in the summer transfer window of 2010, udinese sold gaetano d'agostino, simone pepe, marco motta, and aleksandar luković. they also brought in players that proved to be the key to their success in the 2010–11 serie a; mehdi benatia and pablo armero, a central defender and wingback, respectively. after a poor start to the season, losing their first four games and drawing the fifth, udinese went on to record their highest points total in history and finished in fourth place, again earning themselves a spot in the champions league qualifying round. di natale, with 28 goals, became the first back-to-back "capocannoniere" since lazio's giuseppe signori accomplished the feat in 1993 and 1994. a 0–0 home draw with milan on the final matchday secured the champions league spot for udinese. coach francesco guidolin kept his promise of "dancing like boateng" if they qualified for the champions league and did a little jig in the middle of the pitch. in the coppa italia, udinese lost to sampdoria in the round of 16 on penalties after the match ended 2–2.