13 April 1997: that day against Juventus changed the history of Udinese

UDINE. “The bad thing is that 25 years have passed, the good thing is that it feels like yesterday to me.” Alberto Zaccheroni opens the album of memories and begins to tell. Today Juventus-Udinese 0-3, the game that changed the history of the Friulian club, turns a quarter of a century.

From that day on, nothing has been the same as before, from that day Udinese began to think big. “Had I made that move against Cremonese, it would not have had the same effect,” says Zac.

After the expulsion of poor Genaux, the move was to remove Locatelli, winger of the initial 4-4-2, and not a striker, and insert Gargo to pass to 3-4-2. “It was a gamble – Zac confesses after a long time – but I wanted the players to try”.

AGREEMENT

For some time Zaccheroni had been convinced that 3-4-3 was the best solution to raise the team’s performance, but it clashed with the will of the players. “And so the deal was: we try it when we find ourselves at a disadvantage – says Zac -. The results were good, but when I went to say it in the locker room I heard myself say: “of course, the others have the advantage and they are all behind” ».

We needed a shock, a “crazy” situation. And there could be nothing more crazy than doing it at Juve outnumbered. “Among other things, of a Juve that had won the Champions League the year before and the Intercontinental Cup in December and that the previous Sunday had scored six at San Siro at Milan”.

REVOLUTION

Amoroso scored from a penalty at the end of the first half, then at the beginning of the second half Bierhoff doubled his header and then Marcio’s 3-0 again. It looked like a science fiction movie, but it was all true.

«I realized that something could happen after 10 ‘because I saw that the boys were really trying – recalls Zaccheroni – while Juve seemed disoriented. They were surprised. ‘

The next day, for a change, the national newspapers talked more about the Juventus thud than about Udinese’s exploit. «Yet that was a game that changed football – says Zac -: the two reversed-footed strikers had been a sort of sacrilege up to then, today they are normal.

How many lefties like Poggi play on the right? Lots of them: Salah, Berardi, Politano, Orsolini, Zaniolo. Then there was only Paolo ».

THE LIFT IN PARMA

Udinese that Sunday reopened the fight for the Scudetto because Parma, by winning, moved within three points of Juve. Seven days later Bierhoff and his teammates closed it again by winning at the Tardini.

“After the victory in Turin at the beginning of the week I found a very attentive and very concentrated team”. But until Sunday morning Zac didn’t let the players know what his feelings were.

“I remember that in the lift I met Poggi and Amoroso: they had dark eyes, if I had confirmed the 4-4-2 one of the two would have remained out”. On the other hand, Zaccheroni added Poggi to the “ten lions” of the Delle Alpi, deploying the trident of wonders for the first time: «he seemed drawn, those three were made to play together».

Zac recalls the group’s reaction to his choices: “There was like a buzz of approval.” Suddenly the players had become the main sponsors of that solution.

ALWAYS TRIDENT

That Sunday morning in Parma Zaccheroni reached an agreement with Udinese for the renewal of the contract and in the following week he put pen to paper. The Pozzo family understood that they had found a mine with the man from Cesenatico.

And from that day Udinese always played with the three strikers even when Zaccheroni found himself without the three owners. It happened in the following season in Genoa with Sampdoria: February 22, 1998 and trident made up of Locatelli, Jorgensen and Pineda. Result: 3-0 for Udinese.

Zac again: «I remember that Boskov went to Causio to ask him who Pineda was because he didn’t know him …».

SUPER ORGANIZATION

All the opponents were struggling against those three up front because in addition to talent there was also great organization in that team. On the eve of the matches against Udinese there were some coaches who dared to say that they had found solutions.

«It may be – smiles Zaccheroni -, I only remember that Poggi, at the interval, in the locker room welcomed me with the usual phrase: ‘Mister, even today they didn’t understand anything’».

In Friuli that Udinese made history. “I reiterated – concludes Zac – that this is the team that has given me the most satisfaction in my career, if it worked so well it was because I had put all the players in the right place, but also because there were some very good players”.

And that 25 years later if they are presented at the stadium they receive a shivering ovation.