5 of football’s greatest late bloomers  

#1 Antonio Di Natale

Di Natale in action with Italy

Di Natale spent 12 incredible years with Udinese, and is now considered a club legend, but failed to display the spark that made him so lethal in front of the goal during his younger days. Instead, Di Natale turned out to be like finely fermented wine that only got better with age.

The Italian began his career with Empoli at the age of 17, but only managed to make his Serie B debut six years later. Di Natale’s consistent but unspectacular performances helped Empoli reach Serie A, giving the 25-year-old his first taste of top-flight football in the process.

After two seasons in Serie A with Empoli, Di Natale made the move to Udinese, where he initially had a slow start, but once the goals started coming, they never stopped, with Di Natale finally reaching his peak at 31. The Italian won numerous personal allocates during his time at Udinese, including a place on the Serie A Team of the Year for three consecutive years, before hanging up his boots in 2016.