Carlo Cudicini

Early career

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.

Chelsea

1999–2004

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…

Cudicini was large, quick, agile and athletic keeper, Cudicini was regarded as a notable goalkeeper in the Premier League, for Chelsea and for Italy. He came to prominence in his late 20s.

Cudicini was capped at under-18 and under-21 level, but never represented his country of birth at senior level. He was called into the squad for the 2002 friendly against Turkey, but was not named in the matchday squad by Giovanni Trapattoni, behind Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Toldo. The FA have previously claimed he could be eligible to represent England, however, similar to the case of Mikel Arteta, he was not. He was not eligible for England because FIFA Statutes stipulate that the player needs to have held a British passport at the time when he represented Italy at the U16 European Championship, and would have required five years of education in Britain before turning 18.

In March 2015, Cudicini joined the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team coaching staff as goalkeeping coach. In July 2016, Cudicini returned to Chelsea to become a club ambassador and assistant to the new first-team head coach Antonio Conte. He was present amongst the rest of the coaching staff during Chelsea's 2–1 home win over West Ham in their first match of the 2016–17 season. He continued the job under Maurizio Sarri in 2018–19 season. In August 2019, Cudicini had been appointed technical coach for the players on loan from other clubs, following Eddie Newton's move to Frank Lampard's backroom staff. In December 2022, Cudicini received his UEFA Pro License in Dublin after attending the FAI Coach Education Department course.