Hassane Kamara has had two separate spells at Watford over the last few seasons, well, two rolled into one.
The left-back joined the Hornets from Nice in January 2022. He played the second half of the season in the Premier League but was then sold permanently to Udinese in the summer.
Immediately after that, he was loaned back to Watford before the Italian side brought him back for the 2023/24 campaign.
The 32-year-old is an important part of the Serie A side, having established himself as a regular in the last three seasons.
Praise has now arrived from Pierpaolo Marino, who worked closely with the Pozzo family and Udinese from 2019 to 2023.
Marino brought Kamara from Watford
The director spoke to Udinese Tonight about a host of things involving Kosta Runjaic’s side. He chose to specifically praise Kamara, who has played 16 times in Serie A this season despite injury worries.
He hailed his crossing ability, shedding light on his importance.
Marino said – relayed by TuttoUdinese: “When I was here, I followed Watford. Kamara crosses with a twist that allows the attacker to score more easily. He crosses with impeccable technique, he knows it, and that’s why he says an assist isn’t enough.”
He also used a reference to a Diego Maradona quote and appeared to indirectly compare the left-back to the legend.
“It’s also true that [Lorenzo] Lucca isn’t in the box anymore. Davis isn’t exactly a specialist in heading, and neither is Zaniolo. To preach well, you also need a listener.
“Maradona used to say he crossed with a round ball, when the ball arrived, the attacker just had to touch it and put it in the net. Kamara has a bit of that quality.”
While comparisons to the late Argentine are overblown, Marino does have a point. Kamara has shown his excellent ability to cross, having assisted four times last season.
Watford made significant profit
That is one way of justifying a signing Marino himself made, as Watford earned around €19m from the sale.
At that point, Kamara was in his late 20s and the Hornets had shelled out less than €5m to sign him.
The defender has had quite a decent career and Udinese find themselves tenth in the table. They could yet return to Europe and that will be a due reward for the Ivorian’s progress.
