Udinese Calcio is commonly known as Udinese is an elite Italian football club located in Udine Friuli-Venezia Giulia which is currently playing on Serie A. It was established on 30 November 1896 as a sport club, then on 5 July 1911 it became an football club.
The standard home kit for the team is a white and black striped top, shorts in black as well as white socks. The team is broadcast on channel 110 (Udinese Channel) on terrestrial digital television in north-east Italy. There are many supporters across Friuli and surrounding areas.
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Udinese Calcio was established in 1896 and was part of Societa Udinese di Ginnastica e Scherma, (Udinese Society of Gymnastics and Fencing). In its first year, the team won it the Torneo FNGI at Treviso beating Ferrara by 2-0. However, this title is not recognized as officially recognized.
On the 5th of July 1911, gymnasts from Udinese under the leadership of Luigi Dal Dan, founded the A.C. Udinese, which was a part of the FIGC. The new team was first introduced in a friendly game against Juventus Palmanova, and won the match 6-0.
It was not until 1912-13 when Udinese first participated at an officially sanctioned FIGC championship. They were enrolled into the Campionato Veneto di Promozione, comprised of only three teams (the other two teams comprised of Petrarca along with Padova). Two victories over Padova (3-1 and 5-1), Udinese finished the event in second place, just in the standings behind Petrarca and were elevated to the first-level Prima Categoria. Then, in Prima Categoria, Udinese failed to advance to the national stage, and were being eliminated at their final game, the Eliminatoria Veneta.
The 1920-21 season, which concluded with the Friulani being eliminated during the Eliminatoria Veneta, was memorable due to the debut season for Gino Bellotto who is currently the player who had the longest time with Udinese having played for more than 17 years with Zebrette.
It was in 1922 that Udinese in 1922, taking advantage due to the absence of large clubs, joined in the FIGC Italian Football Championship and made it to the Coppa Italia final, losing 1-1 against Vado with the help of the goal in overtime.
As a team, Udinese came second Girone Eliminatorio Veneto, which allowed them to stay in the top division for the following season in spite of a change to the championships which decreased to a smaller number of clubs that participated in the competition.
The 1922-23 season was a disaster one for Udinese since they finished last and were sent into the 2nd division. The team was at risk of failing due to the aforementioned debts in 1923. On August 24, 1923 AS Udinese separated from AC Udinese Friuli, and the team was forced to establish an independent budget and board. All debts were settled by the president Alessandro Del Torso through the selling of some pieces of his work. Udinese could therefore be a part of in the Second Division in which they were fourth.
The 1924-2015 season was memorable. The team was a part of Group F II Division. The championship was fairly uneven and at the conclusion of the tournament, three teams were in the race to win the title: Udinese, Vicenza and Olympia River. Playoffs were required to determine who would make it to the final round.
Udinese defeated Olympia in a play-off 1-0 and also drew 1-1 with Vicenza. In the play-off standings Udinese as well as Vicenza were still in leading with three points each. A second play-off was played to determine who won. After the first game ended with a draw, Udinese lost a replay with a score of 2-1, but they won the match because Vicenza played an ineligible player that was an Hungarian known as Horwart. Udinese made it to the finals on behalf of Vicenza.
The final game of the season, Udinese placed first, and then was elevated along with Parma up to First Division. In the next year, Udinese finished 10th and was again relegated. But, the format that was used for championships was changed and Udinese were given another chance to secure their spot in the top division. They played play-offs against seven other teams to win the chance to participate within Serie A. The winner would be on the highest flight. However, the club was eliminated in the Legnano playoff and was unable to remain in the highest flight.
They remained in the Second Division until the end of the 1928-29 season , when Serie A and Serie B were established and Udinese dropping into the third division (Terza Series). The first season of Terza Serie was a successful one, and Udinese were elevated into Serie B.
The time within Serie B lasted only two years, and following their 1931-32 campaign, they moved into the 3rd division. Udinese continued to play in the third division (later changed its name to Serie C in 1935) until 1938-39, when they finished second in the Girone Finale Nord di Serie C and then being elevated into Serie B.
The Zebrette was within Serie B for a dozen years, but with average performance and were then relegated back to Serie C at the end of the 1947-48 season as a result of changes to the championships. The relegation came with two subsequent promotions. In addition, thanks to a fantastic second-place finish at the end of Serie B 1949-50, the Friulani received a historic promotion up to Serie A.
