trombini from Arezzo

Arezzo will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Luca Trombini has pre-agreed a move to Udinese, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.

Match

Udinese see off Lecce

Three points for Udinese, 1‑0 the final word against Lecce in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

25 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Maduka Okoye

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Álvaro Morata yet — 7.88

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Match

The wait goes on for Udinese

4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Nicolò Zaniolo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Thomas Kristensen falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nicolò Bertola

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolò Zaniolo

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Kingsley Ehizibue turns it into his own net

Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Udinese deserved better, and so did he.

Match

Honours even between Udinese and Pisa

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

24 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Maduka Okoye keeps Udinese in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Oumar Solet was immovable

28 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Market

Alberto Grassi is a Udinese player

The fee is $2.4M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Cremonese drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Market

Udinese sign Emanuele Cicerelli for $1.5M

The paperwork is done: Emanuele Cicerelli joins from Catania in a deal worth $1.5M. Now comes the harder part.

Squad

A move Emanuele Cicerelli would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Emanuele Cicerelli is living that version at Udinese, and it tends to show in the first month.

Boardroom

Francesco Caccioppoli has agreed to leave Udinese for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Squad

Nicolò Zaniolo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

The goals have deserted Udinese

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Udinese can tell you which week it ends in.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jesper Karlström

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

22 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Udinese say no — this time

The offer from Boca Juniors for Keinan Davis was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad

Nicolò Zaniolo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Real improvement from José Alberto Sebastiani at Udinese

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. José Alberto Sebastiani is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market

Udinese may not be able to give Jakub Piotrowski what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jakub Piotrowski wants continental football; whether Udinese can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Match

Como take the points off Udinese

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

21 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Maduka Okoye keeps Udinese in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Thomas Kristensen in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Mërgim Vojvoda wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Player ratings

Oumar Solet shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Udinese see off Fiorentina

Three points for Udinese, 1‑0 the final word against Fiorentina in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Jesper Karlström was immovable

18 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

In brief

20 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Thomas Kristensen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

A bad afternoon for Udinese against Inter

0‑1 to Inter, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Jordan Zemura falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

19 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Maduka Okoye keeps Udinese in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Nicolò Zaniolo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

Mërgim Vojvoda wants more than Udinese are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

Thomas Kristensen falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Home is on Efrain Ochoa's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Udinese are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Match

Lazio take the points off Udinese

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

16 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Nicolò Zaniolo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jesper Karlström

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Adam Buksa runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Unai Gómez

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Match

Unai Gómez the difference as Udinese beat Hellas Verona

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Unai Gómez. 2‑0 against Hellas Verona, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

14 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Maduka Okoye

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Thomas Kristensen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

Udinese may not be able to give Jakub Piotrowski what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jakub Piotrowski wants continental football; whether Udinese can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Jordan Zemura falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Unai Gómez

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Oumar Solet

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Oumar Solet has come out of that comparison in the side, and Udinese have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

In brief

13 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mërgim Vojvoda wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Squad

Thomas Kristensen falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Álvaro Morata’s goal not enough for Udinese

Álvaro Morata scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Cagliari, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

In brief

10 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Nicolò Zaniolo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Whatever happens, Udinese do not lose

7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Udinese get the job done against Juventus

A 1‑0 win over Juventus, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolò Zaniolo

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jesper Karlström

18 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Player ratings

Unai Gómez takes the honours

Marked 7.96 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Udinese had the best player on the pitch.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Unai Gómez

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Unai Gómez has come out of that comparison in the side, and Udinese have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

Squad

Kingsley Ehizibue dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

In brief

8 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Oumar Solet was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Unai Gómez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Oumar Solet shuts the door

Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Jordan Zemura falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vakoun Issouf Bayo

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Udinese draw a blank against Parma

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Parma defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

7 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Thomas Kristensen falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

Udinese supporters have found a favourite in Unai Gómez

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Unai Gómez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Udinese see off AC Milan

Three points for Udinese, 1‑0 the final word against AC Milan in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Jesper Karlström

18 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

Squad

Jordan Zemura is still paying for one afternoon at Udinese

Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.

Squad

A smaller club would suit Jordan Zemura now

He has had enough of the noise. Whether Udinese can be a quieter place for him, or whether the only cure is a move somewhere the phone-ins are gentler, is a question for the next few months.

Player ratings

Unai Gómez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Unai Gómez is off the mark for Udinese

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Jordan Zemura

A mark of 4.75 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief

6 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Thomas Kristensen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

Mërgim Vojvoda wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Udinese hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Squad

Hassane Kamara falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

5 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Jesper Karlström was immovable

26 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Nicolò Zaniolo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Thomas Kristensen

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nicolò Zaniolo

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Kingsley Ehizibue

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Match

No goals between Udinese and AS Roma

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. AS Roma will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

4 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Maduka Okoye

There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Nicolò Zaniolo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Udinese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Udinese

5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market

Udinese promote Alessandro Moretti from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alessandro Moretti has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

One of our own: Jacopo Spinelli joins the Udinese first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Jacopo Spinelli is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

One of our own: Stefano Pagani joins the Udinese first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Stefano Pagani is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Udinese promote Giorgio Melis from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Giorgio Melis has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Squad

Adam Buksa gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

1 Edition

The Udinese Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Oumar Solet stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Oumar Solet and Udinese agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Udinese

Oumar Solet was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Udinese training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Kristensen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief