Udinese left with gaping hole due to AFCON

With the African Cup of Nations fast approaching MTNFootball.com takes a look at what it means for Udinese to lose their African trio of; Emanuel Badu, Kwadwo Asamoah, and Mehdi Benatia, for the months of January and mid-February. 

With Serie A traditionally famous for its defensive prowess, Udinese have had to bid adieu to one of the most currently inform and impressive defenders in the Italian peninsula: Benatia.

The Moroccan has been a colossal influence for both club and country in recent years where he helped lead his country through an impressive African Cup of Nations’ campaign. Meanwhile for his domestic side, Mehdi helped the Zebrette to finish fourth last year; seeing them qualify for the Champions League preliminary qualification round. 

It is his physical and powerful presence, as well as his calm and visionary play which allows him to interpret and read the game almost replicating the great Italian defenders to have played before him. 

His three-man defensive partnership alongside Maurizio Domizzi and Larangeira Danilo have proven to be rock solid this season, where not only have they helped their team remain unbeaten at home but they boast the one of best defensive records in Serie A coming into the Christmas break. 

Benatia’s immediate replacement would be Damiano Ferronetti who has the potential to do well but his erratic persona sees him offer little security; therefore, making the loss of the Moroccan even more concerning. 

But the gaping hole will come in the midfield where Francesco Guidolin has resigned himself to having let go three players- two of which are constant starters and have formed an unbreakable bond, that has seen them concede little possession as well as orchestrating some of the most attractive counter-attacking football in the peninsula. 

For the Zebrette the loss of Asamoah and Badu could prove to be a huge test for their side as their recent outing to Genoa proved to be the case, which saw them fall 3-2 to a side that replaced their coach just before the Christmas break. 

The match at the Marassi was the first match Udinese played without their African trio and they couldn't have gotten off to a worse start as they proved that a lot of work lies ahead of them. 

"We must not let ourselves get affected by those who are not here," noted Guidolin after the disappointing match.

"Instead we ought to give ourselves our best in training and the match situation, looking to the present and battling for every ball."

The Bianconeri immediately bounced back with a 2-1 win over Catania at the Friuli stadium , but they are yet to keep a clean sheet since the departure of their Africans.

Nevertheless, the club have responded swiftly to their absence of their great Ghanaians by bringing in Gelson Fernandes from St. Etienne. The youngster is highly rated and is expected to provide the desired cover for during of the Cup of Nations tournament. In addition, the Bianconeri also had a budding star coming through their ranks in the shape of Theirry Doubai.

The Ivory Coast youngster narrowly missed out in the final 23-man squad for Les Elephants but the youngster has since been loaned out to Sochaux in order to gain more first team experience.

But it is  Fernandes' need for team adjustment that could prove fatal should they fail to absorb the pressure that the city and the team expect of them. 

A good day at Guidolin's office already sees him have a slim squad at his disposal and with Benatia's position being filled by an erratic player and the Ghanaian's positions being occupied with inexperienced players: Udinese could have an exceptionally long month on their hands.

Nevertheless, hope lies in Guidolins's ability to easily instill the belief in his squad which will undoubtedly prove key during these testing months for Udinese as they look to keep their Championship hopes  as well as a Champions League spot alive.

Tactics Separates Europe's Giants As Group Leaders

With two of Europe’s most historic teams, Barcelona and Milan, set to battle it out on Wednesday evening at the San Siro, it will be a game of passion, pride, history and above all tactics.

With seven titles to Milan and four to Barcelona, there will be little separating the two squads. Having met on 12 previous occasions each team has four wins to their name, as well as having shared the spoils on four different occasions.  

For the teams qualification has already been signed, sealed and delivered, having seen them along with Real Madrid, as the first three teams to ensure a spot in the round of the last sixteen. 

All that remains now is the battle for top spot in Group H, a spot that both Pep Guardiola and Massimiliano Allgeri will be keen to possess in order to avoid the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter and Chelsea. 

Ahead of Wednesday’s match Milan coach Allegri admitted that it will be a tactical affair at the San Siro where they will ‘have to do more and better than we did in Barcelona.’

For the Rossoneri there are few doubts or worries over the player’s fitness and the starting line-up: with just Antonio Cassano and Gennaro Gattuso as notable absences from their long injury lay-offs. 

The home side is expected to field their traditional formation of 4-3-1-2, which will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic used as an assist man to Alexandre Pato. 

