Luca Saudati (born 18 January 1978 in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

) is an Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a winger or as a

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

Football career

Saudati started his career at the

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

youth system. After relatively unsuccessful loan stints at various clubs - including

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

of the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

of Serie B,

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

and

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

of Serie B and

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

of Serie A - he eventually joined

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

of Serie A in June 2001, tagged for 18 billion

Italian lire The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually fo ...

. as part of

Massimo Donati Massimo Donati (born 26 March 1981) is an Italian professional football manager, pundit and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of club Sampdoria. Born in San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy, Donati made 314 app ...

and

Cristian Zenoni Cristian Zenoni (; born 23 April 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a full-back. He is the twin brother of former footballer Damiano Zenoni. Club career Zenoni started his career at his native club Atalanta BC, joi ...

's deal to Milan for 60 billion lire. However, after scoring no goals in a whole season for Atalanta, he was loaned out again to Empoli of Serie A in the summer of 2002 after poor performance. He broke his leg in November, ruling him out of training and play. When he returned to Atalanta in the summer of 2003, they had dropped to Serie B; despite them being promoted that season, he made just 5 appearances and was loaned once again to Empoli of Serie B in January 2005. He returned to Atalanta once again in summer 2005, again in Serie B. He scored 3 goals in 12 games before loaned out again to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

team

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

, to join his former coach

Silvio Baldini Silvio Baldini (born 11 September 1958) is an Italian association football manager, currently in charge of club Pescara. Career Early years Born in Massa but hailing from nearby Carrara, Baldini started his coaching career in 1984 at the a ...

while at Empoli during the 2002–03 season, but soon Baldini was sacked by the club and Saudati only made 4 appearances in Serie A. Fortunes changed for Saudati in the summer of 2006. He joined Empoli of Serie A on free transfer in summer 2006, and signed a three-year contract,uefa.com
(Thursday, 20 July 2006) where he became team-topscorer of the 2006–07 season with 14 league goals and four in the Italian Cup. Saudati's natural position is

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

but during his time at Empoli enjoyed much success as a

. Saudati was, not surprisingly, voted into the 2006–07 Italian PFA Giocatori Squadra Dell'Anno (Italy's PFA player's team of the season) whilst he also became Empoli's player of the year and received an award for most improved player in the 2006–07 season.

Honours

;Empoli *

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

(1) : 2004–05

Footnotes

External links

Gazzetta dello Sport profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saudati, Luca 1978 births Living people Italian men's footballers Footballers from Milan AC Milan players AC Monza players Calcio Lecco 1912 players Como 1907 players Empoli FC players AC Perugia Calcio players Atalanta BC players US Lecce players Spezia Calcio players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Men's association football forwards Italian expatriate men's footballers Swiss Super League players FC Lugano players Italian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland