It seems almost a sign of destiny that Udinese will play the thirteenth day of its championship on Friday evening exactly 25 years after what is considered the mother of all matches in Friuli: Udinese-Ajax.
The formation deployed by Zaccheroni on 4 November 1997 in Friuli against Ajax
That day, history changed. About the club, the property, the team, the city and the fans. The transport and the passion with which the protagonists of the time ventured to remember that night confirm this. Here are their messages and the mythical formation of that November 4, 1997
Udinese-Ajax was the match that changed Udinese’s history. If Zico had made Friuli known all over the world, that evening the world of football had seen a great team at work that deserved to go through. I have never seen a similar atmosphere in Friuli again.
That wall of black and white flags that greeted us at the entrance to the field, the announcement of the formations with the names of us players shouted by all the audience. What a thrill! Then as today. We won the game and were eliminated: I didn’t sleep for two days.
But the greatness of that team was seen in the following months: we could have beaten ourselves and instead we put in a series of victories that then allowed us to close the championship in third place. We were really strong. We were Udinese
There are dates that enter the pages of books, there are stories that must be handed down and remembered, there are games that must be played
And then we were there, a team of guys who wanted to amaze with a great President, an immense Zaccheroni on the bench, and a city and a wonderful audience that adopted us and pushed us beyond every possible goal.
From today, 25 years ago, Udine and Udinese will be a Region and a team to know and admire
Remembering Udinese-Ajax is not difficult. It was a concentration of emotions, before, during and after the game.
First there was the expectation of the event, of the confrontation, the desire to compete with a great club. The city, festively decorated, shops full of T-shirts, black and white colors everywhere… It seemed like an anniversary and instead we were getting ready to welcome Ajax.
Friuli was full, indeed overflowing, full of Juventus fans waving their flags as a sign of pride: seen from the pitch it was wonderful. That was THE GAME, expected for a lifetime, a trailblazer. We won 2-1 but it wasn’t enough: even defeats, sometimes, are more beautiful than a victory.
The memory is a beautiful feeling: it was the first step of a company that was growing. I don’t really like to live on memories but it’s not hard to tell beautiful things. That was a first time and like every first time you don’t forget.
From time to time I still refer to Udinese-Ajax and I keep repeating to myself: but how did we manage to be eliminated? Of course, I missed the 3-0 goal and after some time I think about it again. I came to the conclusion tired after that long shot, but above all Van der Sar saved the impossible.
It was his great interventions, not our imprecise conclusions. Beyond the final result, there remains the memory of an unforgettable atmosphere: that evening Friuli seemed to contain 80,000 people, not 42,000. It was like being at San Siro or at the Olimpico. I have a photo of our team at home before the kick-off: we all look very tense, but we were focused and determined to make it.
We deserved it because, after a bit of pain in the Amsterdam race, we dominated in the second leg. That game had to finish 5-1. The fact that 25 years later we are still talking about it means only one thing: that we left a mark on the people who were at the stadium that night and on all those who love Udinese.
So many years have already passed! The memory, however, makes it seem like yesterday: an overcrowded stadium, black and white flags like the red and white ones on the way to the Amsterdam Arena… a show before, during and after.
I remember two things above all: while we were changing, hearing the din of a stadium already exhausted hours before the starting whistle made our skin crawl; I don’t know when we will see him again and where. And then that feeling, the one by which we all understood how Udinese’s life was about to change and ours as a consequence.
I always say that I arrived in Udine as a boy and left as a man. Well, that match was one of the turning points, of a process that led Udinese to be a European reality and the team to believe even more in itself, so much so that important careers for Udinese began. all.
Years later, there remains the pride, the sense of belonging, the pride of a team and its people. There was a pre Udinese-Ajax is a post. And we were there. Every now and then I think about it and feel emotion. Wonderful years
That evening was magical. And not just that great night. The period was not to be forgotten. After the first match in Amsterdam, where we will have understood that we are no less combative, we faced the match at the Friuli Stadium with the utmost confidence in ourselves.
Arriving at the stadium there was an air of great expectations. One of those evenings that couldn’t be anything else fantastic. A full stadium and thrilling fans. It seemed all done to make us all dream. We felt strong and united.
The game was easy to play. We were prepared in perfect ways. The feeling during the race was that we could never get tired. Especially after taking the lead.
Then the cold shower hit us. Goal against and now a third goal had to be found. And we were really close. Unfortunately, the last piece of magic has turned its back on us.
Disappointment and pride at the same time. Pride of having made an important result anyway – proud of having shared a fantastic evening with all those people who were present.
UdineseAjax it is not just a football match, it is a word to be included in the vocabulary of football. It is pronounced like this in one go, without pauses. A normal football match lasts a little more ninety minutes, UdineseAjax, I play it every time I see some image on television or this period is approaching. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just simple nostalgia for the past years and every time I answer that it’s not like that.
It is even simpler to be aware of having had the privilege of having played that game, of having experienced that emotion. I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that many of the 40 thousand who were in the stands that day, including teammates, will never remain indifferent to remembering 4/11/1997, UdineseAjax.
The truth is that I only realized the importance of this match over time. The emotions experienced, the expectation, the expectation for this event that changed the history of Udinese stayed with me… burned on the skin… on the heart.
The Friuli stadium with a full house, with 45 thousand live flags, an enthusiasm that I only now recognize because my being a professional and performing player forced me to be closed, hermetic, detached. Every now and then I feel the desire to see the tape again – strictly in vhs – and then yes, a tear of joy escapes. And take pride in having worn that shirt and having lived those unforgettable moments.
It was the most exciting moment I have experienced in Udine: the stadium, the flags… the cheering, the fans, the atmosphere, the Ajax team.
A great collective performance that deserved more: the qualification. But in front of us we had a certain Van der Sar (the albatross) who took away this magical moment that Friuli deserved! Forever will remain that magical night and the days before the game where there was a hallucinating atmosphere like anything could happen
the comment
The dads cheered Zico, the children now Beto: the curve fills up again, 25 years later the passion is the same
Antonio Simeoli