Antonio Di Natale
Personal information
Date of birth	October 13, 1977 (1977-10-13) (age 30)
Place of birth	Naples, Italy
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Udinese
Number	10
Youth clubs
	Empoli
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996-2004 1997-1998 1998 1998-1999 2004-	Empoli → Iperzola (loan) → Varese (loan) → Viareggio (loan) Udinese	159 (49) 033 0(6) 004 0(0) 025 (12) 135 (43)
National team2
2002-	Italy	019 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 18, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of June 9, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Antonio Di Natale (born 13 October 1977) is an Italian football striker currently playing for Udinese. He likes to play just behind the main striker as a supporting 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. He impressed many while playing for Empoli in Serie A and even received his first Azzurri call-up. He was awarded a contract extension.^[1] When Empoli was relegated he moved to Udinese.^[2]

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, which 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.

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.

Style of play

Di Natale is regarded as a late developer in the game, his style being similar to a pacier Alessandro Del Piero. Typically playing just off front striker Luca Toni, the two have been very successful for Italy, winning six games in a row and scoring a combined 10 goals in that time.

References