Maurizio Domizzi hailed Sporting Braga and tried to reassure Maicosuel after the penalty mistake in the Champions League shoot-out.
Maurizio Domizzi hailed Sporting Braga and tried to reassure Maicosuel after the penalty mistake in the Champions League shoot-out.
“There is so much bitterness. It’s a shame to a certain degree, as it was clear that technically at this level we struggle,” he said of the 1-1 draw on the night.
“We were in it while we had energy in the legs, but at the end of the day we ran out of steam.
“All of us gave our last drop of sweat for this, but unfortunately Braga were better.”
Maicosuel will be feeling guilty, as his failed ‘Panenka’ style chip was the only error in the shoot-out.
“Paradoxically, we made two mistakes near the end with Pablo Armero and someone else that were even worse than missing a penalty,” argued Domizzi.
“Whether you chip it, force a save or miss completely in a shoot-out, nothing changes.”
Captain Antonio Di Natale also went to reassure Maicosuel straight after the mistake, telling him about his miss for Italy in the Euro 2008 quarter-final against Spain.
This is the second consecutive Champions League play-off exit for Udinese, who go into the Europa League.
“We knew it was tough and there’s no point hiding that this is even more painful than last year,” concluded Domizzi.
“Repeating a season like that is pretty much impossible, so just finishing top six would be great. That’s the bread and butter for a club like Udinese.”