Antonio Di Natale believes he’d have scored “three goals per game” in Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli and advises Gigi Buffon on retirement.
The former Udinese hitman retired in 2016 with 209 goals in 445 Serie A appearances under his belt.
“The Scudetto will be won by whoever makes the fewest mistakes,” Di Natale told Radio Toscana.
“Napoli can fight it out to the end, even in Turin. If they continue this form and do well in the head-to-head with Juventus, they can win the Scudetto and would deserve it too.
Antonio Di Natale believes he’d have scored “three goals per game” in Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli and advises Gigi Buffon on retirement.
The former Udinese hitman retired in 2016 with 209 goals in 445 Serie A appearances under his belt.
“The Scudetto will be won by whoever makes the fewest mistakes,” Di Natale told Radio Toscana.
“Napoli can fight it out to the end, even in Turin. If they continue this form and do well in the head-to-head with Juventus, they can win the Scudetto and would deserve it too.
“I think Maurizio Sarri will sign a new contract with Napoli, because he has a great team and the city loves him. If I had been in Sarri’s Napoli, I would’ve scored three goals per game!
“This side reminds me of the Udinese I was in during the Francesco Guidolin years, when I was alongside Alexis Sanchez. Even at the time, he was a champion, you could tell he was outside the norm.”
Di Natale has now retired, so does he advise Buffon to do the same at the age of 40?
“I am happy at home, having spent 21 years dedicated to my career, so I’m enjoying my family. I still have a very good rapport with Empoli and the day I feel like doing something, I’ll call President Fabrizio Corsi.
“Buffon has to feel when it’s the right time to stop, as physically he’s still in good shape. He could have another year, certainly. A player has to realise by himself when it’s time to hang up the boots.
“When I reached the final six months of my contract with Udinese, I realised that physically and mentally, I just wasn’t there anymore. That meant the last period of my career was not tense for me.”
If Di Natale did have some regrets, it was down to his lack of action for Italy.
“I only went to one World Cup, in South Africa, and it’s a shame that went so badly. I did have two very good European Championships.
“When you become a player, the objective for everyone is to reach the Nazionale. I was fortunate enough to play alongside great champions and score 11 goals for Italy, so I’m happy.
“I missed a penalty against Spain at Euro 2008, but we met them again in Euro 2012 and I told Buffon: ‘If the Coach lets me play even for just 20 minutes, I will score a goal.’
“I made up for that penalty by scoring and chalking them off my list.”