Udinese sack Kosta Runjaic and appoint Paolo Zanetti as head coach

Stadio Friuli, Udinese's home stadium
Photo: Holapaco77, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Udinese have changed head coach. On Monday, 2 November, the club confirmed in official statements that Kosta Runjaic had been relieved of his duties as first-team head coach and that Paolo Zanetti had been appointed as his replacement on a contract running until 30 June 2027. The change follows a 5-2 home defeat by Roma on Saturday, 31 October, and leaves Udinese in the Serie A relegation places with five points from their first 10 matches of the season.

The run that ended Runjaic's time in Udine

Runjaic was appointed in 2024 and spent more than two years in charge, but this season's start undid that record. Udinese have won one, drawn two and lost seven of their 10 league matches, and have gone eight matches without a win. The 5-2 defeat by Roma at the Stadio Friuli was the latest result of that run.

That context matters because the problem was not a single afternoon. Udinese had already lost at home to Lecce and Milan during the winless sequence, and had slipped to the wrong end of the table. Five points from a possible 30 is the kind of start that forces a club to act in November, when most of the season is still left to change course.

What Udinese said

Udinese's statement on Runjaic was brief. The club confirmed in an official statement that Runjaic had been relieved of his duties as first-team head coach, thanked him and his assistants Przemysław Małecki and Alexander Trukan for their work, and wished Kosta and his staff all the best for the future. There was no criticism of the departing coach in the statement, and no mention of a caretaker or an interim arrangement: the replacement was announced the same day.

The second statement announced Zanetti's appointment in equally plain terms. Udinese said the club was delighted to announce Paolo Zanetti as the new head coach of the first team, on a contract running until 30 June 2027. The club added that Zanetti would take his first training session with the team on Tuesday afternoon and would be unveiled to the media on Wednesday at 15:00.

Who is Paolo Zanetti

Zanetti, 43, is a former midfielder who has been out of work since leaving Verona in February. Udinese's own statement recalled the season that made his name as a coach: in 2020/21 he led Venezia to promotion to Serie A for the first time in 19 years, and he stayed with them for one season in the top flight. He then coached Empoli and Verona, leading Verona to 14th place in 2024/25.

That history gives his first Udinese match an obvious edge, which the club itself drew attention to by recalling the Venezia promotion. Zanetti is not arriving as an unknown quantity in Italian football, and he is not arriving with time to spare: Udinese are already in the relegation places, and his contract runs to 30 June 2027, so the club has tied him to the job for the rest of the season.

What it means for the trip to Venezia

Zanetti's first match in charge is a relegation clash away to Venezia on Friday, 6 November 2026, kick-off 20:45 CET, at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo. It is the club he took into Serie A five years ago, and it is the fixture Udinese need most: eight matches without a win is the run Zanetti has been hired to end. Follow the score, lineups and match events on the Venezia vs Udinese match page.

The 5-2 defeat that cost Runjaic his job is covered on the Udinese vs Roma match page. Zanetti will have only a few training sessions before Friday, and the club has not confirmed who will be available for selection, so no starting lineup should be assumed from the Roma match.

What happens next — and what is not yet known

The sequence from here is the one Udinese set out: a first training session on Tuesday afternoon, a media unveiling on Wednesday, and then the Venezia match on Friday. After that, Udinese are away to Bologna on 22 November and at home to Fiorentina on 29 November, which gives Zanetti three fixtures before the end of the month to begin reshaping a side that has lost seven of its last eight league matches.

Nothing else has been confirmed. Udinese have not announced Zanetti's coaching staff, have not set a points target, and have not said anything about January transfers. The confirmed story is the change itself: Runjaic out, Zanetti in on a contract to 30 June 2027, and a first match at Venezia on Friday. ScorePulse will update this story when Udinese give their next official word.

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