Chapter 61: Help

Chapter 61: Help

After Bruno's debut at Stadio Friuli, he quickly settled his accommodation in Udine. Given his current situation, he wouldn't be staying with fans anymore. Instead, he decided to rent a villa as his home in Udine. With the help of captain Di Natale, he rented a small villa with a swimming pool in the suburbs of Udine. Many Udinese players lived in this neighborhood, including Di Natale himself. In fact, their houses were right next to each other, making them neighbors.

Di Natale liked Bruno very much, especially since Bruno had expressed at his debut ceremony that he wanted to help Di Natale become the greatest scorer in Serie A history. Although this seemed unrealistic—considering the top scorer in Serie A history, Piola, had 274 goals, and Di Natale currently had 176 goals, nearly 100 fewer than Piola, not even making it into Italy's top ten scorers—flattering words were always appreciated. Moreover, since Bruno was personally chosen by the club owner to help the team win the championship, Di Natale felt it was essential to maintain a good relationship with him. If it could improve the team's performance, Di Natale was all for it. After all, Bruno had already won three trophies in his debut year.

Once his accommodation was settled, Bruno's transportation to and from the training base was also resolved. Di Natale promised to give him a ride to the training base every morning. However, Bruno's return depended on the situation, as he often stayed behind to practice extra sessions after training, which the soon-to-be 36-year-old Di Natale couldn't handle.

Di Natale had looked into Bruno's daily training schedule and found it incredibly intense—so much so that if he followed it, he would probably be physically drained even before playing in any matches.

Starting from July 24, Bruno joined Udinese's training, though he didn't immediately participate in team training. Being new, he needed time to get familiar with his teammates. During this period, Udinese played a warm-up match, but Bruno spent the entire game in the stands and did not play. He also did not participate in Udinese's subsequent two Europa League third qualifying round matches. However, Udinese still managed to win against their Bosnian opponents, Borac Banja Luka, with scores of 3-1 and 4-0, advancing to the Europa League playoffs.

Udinese finished fifth in Serie A last season. Due to Italy being surpassed by the Bundesliga in the UEFA coefficient rankings and dropping to the fourth league, Serie A now only had three Champions League spots, with the fourth and fifth places going to the Europa League. The fifth-placed team had to start from the third qualifying round of the Europa League. For the past two seasons, Udinese had participated in the Champions League qualifiers but failed to advance to the group stage, losing to Arsenal and Malaga respectively.

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This season, Udinese could only participate in the Europa League. Initially, Guidolin planned to give up on the Europa League due to its low benefits, focusing instead on the league. Given Udinese's strength, winning the Europa League seemed unlikely. However, with Bruno's arrival, the team's plans were adjusted. Guidolin was not naïve enough to think Udinese could win the Europa League but planned to participate at a normal pace and see how far they could go. His primary target was the Coppa Italia.

As a team playing in European competitions, Udinese had a significant advantage in the Coppa Italia schedule, entering in the fifth round, which was already the round of 16. Winning the cup would only require five matches, including the two-legged semifinals. In comparison, winning the Europa League would require 19 matches, making the Coppa Italia much easier.

Given past seasons' struggles, Udinese was often mocked for exiting European competitions early, earning the nickname of Serie A's top "point donors" in European competitions. This was not good for their reputation, and even the Italian Football Federation subtly expressed dissatisfaction with Udinese's early exits, which dragged down Italy's UEFA rankings. As a small-budget team, Udinese struggled with the demands of competing on multiple fronts, making it logical for them to focus on the league. Many Serie A teams shared this mindset, leading to a vicious cycle of poor European performances and declining league rankings.

However, this season was different. Owner Pozzo made a rare significant investment, aiming to win a trophy, making the Europa League a potential target. While still challenging, it was seen as more achievable than winning Serie A. Guidolin was not willing to give up on the Europa League entirely, hoping to at least reach the group stage.

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On August 2, after Udinese's first Europa League qualifying match against Borac Banja Luka, Udinese officially announced another signing: 22-year-old midfielder N'Golo Kanté from French Ligue 2 club Caen for €500,000 on a five-year contract with an annual salary of €100,000. Having joined Caen for free only a month earlier, Kanté was surprised by the swift transfer to Udinese, a Serie A team. Just three months ago, he had been playing in the French third division.

Kanté didn't know why Udinese, a Serie A powerhouse, was interested in him but found it hard to refuse the allure of playing in Serie A. Caen was also pleased to profit €500,000 from a free transfer, quickly completing the deal with Udinese. Upon arriving at Udinese, Kanté learned that he had been recommended by a newly signed Udinese superstar—a young player three years his junior.

Following Kanté's signing, Udinese made two more young signings within a week. On August 6, Riyad Mahrez from Ligue 2 club Le Havre joined Udinese for €300,000. On August 9, João Cancelo from Benfica B team signed for €500,000. With these signings, Udinese's total summer spending exceeded €26 million, with net spending over €13 million. As a result, the team's general manager Gino Pozzo announced the closure of Udinese's transfer market for the summer.

(End of Chapter)

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