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Reading Le Pagelle in yesterday’s Gazzetta dello Sport, I was intrigued to discover what the Italian Press thought of Antonio Di Natale, arguably the most underrated striker in modern football, who along with Gigi Buffon saved Italy’s bacon in Cyprus on Saturday night.
The Neapolitan was given 7.5, the second highest score, and the following report. “Two balls in the area. Two goals. He put pressure on the defence and was the only player not to lose his head. Impeccable.”
That wasn’t the end of it though. The rating concluded with a small yet significant reproof. “His teammates, don’t always follow him.” Well, that’s unsurprising given the treatment Di Natale has received while on international duty over the last two years. The player himself offered a frank description of his experiences in the aftermath of Euro 2008. He felt “seduced and abandoned.”
Adopted by Roberto Donadoni only to be dropped after a mediocre performance in Italy’s Euro 2008 opener against Holland, Di Natale was then brought into the side that played Spain in the quarter-final and missed a penalty. Now that’s how not to manage a player! Raise his hopes, dash them and then ask him to take an all-important spot-kick. West Ham fans beware.
And yet, the Udinese man didn’t feel sorry for himself, instead he set about proving his critics wrong, netting a brace in the Zebrette’s opening game of the 2008-09 campaign. One goal against Palermo was almost a carbon copy of Dennis Bergkamp’s World Cup `98 strike that floored Barry Davies and Argentina. On Saturday, Di Natale gave Italy the lead with a shot from nearly 30 yards, before bagging the winner with a neat finish at the far post.
It’s no wonder Luciano Spalletti, Di Natale’s mentor and Italy’s No 1 exponent of beautiful football, wants the Neapolitan at Roma. What’s more remarkable is that Inter, Milan and Juventus haven’t once thought about tempting Di Natale away from Udine. Italy’s other match winner on Saturday night, Buffon, is an admirer of the 29-year-old and not only respects him, but fears his scoring ability.
“Last September, Antonio scored twice in Ukraine and then in Turin,” said Buffon ahead of Juventus’ match against Udinese. “I am worried because there are too many coincidences here. Appetite comes from eating.”
The implication being that once you start scoring, you just can’t stop. Now, if Di Natale puts fear into the heart of the best goalkeeper in the world, isn’t it about time Italians rallied around this pint-sized genius who more than deserves to be considered among the world’s best strikers?
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