Udinese were at Serie A for five seasons and was close to winning an historic Scudetto during the 1954-55 season which saw them finish second just behind Milan. After the 1954-55 season that Udinese was dismissed due to an offense committed on the 31st of May 1953, which was the final day of the championship. This offence was later exposed. It was in the year 1953 that Friuliani were reinstated to Serie A after one season in B , and following the season was ranked among the top Italian teams, with a superb fourth-place finishing.
The team suffered a decline following those great seasons, however, as Udinese initially being relegated into Serie B in 1961-62 and later back to Serie C in 1963-64. Udinese was in C for a total of fifteen years, and was not promoted back to B on several occasions. It was only in the 1977-78 season when the Friuliani under the management of director Massimo Giacomini, made it back to B after winning Girone A. The same season they also won the Coppa Italia Semiprofessionisti and beat Reggina and also winning the Anglo-Italian Cup.
In the following campaign, Udinese with Massimo Giacomini as manager were crowned Serie B and returned after more than two decades in Serie A. The first year they returned after many years they made it through an unsatisfactory 15th place finish. In Europe they fared better and won the Mitropa Cup, a European Cup for teams who had previously won that was Serie B.
In the following seasons, the team was able to avoid the relegation process without much difficulty, as well as achieving an impressive sixth position in 1982-83. At the time, Udinese was home to an one-of-the club's most outstanding players and that was the legendary Brazilian center-back Zico.
In the final stages of the 1985-86 campaign, Udinese was involved in a scandal involving betting and was penalised with nine points for the 1986-87 campaign. Despite a desperate fight back towards the final stretch of the season Udinese were forced to drop into Serie B. If they hadn't been deducted scores, Udinese might have made it to the finals.
The following seasons, Udinese were promoted to Serie A and relegated back to B several times. This was the case until the 1995-96 season at which point they were promoted to Serie A.
In 1996 and 1997, Udinese be a part of their first UEFA Cup, with Alberto Zaccheroni as their manager. In the next season, they achieved an impressive third place finish, just in the third place behind Juventus and Internazionale mostly due the 27 goals scored by Oliver Bierhoff.
In the month of March, 2001 Luciano Spalletti was appointed manager taking over from Luigi De Canio. Spalletti was able to lead the team to victory on the final day of play. After brief stints in which he was joined by Roy Hodgson and Giampiero Ventura as substitutes, Spalletti was again appointed manager of Udinese in the middle of the 2002-03 campaign, finding a well-organized and focused club that once again was able to win an appearance in the UEFA Cup, playing attacking and thrilling football.
The unexpected fourth-place finish towards the conclusion of 2004/05 was the reason that Udinese obtain their first qualification to the UEFA Champions League in the time of the team. In the middle of that year, Spalletti declared his decision to quit Udinese.
The next year, Udinese played in the Champions League preliminary round, defeating Sporting CP 4-2 on aggregate. Udinese were picked in a tough group along with Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen and Barcelona.
Despite a 3-0 victory against Panathinaikos in their opening match due to an Vincenzo Iaquinta hat trick, the team was not able to make it to the knockout stages and finished third place in their group just a few points behind the second-placed Werder and just behind the eventual champions Barcelona.
After a successful year during the Champions League, Udinese finished 10th, and then reverted to mediocrity in the mid-table. The turning point was in the latter part of July 2007 when Udinese announced the hiring to Sicilian coach Pasquale Marino. They also made a number of quality acquisitions such as Fabio Quagliarella and Gokhan inler.
The 2007-08 season kicked off good with a draw on the road against champions Internazionale However, the excitement was quickly shattered following the first home game that ended in a loss of 5-0 against newly-promoted Napoli. Following this game Udinese's fortunes changed after a victory over Juventus because of the final Antonio Di Natale goal. Udinese continued to be in contention in the race for the fourth Champions League spot with Milan, Fiorentina, and Sampdoria up to the end of the season. They ended up finishing seventh and qualified to play in the UEFA Cup.
The season began at the beginning of the 2008-09 football season, during the press conference held to unveil the new kit for the season the official website was unveiled as a complete new feature during this year's Italian competition, the very first Web TV channel specifically dedicated to a football team named Udinese Channel was launched, absolutely free and available all over the world.
