Antonio Di Natale facts for kids
Di Natale in 2012
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 13 October 1977 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Naples, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Empoli | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1996–2004 | Empoli | 158 | (49) | |||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | → Iperzola (loan) | 33 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 1998 | → Varese (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | → Viareggio (loan) | 25 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2016 | Udinese | 385 | (191) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 606 | (258) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2012 | Italy | 42 | (11) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Carrarese | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Antonio Di Natale (born 13 October 1977) is an Italian football coach and a former professional player. He was known as a fantastic striker.
Di Natale started his football journey in 1994 with the Empoli youth team. He then played for Empoli's senior team from 1996 to 2004. During this time, he also had short loan spells at other clubs. He helped Empoli get promoted to Serie A, Italy's top league, in 2002. He scored 16 goals that season. In the 2002–03 Serie A season, he scored 13 goals, helping Empoli stay in the league.
In 2004, Di Natale moved to Udinese. He became a key player and the team's captain in 2007. He was known for scoring many goals. He was the top goalscorer in Serie A in 2010 and 2011. He was also named the best Italian footballer in Serie A in 2010. Even after turning 30, he continued to score a lot of goals. Between 2009 and 2011, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored more league goals than him.
Di Natale is Udinese's all-time top goalscorer in Serie A, with 191 goals in 385 games. He also scored 17 goals in 37 European club matches for Udinese. Overall, he is the sixth-highest goalscorer in Serie A history with 209 goals. He is also the eighth-highest scoring Italian player in all competitions with 311 goals.
He played for the Italy national team 42 times between 2002 and 2012, scoring 11 goals. He played in UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012. Italy reached the final of Euro 2012.
Contents
Early Life: Where Did Totò Grow Up?
Antonio Di Natale is also known as "Totò." He was born in Naples, Italy, on 13 October 1977. His father, Salvatore, was a painter. He has two brothers, Paolo and Carmine, and two sisters, Michela and Anna.
Club Career: Playing for Empoli and Udinese
Empoli: Starting His Journey
Even though he was born in Naples, Di Natale moved north to join Empoli's youth team. While at Empoli, he was loaned out three times. He did very well at Viareggio in the 1998–99 season. He scored 12 goals in 25 games there.
When he returned to Empoli, he became a regular player in the first team. In the 1999–2000 season, he scored 6 goals in 25 games for Empoli. Empoli finished ninth in Serie B that year.
Empoli earned promotion to Serie A in 2002. They finished fourth in the 2001–02 Serie B season. Di Natale was their top scorer with 16 league goals. In Empoli's first season back in the top league, he scored 13 goals. This helped the team avoid being relegated. He even scored three goals in one game against Reggina in November 2002. The next season, he scored five goals. Empoli was relegated back to Serie B at the end of the 2003–04 season.
Udinese: Becoming a Legend
After Empoli was relegated, Di Natale joined Udinese in 2004. In his first season, he played 33 league games and scored 7 goals. Udinese finished fourth in Serie A and qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
In the 2007–08 season, Di Natale scored 17 league goals. He became a very important player for Udinese's attack. In 2007, he was made the captain of Udinese. His contract was extended until 2012.
The 2009–10 season was his best ever. He scored 29 goals in Serie A. This was more than any other Udinese player had scored in a single season before. He also scored his 100th Serie A goal. For his amazing performances, he was named the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year. He also won the Serie A Fair Play award. He finished second in the race for the European Golden Shoe, an award for Europe's top league scorer.
On 14 November 2010, Di Natale scored three goals in one match against Lecce. He scored another three goals in the next home game against Napoli. In the 2010–11 season, he scored 28 goals in 36 matches. This was the best scoring rate in Italy. Udinese finished fourth in Serie A, earning a spot in the Champions League playoffs.
On 23 October 2011, Di Natale scored two goals against Novara. This helped Udinese reach the top of the Serie A table. On 13 May 2012, he scored in the final game of the season. This secured Udinese's place in the Champions League qualifying round again. In July 2012, he signed a new two-year contract with Udinese.
