Carlo Cudicini

Carlo Cudicini (born 6 September 1973) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently loan player technical coach at Premier League club Chelsea, where he also serves as a club ambassador.

He is the son of AC Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini, and the grandson of Ponziana defender Guglielmo Cudicini. Cudicini started his professional career at Serie A side AC Milan in 1992, but struggled to break into the first team and was loaned to Como before moving to Prato and then Lazio in 1996. Having only made a single league appearance for Lazio, he moved a year later to Castel di Sangro and then to Premier League side Chelsea in 1999, initially on loan.

At Chelsea, he dislodged Ed de Goey from the number one spot and was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year for the 2001–02 season, remaining first choice until the signing of Petr Čech in 2004. Cudicini left Chelsea in January 2009, having made 141 league appearances for the club, and joined local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. At Tottenham, he was not first choice, and only made 19 league appearances for the club. In 2013, he signed for Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, where he played the final season of his career.

Cudicini played 20 times for the Italy under-18 team between 1990 and 1992, and made a single appearance for the under-21 team, but never played for the senior team. In 2003, during his successful period at Chelsea, The Football Association attempted to select him for the England national team, but he was ineligible.

Cudicini made only two appearances for AC Milan (1992–95) in the Champions League, one in the Coppa Italia and none in Serie A during that period in the club's history. He featured on the bench in the 1993 Champions League final against Marseille. He was loaned to Como for a season in 1993–94, and was subsequently transferred to Prato in 1995, and then to Lazio in 1996 where he suffered a serious wrist injury, and consequently only made one senior appearance. He then moved to Castel di Sangro in 1997, where his injury problems persisted.

Cudicini joined Chelsea on loan in 1999, with the deal being made permanent for £160,000 a year later. He made his Chelsea debut on 25 August 1999 in a goalless draw away to Skonto Riga of Latvia in the UEFA Champions League, with the London-based club winning 3–0 on aggregate and advancing into the group stage of the competition for the first time; he came on as a substitute for Ed de Goey with 12 minutes remaining. On 13 October he played for the first time at Stamford Bridge in the third round of the League Cup, a 1–0 loss to second-tier Huddersfield Town. De Goey was rested after 58 consecutive games and Cudicini made his Premier League debut for the final game of the season, a 4–0 home win over Derby County on 14 May 2000; Six days later in the 2000 FA Cup final, he was on the bench as the Dutchman returned for the 1–0 win over Aston Villa.

Cudicini played three games in all competitions in his first season at Chelsea. The following season, he started to appear more regularly and shared the starting spot with De Goey (Cudicini started 23 league games, De Goey 15). He was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year for the 2001–02 season by fans. In December 2001, he saved two penalties in a span of seven days from Sunderland's Kevin Phillips and Liverpool's Gary McAllister.

Cudicini was recognised as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in the 2002–03 season, when he won the ITV Premiership Goalkeeper of the Season award. Cudicini also saved a penalty from Arsenal's Thierry Henry to help earn his side a replay in the FA Cup.