Carlo Cudicini

2004–06 The 2004–05 season saw the arrival of new manager José Mourinho and new goalkeeper Petr Čech. Cudicini missed out on a Premier League winners' medal as he managed only three league appearances all season, all of which came after Chelsea had secured the trophy. He did, however, feature in most of Chelsea's FA Cup and League Cup games that season. Chelsea reached the 2005 Football League Cup final, however Cudicini was suspended as he had been sent off in an FA Cup tie the week before against Newcastle United. This meant that Čech started and Lenny Pidgeley was on the bench.

Cudicini again was second choice to Čech, and managed only four league appearances as Chelsea won the Premier League for a consecutive season. In January 2006, having played 16 out of 90 fixtures since the signing of Čech, and only five times that season, he signed a new contract lasting until 2009. At the time of signing the contract, he had saved half of the 12 penalties he had faced. Cudicini was on the bench as Chelsea won the 2007 FA Cup final, but Hilario was preferred as the substitute goalkeeper as they won the 2007 Football League Cup final.

2007–09

Cudicini began the new campaign once again as second-choice to Čech, but a string of injuries to the latter saw Cudicini feature 19 times in all competitions. His first appearance of the season was in a League Cup game against Hull City in which he kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 win. He played against Leicester City in a 4–3 win at Stamford Bridge in the next round before making his first appearance of the season in the Champions League, coming on as a substitute against Schalke 04. Cudicini then featured in the next five games due to Čech's injury, conceding just one goal in the process, against Everton at Stamford Bridge in a 1–1 draw. However, Cudicini suffered an injury and would not be seen between the posts until February in a FA Cup game against Huddersfield Town.

Cudicini also featured in the next round of the cup, but Chelsea lost 1–0 to Barnsley and were knocked out of the competition. Cudicini retained his place due to another injury suffered by Čech and featured in Chelsea's 6–1 win over Derby County. He kept clean sheets in 1–0 wins against Sunderland and Middlesbrough, as well as a 2–0 away win at Manchester City and played in Chelsea's 2–1 win over local rivals Arsenal in March. He featured in both legs against Turkish club Fenerbahçe as Chelsea progressed 3–2 on aggregate; he was taken off with an injury that effectively ended his season. Cudicini made his 200th appearance for the club in all competitions against West Ham United on 1 December 2007. He was an unused substitute as Chelsea lost both the 2008 Football League Cup final and the 2008 UEFA Champions League final.

Cudicini made his first Premier League appearance of the following season in Chelsea's 5–0 win at Middlesbrough and this marked his 100th clean sheet in a Chelsea shirt. He played his last game for Chelsea at home in the FA Cup third round tie with Southend United which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Tottenham Hotspur On 26 January 2009, it was confirmed that Cudicini signed for Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer. He was allowed to move on a free due to his services given to Chelsea. He made his debut the next day in the Premier League fixture against Stoke City, a 3–1 win. Following Tottenham's loss in the League Cup final against Manchester United (for which Cudicini was cup-tied), Cudicini's appearances were limited. He did not play again for Spurs in the 2008–09 season after the 1–2 victory over Hull City at the KC Stadium a week before the 2009 Football League Cup final.

Cudicini made his first competitive appearance in nearly six months for Tottenham when he came on as a substitute for the injured Heurelho Gomes in a 5–1 victory over Hull City on 19 August 2009. He played a number of matches, including a 3–0 defeat at his former club Chelsea on 20 September which saw him return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since leaving the club. He was then benched in favour of the returning Gomes for the match against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

On 12 November, Cudicini was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Walthamstow, east London, on his way to Tottenham's training ground. It was reported that he had fractured both his wrists and injured his pelvis. He was taken to an east London hospital, then later was transferred to a private hospital. In late February, the Tottenham Hotspur website reported that Cudicini had started some ball work.

On 12 May, Cudicini signed a new one-year contract with Spurs. On 10 July, Cudicini played 45 minutes in a pre-season friendly against Bournemouth, his first action since his accident.

On 25 August 2010, Cudicini saw his first official action for the club in nearly a year as a half-time replacement for the injured Gomes in the second leg of Tottenham's UEFA Champions League play-off round tie against Young Boys of Switzerland. He was an eighth-minute replacement for Luka Modrić after Gomes' sending-off against Inter Milan on 20 October, in a 4–3 loss to the reigning European champions at the San Siro. He went on to play in the return match on 2 November at White Hart Lane as Spurs earned a 3–1 victory.

Following the signing of Brad Friedel from Aston Villa on a free transfer, Cudicini again continued to act as back-up goalkeeper with previous first-choice goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes relegated to third-choice. Cudicini was, however, used as first choice goalkeeper during Tottenham's Europa League matches, making his first start of the season against PAOK in a 0–0 draw. During the match, Cudicini let in an Alves Lino penalty, but Lino was asked to retake the penalty and subsequently missed. Cudicini also played in the 2012 FA Cup semi-final against former club Chelsea.

Cudicini started the season second choice to Friedel, but after the addition of Hugo Lloris to the squad, Cudicini was limited to the role as the back-up goalkeeper in Tottenham's Europa League campaign. His final appearance for the club was in a 0–3 win against Carlisle United at Brunton Park in a third round League Cup tie on 26 September 2012.

LA Galaxy

Cudicini was transferred to the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) on 31 December 2012 on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 4–0 win over Chicago Fire.

Cudicini was released by the Galaxy on 26 January 2014.

International career 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.

Style of play 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.

Coaching career 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.

Career statistics Club

Honours AC Milan Serie A: 1992–93 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1992–93

Chelsea FA Cup: 1999–2000, runner-up: 2001–02 Football League Cup: 2004–05, 2006–07; runner-up: 2007–08 FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield: 2000, 2005

Individual Chelsea Player of the Year: 2001–02