Maduka Okoye Udinese criticism has a defender at last. Veteran goalkeeper Daniele Padelli has leapt to the defence of the Super Eagles star, insisting the Nigerian is being made a scapegoat for the club’s defensive struggles this season.
Okoye has conceded 25 goals and kept just one clean sheet in 11 appearances, and the scrutiny around him has grown with every defeat. But Padelli, speaking on TV12’s Udinese Tonight programme, argued that the blame being aimed at his fellow goalkeeper is misplaced.
Maduka Okoye Udinese: Padelli’s scapegoat warning
“In these situations, you look for a scapegoat. It’s happened to everyone, it happened to me too,” Padelli said, via Udinese’s official webpage. The Italian, who has spent years as a backup keeper in Serie A, knows the position’s loneliness better than most — and he was clear that singling out Okoye misses the real problem.
Padelli pointed to the 2-1 defeat at Venezia on Friday as proof. “Against Venezia, however, the most decisive goalkeeper for the result was Stankovic,” he said, arguing that Filip Stankovic’s saves at the other end mattered more than anything Okoye did wrong. “We’re trying to build a team identity, not focus on individuals.”
Pulse Nigeria first reported Padelli’s defence of the Nigerian international.
The numbers behind the criticism
The figures make uncomfortable reading for Okoye. Udinese sit bottom of Serie A with five points from 11 games — one win, two draws and eight defeats, with a goal difference of minus 13. The club have changed coach, with Paolo Zanetti replacing Kosta Runjaic, and the mood in the dressing room is poor.
But Padelli believes the defensive problems are collective, not the fault of one man. He explained that conceding goals leaves players mentally vulnerable, creating further openings for opponents — a cycle the whole team must break together. He also cautioned against putting too much responsibility on young defenders Matteo Palma and James Abankwah, who have just 20 Serie A appearances between them.
Okoye’s difficult club form has already cost him his place with Nigeria. He was left out of Eric Chelle’s 24-man Super Eagles squad for the AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania, with the squad announcement confirming Stanley Nwabali and Arthur Okonkwo as the goalkeeping options instead. His last outing for the club was the 2-1 defeat at Venezia, where he conceded twice as Akor Adams’ side sank Udinese to the foot of the table.
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What next for Okoye and Udinese?
Padelli’s message to the squad is that one result could change everything. “Maybe we just need one result that can give us a push,” he said, insisting the team must first rebuild its defensive habits and confidence under Zanetti. “We’re not doing everything poorly; we’ve created some things, but the ball is now very important. If the team isn’t playing well, even the individuals struggle.”
For Okoye, the public backing of a respected dressing-room figure matters. Goalkeepers live and die by confidence, and the 26-year-old has had little of it to feed on this season. A clean sheet — only his second of the campaign — would do more than any statement, but Padelli’s intervention at least shifts the conversation from one man’s mistakes to a team’s shared responsibility.
Udinese’s next fixtures will show whether the words land. Until then, Okoye has an ally in the one person who understands his job best: the man who shares his training ground every day.
Photo: Maduka Okoye Udinese, Wikimedia Commons (CC0) — collage by SportsBuddy.
