Udinese Coach Igor Tudor insists “it could’ve been worse for us” than hosting Milan in the opening round. “We’ll be tough to beat.”
Their Serie A season kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“We’ve seen progress since pre-season training began and finally we can start some competitive games now,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Udinese Coach Igor Tudor insists “it could’ve been worse for us” than hosting Milan in the opening round. “We’ll be tough to beat.”
Their Serie A season kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“We’ve seen progress since pre-season training began and finally we can start some competitive games now,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“We await this opener with joy, as it’ll be an entertaining match against a team of a very high level. Milan made European football history and it’s good that we are facing one of the big clubs at home to start with. Udinese will be tough to beat this season, always, and will have our identity.
“The Rossoneri have a new Coach and many new players, so they haven’t got used to the system yet. Milan at home in our first game: it could’ve been worse for us.
“This is going to be a fascinating Serie A season. England has made a leap forward in recent years, but I maintain that for a Coach, Italy is the most intriguing and difficult league in the world.”
Milan have repurposed Suso as a trequartista behind the strikers, an experiment that interests Tudor.
“He is world class and anywhere he plays, he’ll do well. Giampaolo has a certain view of football and put him in that position, because he wants to be at the centre of the action.
“We need balance, so covered in defence, but pushing forward to score goals. Approaching a game just to defend is not my way of seeing football.
“We’ll see Kevin Lasagna and Ilija Nestorovski together, certainly, but when and where is another matter. We need balance.”
Udinese brought in midfielder Ken Sema on loan from sister club Watford this week.
“I am very happy, he’s a professional who every Coach would want in his team and has all the characteristics that I like,” added Tudor.
“He can be used in different roles, allows us to vary our approach from the start or during a game. He needs time and doesn’t know Italian yet, but he seems sharp to me and I doubt he’ll require too long.”