9 Nov 2014

I Love LFC: 215-goal star admits Liverpool is 'only team I'd play for'. Sign ASAP?

Over the years, Liverpool haven't had much luck with Italian players, with the likes of Fabio Borini, Mario Balotelli, Andrea Dossena recent examples of how players from Serie A rarely do the business in English football. One player who may have done well in the Premier League, however, is Serie A legend Antonio Di Natale, and it seems Liverpool had the chance to sign him during Rafa Benitez's reign.

Speaking to reporters this weekend, Di Natale revealed that he once harboured an ambition to play for the Reds. He explained:

“I had a few opportunities to go abroad, but the only team I would’ve liked to play for, purely for the stadium and the atmosphere, is Liverpool. When they signed Andrea Dossena in 2008 they also talked to me, but then nothing came of it.”

Di Natale scored a great goal or Udinese in their 3-2 victory at Anfield last October, and Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is a fan of the striker. Last season, he raved:

"They [Udinese] have got some very good players, in particular [Antonio] Di Natale. He has been a wonderful player throughout his career"

The Italian International's creative record in Serie A is fantastic:

* 215 goals/59 assists in 397 games for Udinese.
* Goal/assist every 1.4 games
* Averages 27 goals/assists per season over 10 years.

Considering Serie A is widely acknowledged to be one of the the most difficult leagues in which to score goals, Di Natale's record is absolutely formidable.

It's quite amazing how players like Di Natale and Pirlo - both in their mid-30s - continue to play at such a high level. Natale is 35 now, but he's still banging them in for Udinese, and this season, he already has 10 goals/3 assists in 11 games, which is superb.

To be honest, I'd swap Di Natale for Balotelli, Borini, or Lambert right now. Forget his age - the guy is a natural goalscorer, and given his career output there's a high probability that he'd score more goals for LFC than those three combined.

Di Natale has scored 148 goals for Udinese since 2008 (the year he held talks with LFC), and he's broken the 20-goal barrier for five years running. I say bring him to Anfield in January on a 6-month deal!

The proverbial 'one that got away'?



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22 comments:

  1. I agree massive fan of di natale, has the football intelligence and finishing ability to be a great stop gap until a new striker is found in the summer

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  2. A 35 year old playing as a lone striker would not excite me.

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  3. too Young at 37 maybe next season

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  4. Pity we couldn't pick him up earlier, 6 month deal if we were struggling maybe - as bringing back Origi will only put more pressure on him and make it so that our club is basically shoving all responsibilties onto two youngsters who aren't even 20 yet. (Sterling and him, obviously).

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  5. its soon reached April

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  6. a similar thing was said about proven prem player lambert

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  7. i wonder how much influence Gerrard has on tactics and selection ......i genuinely think that for Rodgers to grow he has to get rid of the old guard completely ..that means out of the club no coaching no back room but adios

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  8. Rodgers cant help himself with that ,he must have esteem issues on a personal level to feel the need to constantly praise perhaps he was never praised as a child so this is his way of filling the void by over praising others .A good shrink may be the answer

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  9. 11 after 11 games is piss poor no matter how you spin it

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  10. even one with a girls name

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  11. Balo recalled to Italy squad

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  12. hes to old and we need to start looking more long term ....we already have gerrad blocking the development in midfield the last thing we need is another 30plus forward like lambert

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  13. That 'Girl' has started being a superstar in his mid 30s. Gerrard was finished 2,3 years ago. Difference, don't you think?

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  14. To be fair with lambert he hasn't had much playing time, Liverpool want strikers with pace who can run in behind and stretch the defence, lambert and ballotelli want passes to feet and have players make runs past them with quick link up plays, at this moment in time, it isn't what Liverpool need.

    Di Natalie is a different player, he wouldn't play up on his own, and with ballotelli in the squad another countryman alongside him could be encouragement he needs, with a relatively small price given his age.

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  15. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm and Javi Martinez occupy the defensive midfield position for Bayern Munich. Sami Khedira is Real Madrid's defensive midfielder. They of course also had Xabi Alonso.

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  16. 5 years ago maybe but to ask a 35 year old to adapt to the premiership after spending his whole career in Serie A would be asking too much imo. Would definitely have had him a few years back tho. Fantastic player

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  17. Doumbia, yes please!

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  18. We're not getting a DM. Rodgers is philosophically predisposed to avoid them. He's actually said as much if you read between the lines. For better or worse we're not going to get a "destroyer" as long as he's manager.

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  19. CR7 has more goals than Liverpool this season :(
    we would want him on a short term deal too then, perhaps

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