The Udinese Sentinel
Match29 Aug 2026
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp settles it late for Udinese
The 85th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp decided nobody was going anywhere. AS Roma had no time left to answer.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Door shut on Jonathan Klinsmann
Udinese asked and Cesena said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Udinese
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Unai Gómez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match29 Aug 2026
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp the difference as Udinese beat AS Roma
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jurgen Ekkelenkamp. 2‑1 against AS Roma, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
Udinese supporters have found a favourite in Francesco D'Alessio
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Francesco D'Alessio 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Udinese
Alessandro Zanoli and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Tommaso De Luca kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Vakoun Issouf Bayo
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Squad31 Aug 2026
No place for Francesco D'Alessio in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Udinese are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
In brief
- Squad Country calls for Mërgim Vojvoda
- Player ratings Jurgen Ekkelenkamp wins it from the bench
- The dugout No place in the plan for Bartosz Mrozek