Full Name :Antonio Di Natale Date Of Birth:October 13, 1977(33) Place of Birth:Naples, Italy Height:170 cm Position:Striker Current Club:Udinese National Debut:2002 Caps:31 (9)
Antonio Di Natale (born October 13, 1977 in Naples) is an Italian football striker currently playing for Udinese. He likes to play just behind the main striker and is renowned for his pace, technique, passing and intelligence.
Club career
Born in Naples, Di Natale was brought up in the Empoli youth system and was sent on loan to smaller teams before becoming a protagonist in 1999 and ultimately a pariah in Euro 2008. He impressed many while playing for Empoli in Serie A and even received his first Azzurri call-up. He was awarded a contract extension. When Empoli was relegated he moved to Udinese.
After having joined Udinese in the 2004–05 Serie A season, Di Natale formed well together with Vincenzo Iaquinta and David Di Michele in attack, and the Friulian club finished 4th place at the end of the season and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the following year. Di Natale finished his debut season with a record of 33 games and seven goals.
In the 2007-08 Season, Di Natale scored 17 goals. The two most beautiful goals both appeared at day 4, when Udinese play against Reggina. He made a zero-degree lob in 5' and a terrific volley in 63'. Forming a formidable attacking duo with Fabio Quagliarella, Di Natale improved his aggressiveness and stealth. In 2007, he was named captain of Udinese and his contract was extended to 30 June 2012.
On 9 May 2010, he has had perhaps his best season thus far in his career, scoring 2 goals against Bari in 3-3 draw match completed his 101 goals in his career and surpassed Oliver Bierhoff's club record with 28 goals in one campaign.
International career
Di Natale made his senior debut in late November 2002 against Turkey while Giovanni Trapattoni was still in charge of the national team. He won a few caps in later years though only participated in friendly games. In 2007, he regained a spot with the Azzurri, and was involved in the Euro 2008 qualification campaign. Di Natale netted a goal in each half, setting Italy en route to a hard-fought win over Ukraine in a qualifying match. He was then called up to Italy's squad for Euro 2008 where he missed a crucial penalty that could've drawn Italy even in PKs during a quarter-final penalty shoot out against Spain. Di Natale's shot was saved by Casillas, Spain went on to win 4-2 on penalties.
