On Might 15, 2016, one of the best Serie A striker from the 2010s hung his boots. And, if the identify Antonio “Totò” Di Natale doesn’t ring a lot of a bell, it’s solely as a result of he selected to spend most of his profession at Udinese and loved comparatively little visibility outdoors of the Belpaese.
A gifted, fast-paced, versatile striker, Di Natale was an absolute goal machine. He discovered the again of the online 209 occasions in Serie A, which makes him the 6th greatest all-time scorer within the Italian top-flight. He additionally received back-to-back capocannoniere titles in 2009/10 and 2010/11.
He wouldn’t have seemed misplaced on the entrance line of any main Serie A membership and, maybe, even internationally. Nonetheless, for some motive, he most well-liked to stick with Udinese – one of many only a few remaining examples of a participant that decides to marry a membership for all times.
Di Natale landed in Udine in 2004, after making his Serie A debut with Empoli the earlier season. He would by no means depart.
All good tales come to an finish although, and so, a pair weeks earlier than the 2015/16 season finale, Antonio Di Natale, now aged 39, introduced that the upcoming house sport in opposition to one-season surprise Carpi can be his final profession look.
It’s unlucky that he was saved on the bench for many of the sport. Nonetheless, when he lastly got here in on 78 minutes, with Udinese down 0-2 to a Carpi aspect desperately battling relegation, it took him just one minute to depart a mark on his remaining showdown, as he transformed the spot kick that set the rating to 1-2.
Whereas the Bianconeri followers couldn’t be pleased with one more lackluster efficiency and with the workforce barely avoiding the drop, they have been all chants and applause for his or her champion, who left the pitch in tears as he emotionally bid farewell to calcio.
