Marco Negri: “I would go back to Udine just to train someone like Beto, he has enormous margins”

The “specialist” of the forwards in the 2017-18 season talks about the Juventus advanced department and the tactical perspectives

“Sunday in Friuli will not be a chess match but a boxing match between two teams full of talent in attack and ready to give it to themselves, in the name of the new and increasingly proactive course that Italian football has taken”. So far the prediction on the match between Udinese and Bologna, but the most interesting prediction spent by Marco Negri is on the future of Beto Betuncal and a Zebretta who has all the credentials to become the surprise of the championship even by changing form, provided that ensure team balance.

Negri, in the 2017-18 season you coached the strikers in Udinese led by Massimo Oddo, and Lasagna scored 12 goals. What Udinese are you seeing today?

«A team that understood the limits it had last year, which has restarted after losing two big shots and which can become the surprise of the championship if it finds a certain development between attack, midfield and defense. I see a team with players of good leg and technique, with experienced people who I met well four years ago. Enthusiasm could therefore play its part ».

Even Beto, the new center forward on which Gino Pozzo has focused?

«I answer with a joke and say that I would come to Udine just to train him. I like him very much, he is the prototype of the modern striker with a leg and fluidity of execution, which can be combined with the Abraham of Roma, which you can use in pairs or with other wide forwards. Then it is clear that it has to grow ».

Pen and paper in hand, try to outline possible improvements.

“First of all, it has enormous margins. Already now Beto is the kind of attacker who engages two if not three central players, but he must understand when to meet and when to stretch the team knowing how to read the movements of the opposing defenses. For the moment it is important that he unlocked himself with a goal that gives morale and keeps criticism away, and that he continues to play following his instincts. He will build everything else in training ».

There where Udinese is often also trying the 4-2-3-1, an alternative form to the 3-5-2.

«The nightmare of the coaches is the word balance, and everyone tries to propose in front of what is sustainable behind, in defense and in the middle of the field I mean, otherwise it makes no sense. Having said that, you have to have a nice filter in the middle and then it depends on who you play with, because if you have clear references in attack the director may not even serve in the middle. However, even the 3-5-2 offers ideas for one-on-one on the flanks, except that you always have fifty and sixty meters in front of you to attack if the team remains low on the ball ».

A Udinese designed with Pussetto, Pereyra and Deulofeu playmaker behind Beto, how would you see it?

«Well, but Pussetto would risk stepping on his toes with Molina, so I would prefer a left-handed like Samardzic, similar in characteristics to Bologna’s Orsolini who plays on the inverted foot, like Berardi. Players who play on the inverted foot return towards the center and can leave the band on the outside, Molina on duty in the case of the bianconeri. At the center certainly Pereyra, who is Udinese’s engine oil, a tactically intelligent player who makes the team turn, like the Soriano of Bologna. Then it is clear that the outsiders have to sacrifice a lot ».

Which Bologna will Udinese find?

«A team that always plays and that unlike last year aims not only at the growth of the boys, but also at the points, as requested by the square. The honeymoon is over for many kids too and they are looking for a goal. Bologna has 11 points, but could have more ».

And in attack there are talents …

«It was the genius of Sabatini who is second to none. Arnautovic is that striker who plays with his back to goal, difficult to anticipate that when he has the ball he creates pockets and assists for the boys, from Barrow to Orsolini ».