Today, Antonio Di Natale celebrates his 43rd birthday. Born in Naples on the 13 October 1977, “Totò” began his footballing career whilst amongst the ranks of Empoli, with whom he made his debut in Serie A.

In 2004 he transferred to Udinese, a club with whom he'd write important pages of Italian football history, and whose colours he'd fight for until he walked away from competitive football in 2016. In the Bianconera shirt the striker from Campania showed himself to be a world-class marksman, becoming the Serie A top scorer in both the 2009/10 and the 2010/11 seasons. On the 20 November 2002 he made his debut in the National team aged 25, handed the opportunity by Trapattoni; two years later, on the 18 February 2004, he scored his first goal in an Azzurri shirt in a friendly against the Czech Republic in Palermo.

Marking his 30th appearance in the National team on the 18 November 2009 against Sweden, Di Natale was awarded the Captain’s armband by Head Coach Marcello Lippi. Over the course of a decade of service to the Azzurri, he took part in the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 and the 2010 World Cup, registering 42 appearances and 11 goals.