Carlo Cudicini

Carlo Cudicini is an Italian goalkeeper of London side Tottenham Hotspur. He became known for his performance for Chelsea F.C. Carlo is famous for good reaction and the ability to save penalties. He was born in Milan, Italy and is the son of illustrious Italian goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini.

Carlo began his career in 1992 in A.C. Milan. ‘The Red and Blacks’ were his first team not without a reason, as player’s father Fabio performed for the club in 1960s and was chosen the Milan’s best goalkeeper of the 20th century by fans. The young keeper took part in two Champions League matches, but he did not play in Serie A. Then Carlo was sent on loan to Como, which at that time performed in the lower Italian divisions. After that, the keeper transferred to Prato on continuing basis, though the club had almost the same position as his former temporary team. In 1996 Cudicini moved to Lazio, but he did not succeed in the Roman side club, because of a wrist injury he got rather soon. The injury was almost fatal for the goalkeeper, as he stayed out of action for two years and continued to experience the consequences of the trauma for a long time. The last team of Carlo in the Italian career was Castel di Sangro, where he did not manage to become a regular as well (14 matches in two seasons) due to health problems.

In 1999 the Italian keeper was bought by London side Chelsea for just £160,000. The head coach of ‘Blues’ Gianluca Vialli took a personal interest in the player. First Cudicini had a loan contract, but then he signed for Chelsea on continuing basis. The Italian footballer was bought as a substitute for first-choice goalkeeper Ed de Goey and at the beginning he had almost no chances to show his talent. However, rather soon Cudicini managed to supplant the famous Dutch keeper and got the number 1 shirt. Due to Carlo’s great performance, 'The Blues' chosen him the Player of the Year by the end of 2001/2002. Cudicini did not always play safe, but he had an outstanding reaction and the ability to save penalties. Till the summer 2004 when Chelsea bought Petr Čech, the Italian keeper was the last stronghold of ‘The Blues’ defense. After Čech joined the club, Carlo embarked on warming the bench. Besides, he got another trauma, which made Petr’s way to the first team unopposed. During following four and a half years Carlo was a reserve goalkeeper of Chelsea and rarely took part in minor matches. The footballer made 142 appearances for ‘Blues’ from 2000 till 2009.

On 26 January 2009, Cudicini moved to another London side Tottenham. Spurs signed the goalkeeper on a free transfer as a reserve player. His contract with Chelsea was terminated by mutual agreement of the parties. In November 2009 the footballer was injured again and the trauma left him without football for a long time. He resumed his training only in April 2010. Carlo took part in 20 matches for Tottenham, coming as a substitute for Heurelho Gomes and Brad Friedel. During the winter transfer window Carlo moved to California to join Los Angeles Galaxy.

Cudicini failed to reveal his talent because of constant injuries, which haunted the keeper during his career. The Italian player made a bit more than 200 appearances in 19 years of his professional performance in clubs.

Carlo played for the Italy youth teams in early 90s’. On 20 November 2002, he was capped for the full Italy team in the match against the Turkey national team, which ended in a 1-1 draw. That was his first and last senior international appearance.