Did you know that Udinese wanted to get Haaland? This was told by former Napoliplayer Andrea Carnevale, who has been in charge of scouting for the Friulian club for a few years now.
During the episode of On The Road, Carnevale spoke to the microphones of TVPLAY revealing many interesting anecdotes about his glorious and somewhat troubled career as a footballer and about the market shots completed or touched by Udinese. Carnevale said he is proud to work at Udinese, a team he played for when he was in his 20s. “When I played there were great champions: Zico, for example. Then there was Mauro, Miano … players that Udinese produced and then went to the big teams. “
“The philosophy of the club is to unearth talent and launch it,” Carnevale recounted. “Pozzo has been following this line for almost 30 years. My role is prestigious and responsible: I manage 30 scouts around the world. And that’s how I find players who are not yet established and then become great. Alexis Sanchez, Cuadrado, Muriel, Benatia, Bruno Fernandez, who played at Novara, Zielinski…”
“You have to find rookie players and see whether or not they have the potential. I take players from Udinese and others that I already know will be able to aspire to big teams, like Roma, Milan, Inter, Juventus. But it’s not easy… When I was still playing soccer, I made Pozzo get him Margiotta and De Sanctis. And also Oliver Bierhoff, where I saw him in Ascoli. “
Carnevale and the scouting work at Udinese: “We were close to Haaland “
“I was lost,” Carnevale recounted. “And in 2001 Pozzo called me back to Udinese as an observer. I had met them in 1984, when they did not yet own the club. I went to Ibiza, a guest at their house. I was very young. That very year there I told Pozzo to take the team. Giampaolo Pozzo took Udinese when I went to Naples: he followed my advice. “
Carnevale then talked about 1980s soccer, the Serie A of Maradona and Zico. “With Napoli we won against the Milan of Gullit, Van Basten, Maldini, Ancelotti. Soccer was more beautiful, more male but also richer. There was a lot of talent, including Italian talent. Perhaps there was more quality.”
“Youth sectors today are not working very well. But the talents of the past are no longer there: there are no more Baggios, Mancinis … they were all great champions. Today we are a bit lacking. Just look at the national team where there are no star players,” the interviewee continued. “Among today’s strikers, the most promising ones are Scamacca and Lucca.”
The toughest negotiation for Carnevale was the one to get Handanovic: “He had physical problems, but in the end everything was solved. I had to insist on getting him. It was a great satisfaction. I saw him with Slovenia: he didn’t make a single save and got three goals, but he moved well and looked confident.”
The biggest regret, however, was not bringing Haaland to Udinese. Carnevale related that Udinese is looking for players all over the world and of all ages. “I had seen him when he was 15 years old in Norway and he already cost a few million. He had great potential. He had strength, talent. Then he started to score a lot of goals. We treated him, but the price was growing too much and we gave up. “