The 2011–12 season was Udinese Calcio's 17th consecutive and 32nd Serie A season. The club had a successful league season, finishing third in Serie A, but disappointed in the three cup competitions in which it competed. Udinese were eliminated from the Coppa Italia in the round of 16, and also experienced disappointment in the UEFA Champions League, where it was eliminated in the play-off round and thus failed to make its first appearance in the group stage since the 2005–06 season. As a result, Udinese dropped down to the UEFA Europa League, where it successfully advanced from both the group stage and the round of 32, only to be eliminated in the round of 16. Club captain and legend Antonio Di Natale was once again the team's top scorer, with 23 goals in Serie A and 29 in total.
Season review
Serie A
Udinese were unbeaten in their first seven Serie A games, and only conceded one goal in that period, which was the best defensive record in top European leagues at the time. They were also top of Serie A at the moment, and compared to much more expensive squad of Manchester City, which also top Premier League at the same time.
Europe
Udinese were drawn against English side Arsenal for qualification into the UEFA Champions League. The first leg was played away at the Emirates Stadium, which resulted in a 1–0 defeat. The second leg was a heavily contested match, with Udinese taking a 1–0 lead at half-time to level the aggregate score to 1–1 but Arsenal caught up in the second half and Udinese lost 2–1, and 3–1 on aggregate. Udinese were then drawn into the Europa League.
Players
Squad information
Updated 31 August 2011
Reserve squad
The following reserve players received first team shirt number:
UEFA Champions League squad
Updated 8 August 2011
The squad consist of a maximum of 17 foreigners, and a minimum of 8 local trained players (must be a minimum of 4 club trained)
Note: Matěj Vydra replaced injured Maurizio Domizzi after the deadline
List B
UEFA Europa League squad
Updated 1 February 2012
Note: Players marked * indicated that they were inserted the squad in January 2012 Players marked ** indicated that they left the squad in January 2012
List B
Transfers
Summer 2011
In
Total spending: €14 million
Out
Total sale: €64.25 million
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Serie A
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
Coppa Italia
UEFA Champions League
Play-off round
UEFA Europa League
Group stage
Knockout phase
Round of 32
Round of 16
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Note: 1. Moved to Atalanta on-loan before Serie-A begins.