Back
21.07.2022Bayer 04

Udinese profile: Lots of Bundesliga experience

The Werkself face Udinese in the final friendly before the start of the 2022/23 season. The match against the top-flight Italian club at the Alois Latini Stadium in Zell am See kicks off at 18.00 CEST. Ahead of the game, we profile the team under head coach Andrea Sottil that includes some familiar names from German professional football.
crop_imago1008404562h.jpg

The Werkself take on Udinese four days after the goalless friendly against Greek Cup winners Panathinaikos. The club from the north-east of Italy finished twelfth in the league table last term and they have been members of Serie A since the 1950s.

crop_imago1013230710h.jpg
New face at Udinese: Head coach Andrea Sottil with his fellow coaches.

Udinese brought in Andrea Sottil as the new head coach for the start of the new season. The 48-year-old Italian was previously at second division club Ascoli. As a player, Sottil made 250 top-flight appearances in Italy and he won the domestic cup competition in 1993 with Torino and three years later with Fiorentina.

Arslan, Jajalo And Co.

The squad of the club founded in 1896 has five players who previously played in Germany: Central defender Jaka Bijol and holding midfielder Walace were at Hannover 96 and the latter also played for Hamburg SV. Mato Jajalo played for FC Köln, Tolgay Arslan was a youth player at Borussia Dortmund and at HSV, Lazar Samardzic was in the youth teams at Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig. The quintet clocked up a total of 270 Bundesliga appearances as well as 90 games in Bundesliga 2.

imago1007052567h.jpg
The best-known players in the squad: Gerard Deulofeu (l.) and Roberto Pereyra.

Probably the best known players internationally are Roberto Pereyra and Gerard Deulofeu. The Argentinian playmaker Pereyra played for Italian record champions Juventus for many years and also for Watford in the Premier League, centre-forward Deulofeu won La Liga twice with Barcelona and the Europa League with Sevilla.

DRAW IN FRIENDLY AGAINST Union

Like the Werkself, Udinese have played several pre-season friendlies. An 11-0 victory at Rapid Lienz (Austria) was followed by a 3-3 draw against Leverkusen Bundesliga rivals Union Berlin. For the Italians, experience striker Ilija Nestorovski netted a brace and defender Filip Benkovic also found the back of the net.

After a 3-0 win against Slovenian second division club Ilirija comes the game against Bayer 04 and that is followed by a meeting with Chelsea, including Werkself home-grown player Kai Havertz, next Friday to round off the pre-season for the North Italians.

Related News

Effiziente Anfangsphase: Bayer 04-Frauen schlagen Leipzig verdient | 12. Spieltag
Werkself-TV - 06.12.2025

Women: TV-highlights of 3-2 win against RB Leipzig

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 3-2 win against RB Leipzig on the 12th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.

Show more
Kurzpässe vor #FCAB04
Bundesliga - 06.12.2025

Matchday news #FCAB04: Build on record win rate against Augsburg side under new management

For the second time in three weeks, Bayer 04 have to face a team that has just changed coach. The Werkself’s overall record against Augsburg and the Bavarians’ poor season so far both point towards a Leverkusen win, but head coach Kasper Hjulmand is still aware of the threat going into Saturday’s Bundesliga encounter (kick-off: 15:30 CET). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 13 fixture at the WWK Arena.

Show more
Tom Brady
Bayer 04 - 05.12.2025

World Cup draw: Germany face newcomers Curacao - Argentina and Algeria in same group

The groups for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico have been finalised. At the draw in the USA capital Washington D.C., which was hosted by German top model Heidi Klum and others, 48 teams were drawn for the first time. The groups at a glance.

Show more
Fernando Carro
Social Commitment - 05.12.2025

Fernando Carro and Stefan Kießling at the Day of Volunteering in the BayArena

As part of the joint commitment of Bayer 04 and the City of Leverkusen to volunteering, the annual Volunteer Day took place in the 19nullvier Lounge at the BayArena. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, Stefan Hebbel, Mayor of the City of Leverkusen, and club representative Stefan Kießling praised the commitment of the 200 or so volunteers from the region in attendance and thanked them for their impressive efforts.

Show more