He continued to score many goals in the 2012–13 season. On 6 January 2013, he scored two goals as Udinese beat Internazionale 3–0. He scored his 150th Serie A goal for Udinese on 3 March 2013. His last goal of the season helped Udinese qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Before the 2013–14 season, a Chinese club offered Di Natale a lot of money. But he chose to stay with Udinese. He said he would retire at the end of that season. On 8 March 2014, he scored his 185th Serie A goal. This meant he had scored more goals than Gabriel Batistuta, a famous player. He finished the season with 17 goals, making him the fourth-highest scorer at age 36. Despite saying he would retire, he decided to play on for the 2014–15 season.
On 23 August 2014, he scored four goals in a cup match. On 23 November 2014, he scored his 200th goal in his 400th Serie A game. On 28 April 2015, he scored his 205th Serie A goal. This put him level with Italian legend Roberto Baggio. A few days later, he scored his 206th goal, passing Baggio. He again decided to play another season. In April 2016, he said he would leave Udinese. On 15 May 2016, he scored a penalty in his final game for Udinese. He scored 191 goals in 385 league games over 12 years with the club. He officially retired later that year.
International Career: Playing for Italy
Early Years with the National Team
Di Natale first played for the Italy national team on 20 November 2002. This was in a friendly match against Turkey. He scored his first goal for Italy on 18 February 2004 against the Czech Republic.
Euro 2008: A Big Tournament
In 2006, Di Natale rejoined the Italian team. He played in the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2008. He was then chosen for the Euro 2008 tournament. In the quarter-final against Spain, he missed a penalty kick during the shootout. Spain won and went on to win the tournament. Di Natale missed the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup because of a knee injury.
2010 World Cup: Scoring for Italy
Di Natale played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He wore the number ten shirt. Italy drew their first two group matches. In their final group match on 24 June, he scored a goal against Slovakia. However, Italy lost 3–2 and was knocked out of the tournament.
Euro 2012: Reaching the Final
In 2012, Di Natale was part of Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He played in five matches. In the first match against Spain, he came on as a substitute and scored the opening goal. Italy drew that game 1–1. This was the only goal Spain conceded in the whole tournament. Italy reached the final of the tournament. On 1 July 2012, Italy lost 4–0 to Spain in the final.
After the tournament, Di Natale decided to stop playing for the national team. He was tired from the season and wanted to focus on his club. In total, he scored 11 goals in 42 matches for Italy.
Style of Play: What Made Him Great?
Antonio Di Natale was a fast, skillful, and smart player. He could play anywhere in attack. He was a great striker but could also play on the left wing or in a supporting role. He was known for his speed, control, and technical skills. He was also great at finding space to score goals. He could score with either foot, even though he was naturally right-footed.
Many people consider him one of the best Italian forwards of his time. He won the Capocannoniere award twice for being Serie A's top goalscorer. He also won the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award in 2010. Besides his skills, Di Natale was known for his leadership, loyalty, and hard work. He was also very good at taking free-kicks and penalty kicks.
Coaching Career: After Playing
After retiring as a player, Di Natale started coaching. In 2018, he became a technical helper for Spezia's first team. In 2019, he took charge of the club's Under-17 youth team.
In April 2021, Di Natale became the head coach of Serie C club Carrarese. This was his first time as a main manager. He helped Carrarese stay in their league. He signed a two-year deal with them. In July 2022, he left Carrarese.
Personal Life: Family and Kindness
Di Natale met his wife, Ilenia Betti, when he was 19 and playing for Empoli. They got married in 2002 and have two children, Filippo and Diletta. In 2010, he turned down a chance to join Juventus. He said he wanted to stay in Udine because his children had grown up there and his family was happy.
Di Natale also showed great kindness. When his Udinese teammate Piermario Morosini sadly passed away in 2012, Di Natale took care of Morosini's disabled sister. Morosini's death meant his sister had no other close family.
Honours
International
Italy
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2012
Individual
- Capocannoniere (Serie A Top Goalscorer): 2009–10, 2010–11
- Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year: 2010
- Serie A Fair Play Prize: 2010
- Pallone d'Argento: 2011
- Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2011
- Oscar AIC-Serie A Top scorer: 2011
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
- Coppa Italia Top Scorer: 2014–15
See also
In Spanish: Antonio Di Natale para niños
- List of Serie A all-time top goal scorers