With the Swede playing a deeper role, Pato will be given more freedom to move in and around the box, a factor on which he thrives. In addition, this will see Ibrahimovic act as a decoy in his runs by pulling the likes of Javier Macherano aside, freeing up the Brazilian and allowing for Kevin-Prince Boateng to push forward from his ‘trequartista’ role. 

The midfield will line-up the well rested Mark Van Bommel and Antonio Nocerino while Clarence Seedorf and Alberto Aquilani will battle it out for the final spot. The backline will see Ignazio Abate, Alessandro Nesta, and Thiago Silva with the left-back position still remaining in doubt. 

“In some moments on Wednesday, we’ll have to have the patience to deal with their ball possession but that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Up front won’t only be up to the forwards but to the whole team. 

“We’ll have to improve our defence compared to how we did at Barcelona and that’ll be up to the while team,” Allegri. 

In the first leg at the Camp Now, which ended in a 2-2 draw, the Rossoneri often lacked the ability to gain a good run of possession but their man-to-man marking and the closing up of spaces on Xavi and Andres Iniesta, saw Barcelona fail to grab a good hold of their famous tika-taka possession and passing play.

At the San Siro they will be expecting to line-up a 4-3-3 formation. 

Carlos Puyol is set to start at right-back due to Dani Alves’ suspension and Adriano’s injury, which will see Gerard Pique and Mascherano partner each other in the centre. 

Kieta will take the role of the holding player, in which he will try impede the threat of Boateng and Seedorf or Aquilani, while the creative minds of Xavi and Cesc Fabregas will be utilized due to Andres Iniesta’s untimely injury.

Van Bommel will be Milan’s first line of defence in which he will seek to disrupt the buildup play of Pedro, David Villa, Querca or Alexis Sanchez in providing Lionel Messi with the ball.  

In a high profile match where tactics is what separates the winners from the losers, and the greats from the average, it will be a highly contested battle that will bring about passion, flair, a vintage style of play between two of Europe’s finest. 

With each team itching for top spot, the battle between Spanish and Italian tactics will be put to the test, where technique on the field will be the only thing separating each team from being group leaders. 

All eyes on Balotelli

“Why always me?” the famous statement that took the footballing world by storm was cast into the limelight by none other than Italy’s and Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli. 

A controversial kid with a troubled background, Balotelli provides far from the run of the mill entertainment each week, seeing his name emit more headlines for the bad and the ugly than the good. 

In the year of 1990 Mario was born in to a family of Ghanaian immigrants in Palermo, Sicily. Living in a cramped house and under poor living conditions, along with suffering from a life threatening disease- that saw him undergo various heart operations- the Barwuah family (his birth name) decided to give him up for adoption. 

At aged three he was adopted by Francesco and Silvia Balotelli where they brought him up in the Province of Brescia. It was there where he began his football career with Lumezzane before signing for Inter in 2006 at the age of 16. 

With Inter he scored two goals on his debut in a 4-1 over Reggina in a Coppa Italia match. His confident and cocky attitude, not to mention his ability to score sensational goals caught the attention of the nation, both good and bad. 

At Inter he was adored by his fans, while among the rest of the Italian peninsula the African-born Italian was a constant subject of racial abuse week in and week out, seeing signs such as "Black Italians do not exist".

His response? Fight fire with fire. 

As the continuous taunting grew, Balotelli became more cocky and ill-disciplined, but so did his eye in front of goal. The cheekier he became the more audacious his efforts in front of goal where, subsequently seeing him score some stunners. 

However, under Jose Mourinho the two colossal egos did not amalgamate well as the Portuguese out casted him from the squad for long periods of the season, saying: “I can't accept that from someone who is still a nobody, who hasn't made it yet, who is still a talent with potential. He needs to train harder.”

Balotelli responded: “I had a love-hate relationship with Mourinho. He needs to learn how to respect people.”

August 12 2010 Inter and Manchester City agreed terms to sign the notorious striker seeing him reunite with the only coach, Roberto Mancini, who could possibly keep his temperament at a simmering point rather than boiling. 

However, two days before penning in a deal with City, Cesare Prandelli awarded him his first national call-up to the Italian squad where they played and lost to Ivory Coast. 

Since then, ‘Super Mario’ has featured four more times in the Azzurri strip where he has now been given the opportunity to lead the Italy attack. 

