After a disappointing 2014/15 campaign, Udinese fans dared to dream after a shock 1-0 away victory over the champions, Juventus, in Turin on the opening weekend of the season. However, as the weeks unfolded, it became evident that the result was more part of Juve's early season crisis than the start of a Udinese revival under Stefano Colantuono. The supporters were immediately brought back down to earth with four consecutive defeats and that turned out to be a common theme of Colantuono's reign. Whenever it seemed the Zebrette were about to gather some momentum, they went on dreadful runs of form. Perhaps the worst of them was at the start of the new year when they won just once in eleven Serie A matches and that was enough for the board who dismissed Colantuono. Luigi De Canio was brought in to replace him but, in truth, he didn't set pulses racing either. It didn't seem to matter who was in charge, Udinese's style of play was dull and only two teams scored fewer goals than them this season. Antonio Di Natale had often been their saving grace in attack but the veteran forward perhaps regretted his decision to stay at the club for another season which didn't see him get much playing time and score only twice. Nevertheless, one of them came on his final appearance for the club which was a decent send-off for the great man. Duvan Zapata showed some promise in his absence but he still doesn't look the finished article despite the fact he is 25 years old now. Cyril Thereau's experience was vital up-front and he carried the burden for the side for most of the season. The rest of the Udinese squad looks disjointed as they conceded a whopping 60 goals despite some good performances from goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. De Canio managed to drag this team over the line to safety but some serious investment will need to be made in the summer as the squad looks like it needs an overhaul.
