Despite being one of the greatest strikers in Serie A history, Antonio Di Natale might not be a household name that is widely known among football fans. The former Italy international would be popular among hardcore Serie A fans at best. There's also a reason for this, as the player ended up choosing loyalty over stardom throughout his football career. His love for Udinese saw Di Natale reject the likes of Italian giants Juventus and Milan, while several other elite clubs including Liverpool were rejected by the Italian. This article will be looking at Di Natale's legendary career at Udinese, which saw the player establish himself as one of the best strikers ever seen in Italian club football.
Early Career and Rise at Empoli
Antonio Di Natale came through the Empoli youth academy, where he spent for 2 years before getting into the first-team by 1996. This was followed by various loan stints for the player, as he played for the likes of Iperzola, Varese, and Viareggio.
He came back to the club after several loan moves. The 2001-2002 season was a memorable one for the player, as he helped the club to achieve Serie A promotion during the 2001–02 Serie B season by scoring 16 goals. Things got even better in the 2002-2003 Serie A season, as he finally got his breakthrough year which saw him score 13 goals in the league and help Empoli avoid relegation.
Di Natale's form dipped in the following season, which also saw him unable to save Empoli from relegation. His magnificent abilities as a player however saw him eventually earn a transfer to Udinese.
The Legendary Stint at Udinese: Loyalty and Greatness
It was during his magnificent 12 year stint with Udinese that Di Natale proved himself to be one of the greatest strikers in Serie A history. In addition to his brilliant scoring abilities, the Italian's skills and leadership played a huge role in the club's success back then. Di Natale was an instrumental part of the Udinese side hat had third and fourth-place finishes in Serie A , which saw them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. He was also the club's captain as well from 2007.
Antonio Di Natale was a late bloomer, which meant the very best of him as a footballer was only seen during the latter years of his career. His consistent goal scoring with Udinese saw him reach double figures for nine consecutive league seasons. The player also won the Serie A top goalscorer award in 2010 and 2011, and was also awarded the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award for his performances in 2010.
Di Natale had also scored 67 league goals Between the years 2009 and 2011, with only the GOATS Cristiano Ronaldo (86) and Leo Messi (82) having scored more than him. These stats were a testament to how extraordinary Di Natale was as a player.
Legacy: A True Serie A Icon
After his 12 year stint at Udinese came to an end, Antonio Di Natale retired as the club's top appearance holder and goal-scorer in Serie A with 191 goals in 385 appearances, and in UEFA club competitions, with 17 goals in 37 appearances. His total of 209 goals also made him the sixth-highest goal-scorer in Serie A history. Di Natale had also scored 311 goals across all competitions throughout his career, which also made him the eighth-highest scoring Italian player in all competitions. This feat also saw him join the likes of several legends like Alessandro Del Piero, Giuseppe Meazza, Francesco Totti, Roberto Baggio and many others in this prestigious list. The fact he was able to achieve all this in an Udinese also goes on to make those achievements even more special, and he will forever be remembered as one of the greatest strikers in Italian football history.