With Antonio Cassano and Guiseppe Rossi facing up to six months on the sidelines, Cesare Prandelli is relying on the former U-21 star to deliver his goods in the national set-up. 

With the certain ability to score from set pieces, his uncanny capability to have the guts to create the most daring of scoring opportunities, and his credited pace, the 21-year-old has no reason to not be able to become a national hero. 

With the perfect opportunity to pave the yellow brick road to a starting spot in the Italian outfit for next year’s Euro, all eyes now remain on the highly controversial figure.

'Ibra-pendenza' more than just the goals

Ibra, as known by his fans, has an inherent ability to create a certain calm and ease amongst his teammates with his towering figure, as he seamlessly absorbs all the reliability that is put on him by the squad. 

Having won the Scudetto for the first time in seven years in 2010/2011, many critics put it down to Massmiliano Allgeri’s side being highly dependent on Ibrahimovic, even coining the term ‘Ibra-pendenza’. 

Since his arrival in the summer of 2010 from Barcelona, it became nothing short of obvious that the big Swede was set to lead the Rossoneri front-line alongside Robinho and Alexandre Pato. 

Though with the likes of the rising Brazilian Pato, the rejuvenated Ronaldinho, the arrival of Robinho, and the goal-poaching master Fillipo Inzaghi; it seemed unlikely that the team could rely heavily on one player with such a world renowned front-line. 

An early injury to Inzaghi saw the veteran ruled out for the whole season, while Ronaldinho was deemed surplus to requirements with new coach Allegri, leaving the tactician with only a few options available to him. 

Though it wasn’t plain sailing for the young Brazilian, Pato, either, he suffered three injury lay-offs before December, resulting in the Swede becoming the focal point of Milan’s play, with support from Robinho. 

These injuries, coupled with Ibra’s impressive from, undoubtedly became a determinant on Milan’s reliance on the 6ft5 striker. 

In the first twelve matches (9 Serie A and 3 Champions League) of the 2010/2011 season for Milan, Ibra made 11 appearances, scoring seven goals and bagging two assists; however, only five wins were amounted in total. 

In the eight Serie A matches Ibra played, he was decisive on three occasions; seeing him either net the winner or the equaliser, or providing an assist for the winning goal.

However, the team endured a troubling start to the season that saw them only win four of their first nine league games; all four wins Ibrahimovic was present in, proving decisive in three of the four winning clashes. 

Undoubtedly boasting an impressive record in Serie A it is in Europe where Ibra surprised. Often been labeled as a ‘flop’ on the big stage, Zlatan provided three goals in three matches Champions League matches, leading them to one win, one draw and a loss.

He was instrumental netting the goal that saw Milan draw 1-1 to Ajax Amsterdam, as well as scoring the two goals in a 2-0 win against Auxerre. 

Tallying up a total of four goals in eight Champions League fixtures, at a ratio of one goal every second game, it can be seen that there is a huge reliance on the big up man front.  

While in the league, the striker struck four goals past his opponents with a brace of assists in eight out of the nine league matches he played. 

It was during the first half of the 2010/2011 season where Milan were put under scrutiny for their heavy reliance on Ibrahimovic, where he netted 10 out of his 14 league goals all before the December break, as well as netting just over a quarter of Milan’s total amount of Serie A goals. 

The first thirteen games of this season, has proven that there is still a hefty reliance on the former Barcelona player’s prowess in front of goal. 

The 30-year-old has scored a tally of seven goals and two assists in all competitions, providing four decisive moments so far.  

However, the centre-forward has been criticized for a lack of involvement in terms of other spheres in the game: such as distribution and crossing. According to Tuttosport in the six appearances made in Serie A this term, Zlatan only managed 2.64 passes in 90 minutes of play, and has a low success rate at crossing, with only 29% of his efforts reaching its desired target. 

In the four matches that he missed out on at the beginning of this season, the defending Serie A Champions only managed to scrape one narrow win, while drawing two and losing one. 

The talismanic forward has such a presence about him, that when his 6ft5 physique is not present on the field: the team evidently struggle without him.

Without him occupying a position in the final third, the Rossoneri are often found lacking a certain edge and flair about them. 

Therefore, when considering the mentioned statistics  along with what the Malmo born player provides, during a game, it is clear as day, that Milan are highly dependent on his ability to place the ball into the back.  

Be it whether or not he is scoring, or whether or not he is just present on the field of play, Milan are colossally dependent on the Swedish international.