In the 2008-09 season Udinese were a mixed bag of outcomes in Serie A with a 3-1 victory against Roma as well as a 1-1 victory against Juventus however, 10 losses to teams such as Reggina, Chievo, and Torino reduced their chances for Champions League qualification. For the UEFA Cup, Udinese found themselves in a group alongside the potential favorites Tottenham Hotspur, NEC, Spartak Moscow, and Dinamo Zagreb however, they squeaked through the group by securing a convincing 2-0 victory against Tottenham. They defeated Lech Poznan in the next round, 4-3 in aggregate and then defeated the holders Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-1 on the aggregate. In the quarter-finals against Werder Bremen, with injuries to the star player Antonio Di Natale, Samir Handanovic and Felipe the team were defeated 6-4 in the aggregate. Fabio Quagliarella scored eight goals during the season. The team finished the season in seventh position but were not able to play any European football in the year following.
It was a disappointing one for both players and their fans. While Antonio Di Natale managed to score 29 goals in the league and ended the season as the with the most goals scored, the whole season was filled with fighting being relegated. At the end of the day, they were 15th in the league, with having nine points to their name and just three positions away from the zone of relegation. The highlight of the campaign was making the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, beating Lumezzane in the round of 16 in Milan to reach the semi-finals and then losing the semi-finals 2-1 to Roma in the all-time aggregate.
In the summer transfer window in 2010 Udinese traded Gaetano D'Agostino Simone Pepe, Marco Motta as well as Aleksandar Lukovic. They also signed players who proved to be crucial to their success during their 2010-11 Serie A; Mehdi Benatia and Pablo Armero, a central defensive player and a wingback, respectively. After a shaky beginning to the season, defeating their initial four matches and drawing the fifth Udinese were able to post their best points total ever and ended fourth, getting a place in the Champions League qualifying round. Di Natale, with 28 goals was the first back-to-back capocannoniere after Lazio's Giuseppe Signori accomplished the feat in 1993 and 1994. A 0-0 draw in the home game against Milan on the day of the final game was enough to secure the Champions League spot for Udinese. The coach Francesco Guidolin kept his promise of "dancing like Boateng" when they qualified for Champions League and did a dance on the field. Then, in the Coppa Italia tournament, Udinese fell to Sampdoria at the end of the 16th round due to penalties following the game ending with a score of 2-2.
The 2011-12 season went on in a similar fashion however, despite the fact that Udinese dropped three of their key players bigger clubs: Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona, Gokhan Inler to Napoli as well as Cristian Zapata who had been with Villarreal. The Champions League qualifying round, Udinese were drawn against Arsenal and lost the home leg 1-0. In the Stadio Friuli, Udinese lost 3-1 at the aggregate, and then entered in the Europa League group stage, Antonio Di Natale omitting one of the penalties that was supposed to have put Udinese through. On the other hand, domestically Udinese were strong from the start, however due to their skill in defence, they gave up the lowest of all teams in 15 games, with only seven. For the second year in succession, Udinese qualified for the Champions League, clinching third place on the last date of their season. They did this with a an away victory of 2-0 against Catania. The summer transfer window the key players Kwadwo Asamoah as well as Mauricio Isla both went to the champions Juventus. The club was not able to make it to the stage in this season's Champions League, however, losing on penalties following additional time against Portuguese team SC Braga. Antonio Di Natale scored 23 goals to mark his third consecutive season of more than 20 goal scoring with 20 goals in Serie A.
Udinese began their 2013-13 Serie A season in mixed performance, having seven draws and three losses during the first 13 games. In December, however, the team started picking wins more often and Di Natale was also getting into the net regularly. After a time that saw the team balance wins and losses and then the team enjoyed a record-breaking eight-game winning streak finish the season and with Luis Muriel emerging as a important player. Similar to the 2011-12 season, Di Natale again finished with 23 goals. He was one of the few players after Gabriel Batistuta, of Fiorentina who scored at least 20 goals over four consecutive seasons.
In the years to come, Udinese would go on to finish in the middle or lower tables at the top of Serie A. For the season 2017-18, Udinese director Massimo Oddo was fired after the club lost 11 consecutive games. Oddo was later succeeded with Igor Tudor who guided the team to a safe distance from the relegation areas.
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Series | Years | Last | Promotions | Relegations |
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A | 49 | 2021–22 | - | 5 (1955, 1962, 1987, 1990, 1994) |
B | 18 | 1994–95 | 6 (1950, 1956, 1979, 1989, 1992, 1995) | 3 (1932, 1948, 1964) |
C | 23 | 1977–78 | 4 (1930, 1939, 1949, 1978) | never |
90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929 |
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The following is a provisional list of players that were international while playing for Udinese, sorted by nationality.
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