Position: 12th
Points: 46
Previous season: 12th, 47 points
Best Serie A scorer: Beto, 10 goals in 33 games
Rating: 5/10
Season overview
After an exciting and unexpectedly impressive start to the season, the Bianconeri soon dropped to mid-table mediocrity. Their best moment of the campaign was between August and September, and I’ll discuss it below, but after that, the team would have to wait for 10 more matches to taste victory again, suffering four losses and six draws before eventually picking up all three points once again with a 1-0 win over Sampdoria. In that miserable 10-game run, their Coppa Italia campaign also ended abruptly after a second-round loss to Monza.
Turnaround moment
Udinese‘s 2022-23 Serie A campaign started with a 4-2 loss to defending champions Milan and a 0-0 draw with a Salernitana side who had just avoided relegation the season prior. However, their best moment of the season was just around the corner as August saw things turn around in dramatic fashion for Sottil’s side. The Bianconeri strung together six consecutive wins from late August to early October, picking up impressive wins over teams like Fiorentina 1-0, Roma 4-0, Sassuolo 3-1 and Inter 3-1. After the 8th matchday of the season, Udinese sat third in the table, just a point behind a Napoli side starting to dream.
The Coach – Andrea Sottil
The 49-year-old coach, who has a decade of coaching experience in the lower tiers of Italian football, was appointed in the summer of 2022 following the departure of Gabriele Cioffi, who had guided the team to a 12th-place finish in 2021-22. Sottil, a former Udinese defender and the father of Fiorentina winger Riccardo guided a Serie A team for the first time in his career. The Friulani played great football in the early stages of the season, but Gerard Deulofeu’s injury strongly affected the team. Udinese were more predictable without the Spaniard and with Serie A survival in their pocket, some players didn’t seem entirely focused in 2023.
Player of the Season – Gerard Deulofeu
A much-needed win in Liguria against Sampdoria on January 22 also saw Udinese’s talismanic forward Gerard Deulofeu suffer a season-ending knee injury, a true blow for Sottil’s side. The 29-year-old Spaniard had scored two goals and provided six assists up to that point and his absence weighed heavily on the side, severely limiting their firepower. Sottil and Udinese could not find a valuable replacement for the Spaniard, not even in the January window with the signing of Florian Thauvin. Destiny Udogie deserved a mention too as the 20-year-old left-back ended the season with three goals and four assists in 34 Serie A matches.
Disappointing player of the Season – Tolgay Arslan
One of the most experienced players in the team, the German midfielder was in his third season at the Dacia Arena. However, he struggled for consistency, especially in the second part of the campaign. The 32-year-old scored one goal in 36 matches and ended 2022-23 with no assists to his name. It’s no surprise that the player will leave the club at the end of his contract on June 30, as confirmed by the Friulani after the last game of the season against Juventus.