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Antonio Di Natale hoping to get back into football from next summer

Former Udinese and Italy forward Antonio Di Natale says he is itching to get back into the game in a non-playing capacity, but only after dedicating more time to his family.

Di Natale, 39, brought an end to his playing career in the summer after scoring 209 goals in Serie A and 300 in all competitions.

He was back at Udinese on Monday night to participate in the club's celebrations to mark their 120th anniversary, and he admitted he missed being involved in football, although he says he will not return to the game until next summer at the earliest.

"I'm really delighted to be back here to celebrate with the fans 120 years of Udinese," he told tuttoudinese.it. "I've got some incredible memories here -- the memories of wearing this shirt and all the goals I scored.

"Things have changed a lot and while things were not going very well at the start [of the season], now [Udinese coach Gigi] Delneri is trying to resolve the problems and improve the league position. It was important to win tonight [1-0 against Bologna] because three points makes you move a lot in the table.

"I want to dedicate this year entirely to my family. I'm travelling around Italy and visiting some of the biggest venues and then I will start to think of maybe a career as a director."