When Francesco Guidolin left Parma to manage Udinese, I was disappointed. Guidolin had united a set of strong individuals, managing Parma all the way up to eighth in the table last season. Udinese finished 15th this past season, yet Guidolin saw something in the club and decided to join them.
After a disappointing start of four losses in their first four matches, Guidolin’s decision to join Udinese seemed ridiculous. Given time, Udinese began to play more attacking football, ultimately cruising their way up to eighth in the table, where they are currently situated. With the highest average of goals per match (2.95 goals per match) in the Serie A, Udinese has become a scintillating team, fearing no opponent with their attacking playing style.
Their latest victory came against Inter Milan, an exciting 3-1 victory at the Stadio Communale Friuli. While Udinese conceded first with Stankovic scoring for Inter in the 17th minute, Guidolin’s team quickly made up the lost ground. Zapata took advantage of Inter’s poor defending, smashing the ball into the roof of the goal. While Castellazzi should have done better, Zapata’s shot was powerful and precise.
Di Natale scored Udinese’s second in the 25th minute, a wonderful free kick which looped over the wall, nestling into the bottom corner of the goal. The comeback was complete, but Udinese didn’t stop there. Inter tried to slow the tempo of the game down, doing their best to keep possession and slowly build from the back. Yet Udinese’s relentless pressure was a constant obstacle. Guidolin taught his men well: give the opponent no time on the ball, and once you have it, strike quickly.
Inter suffered for the rest of the first haf, and well into the second. Udinese eventually found the third goal, with Domizzi anticipating everyone, flicking the ball over Castellazzi with his outstretched toe. Leonardo could do nothing to inspire the Inter Milan players against Udinese. Guidolin on the other hand never had to say much, with his players giving everything for the home win.
It was a fantastic victory for Udinese. When Guidolin first joined the club, I feared that the underrated manager would have trouble, but he has shown his worth. Udinese’s next match is away from home, against Juventus. While Udinese seems very strong right now, their away record doesn’t compliment them. Out of eleven matches, Udinese have only three victories away from home. We’ll see if this exciting team will be able to win away from home, and maybe aim for a European spot for the end of the season.
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Udinese Have No Fear Under Guidolin - World Soccer Talk

Udinese Have No Fear Under Guidolin

For those who spent Saturday and Sunday away from the television and internet, or were too busy watching the Manchester Derby, here are some lessons we have learned (or in some cases relearned) from this past weekend’s Serie A action:
Gianluigi Buffon is the key for a Juve scudetto: Although he has some mileage between his numerous Serie A and international matches, and the Juventus attack is quite good, the 2-0 Juventus win over Livorno shows that Buffon still dominates matches for his team.&nbsp; Nice goals by Iaquinta and Marchisio were overshadowed by some great saves by Buffon, stoning Lucarelli and Tavano on his way to 8 saves and a clean sheet.&nbsp; No one ever doubts his ability, and no one should doubt that Buffon can singlehandedly carry his team atop the standings if plays like he did against Livorno.
Roma will be near the top of the standings in the near future: I thought Fioretina was a possible dark horse contender for the scudetto, and they still are, but I was impressed by a reinvigorated Roma side in this match.&nbsp; I knew a team with Totti and de Rossi were not in danger of relegation, but their early results were less than…. inspiring.&nbsp; With their next three matches against Palermo, Catania, and Napoli, Roma could be looking to pass Milan when they face each other 18 October.
 
Bari will be a factor in the race for the scudetto: Honestly, Atalanta has a very good chance of being relegated, and a 4-1 win by Bari should not be too surprising.&nbsp; But the Gilletti began the season with a draw at Inter, have six points on the season, and currently sit in 8th in the standings.&nbsp; It is crazy to expect recently promoted Bari to compete for a title, but acquisitions such as Donati (among others), new ownership and a good keeper in Gillet will allow Bari to pick up three points against a top flight contender at least once &nbsp;at some point this season.
Sampdoria can still beat teams it should: Listen Sampdoria fans – this win over Sienna does not prove that you are a top-flight club.&nbsp; Your next three matches (at Fiorentina, v. Inter and v. Parma) will do that.&nbsp; But it is the sign of a quality club that you can beat teams you should beat, and Sampdoria has done just that.
Francesco Guidolin had the best weekend of any manager: Guidolin’s current side (Parma) handed his former side (Palermo) a 1-0 defeat on Sunday in a closely fought contest.&nbsp; Guidolin was previously the manager of Palermo three times, including during the infamous S<a title="Wikipedia on Sicilian riots" href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Catania_football_violence" target="_blank">icilian derby riot</a> of February 2007.
Diego is good, Cagliari is not:

Lessons Learned from Giornata 4 - World Soccer Talk

Lessons Learned from Giornata 4

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