Udinese: Kristensen near return, Davis unlikely to start | OneFootball

On the eve of the match against Bologna, Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic spoke at the club’s official press conference.

Udinese, Runjaic reveals: “Here’s when Kristensen will return, Davis is not ready to start”

The German coach, Kosta Runjaic, spoke to Udinese’s official channels ahead of the match that will open the 12th round of Serie A.

Here are his words, as reported by tmw:

On his debut against Bologna

“A match I obviously remember, we came home with a draw and as I was returning to Udine by bus, I hoped I would have enough time to develop our playing ideas, which we hadn’t fully shown. Then we beat Lazio and had a good start to the season. This year, several new guys have arrived, but we already have a good level of performance. Now we resume after a break that I think allowed us to recover energy; we’re facing a team like Bologna that is very complete, one of the most in-form in the league. There’s Orsolini, perhaps the best winger in Serie A and a member of the national team. Besides him, they also have other very talented players. We need to show courage and prove we can make our mark against Bologna at home, focusing on the matches played here in our stadium, establishing ourselves as a strong team on home turf. They haven’t lost in 8 matches, they’ll come here to keep that run going, but our goal is to do well, withstand their attacks, and bring something home.”

On Iker Bravo

“His inappropriate words? We are mainly focused on tomorrow’s match. Iker has great talent and ambition; last year he started to show his abilities. This year with Pisa he scored the winning goal. It’s normal that at times he’s not happy—when you’re young, you’re eager to prove yourself. He’s a bit emotional and sometimes that comes out, but I don’t want to talk about it too much, he’s still part of his team, he played in the U20 World Cup with Spain, which shows what kind of player he is. You don’t get called up by Spain just like that, it means you have quality. Now he needs to stay focused, talk less, and prove his worth on the pitch. You are measured and judged based on your performances. You work for years to seize the right moment to show your quality on the field. As a coach, I have to see the big picture, there’s a lot of competition up front; if someone isn’t picked, it’s not a punishment against a player. Against Roma we played well, but we lost; good performances are nice, but if you lose, you have to reflect on where to improve and adjust to get back on track, that’s what I’m thinking about. The substitutes in Rome did well, those who come on have done well and even those on the bench must be ready to contribute. All the players have returned from international duty without injuries, Kristensen is back too, although he’ll need some time before he can play again.”

On Davis

“He played a segment against Roma, but I’m not sure he can start tomorrow. We know how we want to play. It will be a match where we’ll have to battle.”

On Kristensen

“Everyone is fine, including Kristensen; he’ll need about a week now to get back to his best shape and be able to play. We did another check this week and there’s no need to rush him back into group training right away.”

On the midfield

“Who between Piotrowski or Ekkelenkamp? I like Piotrowski for how he’s adapting, he’s in a role with a lot of competition whereas before he was a leader at Ludogorets. He’s putting in a lot of effort to integrate. Ekkelenkamp runs a lot on the pitch, but he knows he has to improve and exploit all the potential he has in the opponent’s penalty area. He’s on the right track, he’s doing well, I see him much better than two months ago. They’re both candidates for the starting eleven. Playing with three in midfield, playing them both would mean leaving out either Atta or Karlstrom. There’s also Lovric, there’s Miller, there’s a lot of competition.”

On the wings

“The international break takes something away from us, Zemura returned, as often happens, at the last minute; a lot of energy is spent on the wings and luckily we have options. Tomorrow there will be a duel with Orsolini there, who is a very tough opponent to face, but Bologna is also strong on the other wing. Now we have choices and maybe we’ll make some changes.”

Raffaele Morra

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.