Alessandro Nesta

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Alessandro Nesta

Personal information
Date of birth	March 19, 1976 (1976-03-19) (age 33)
Place of birth	Rome, Italy
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Milan
Number	13
Youth career
1985–1993	Lazio
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1993–2002	Lazio	193 0(1)
2002–	Milan	157 0(3)
National team3
1995–1996	Italy U-21	006 0(1)
1996–2006	Italy	078 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 12, 2009. 2 Appearances (Goals). 3 National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2006

Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI^[1][2] (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning defender who plays for Italian Serie A club Milan. He is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year; only Thierry Henry has more appearances, with five.^[3]

[edit] Early life

Nesta was raised in the Cinecittà area of Rome. He attended the Margherita Bosco primary school where he first started playing football. His older brother, Fernando, was advised to play a sport because of a back problem and enrolled at the local football club. Alessandro threw a tantrum until his father gave in and enrolled him as well, thus marking the beginning of his career.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Lazio

Nesta's talent was first discovered by Francesco Rocca, then a scout for Roma, but Nesta's father, a Lazio fan, turned down the offer. In 1985, he joined Lazio's youth academy, where he rose through the ranks playing in various positions, including playing as a striker and midfielder, before settling in defence. His international career first showed signs of growth when he played for Italy's under-15 and under-16 sides. He was promoted to Lazio's senior squad in 1993, and first came to the attention of fans for being involved in a training ground accident that broke teammate Paul Gascoigne's leg.

He assumed the team captaincy in 1997, and helped Lazio win the 1998 Coppa Italia after beating Milan in the final, in which he was one of the goalscorers. This was followed by a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup in 1999, and a rare Scudetto and Coppa Italia double in the 1999-00 season, in addition to two Italian Super Cups.

[edit] Milan

Just before the 2002-03 Serie A campaign, financial woes forced Lazio to sell Nesta to Milan for approximately €30 million paid over three years, after being valued at over £50 million by Lazio just a year earlier. In his first season with the Rossoneri, Nesta won the 2002-03 UEFA Champions League and the third Coppa Italia of his career. The next season, he won his second European Super Cup and second career Scudetto. Despite missing most of the 2006-07 season due to a shoulder injury, Nesta nonetheless played a vital part in Milan's return to the 2006-07 Champions League final, where Milan defeated Liverpool 2-1. He (and Milan) also won another European SuperCup in August 2007. Nesta signed a contract extension that will keep him at Milan until 2011.^[4]

Nesta scored his first goal for Milan since April 2006 in a 1-1 draw with Siena on 15 September 2007. One of his most important goals for Milan came in the 4-2 victory over Boca Juniors in the final of the Club World Cup in December 2007.

A recurring back injury kept Nesta out for almost the entire 2008-2009 season, and he has yet to feature in a competitive match despite sitting on the bench against Sampdoria early in the season and playing in a friendly against FK Tirana, after which his injury acted up again. Amidst reports that he was considering retirement, Nesta declared his desire to continue playing and returned to training in mid-May.

Nesta came on as 77th minute substitute in Milan's final away game to Fiorentina on May 31st 2009 for his first competitive appearance of the season.

[edit] International career

Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (September 2007)

Nesta was a member of the Under-21 squad that won the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, in which he was named the top defender of the competition. He earned his first cap for the Azzurri against Moldova on October 5, 1996. He has been capped 78 times for Italy, and participated in Euro 1996, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, and the 2006 World Cup.

During the 2006 WC, he suffered an injury in Italy's group match against the Czech Republic, and was forced to leave the match early. This made it three times unlucky for Nesta; he previously ruptured a knee ligament against Austria during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and missed Italy's final game in the 2002 FIFA World Cup with an injured foot.

After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nesta's continuous injuries forced him to retire from the international team. Coach Roberto Donadoni unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to come out of retirement for Euro 2008.

More recently, a number of serious back injuries forced 33-year-old Nesta out of the pitch for the whole 2008–09 season, raising concerns about his chance to make a comeback into active football.^[5] Fortunately Nesta fully recovered from his injuries and made an appearance in AC milans last game of their 2008/09 season.

[edit] Personal

On 7 May 2007, Nesta married his fiancée, Gabriela Pagnozzi, in a civil ceremony in Milan; the religious ceremony followed on May 30, 2007. Gabriela was working for Casa Italia, the Italian national team HQ, during the 1998 World Cup. Their relationship was born when she tended to him following his injury against Austria. "I can say, I got the injury and her in France then. And the injury has gone, [but] she has stayed with me." Their daughter, Sofia, was born on October 19, 2006 and on March 20, 2008 their son Tommaso was born.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Honours

S.S. Lazio

• Serie A: 2000
• Coppa Italia: 1998, 2000
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1998, 2000
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1999
• UEFA Super Cup: 1999

Associazione Calcio Milan

• Serie A: 2004
• Coppa Italia: 2003
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
• UEFA Champions League: 2003, 2007
• UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2007

Italy National Football Team

• Italian U-20 Championship: 1995
• UEFA Under-21 European Championship: 1996
• FIFA World Cup: 2006

[edit] Individual

• Serie A Young Footballer of the Year: 1998
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2000
• Serie A Defender of the Year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
• FIFA 100
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007
• FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2007

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• National Team Statistics at FIGC official site
• FootballDatabase.com provides Nesta's profile and stats

Italy squad v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 1996 1 Peruzzi • 2 Apolloni • 3 Maldini • 4 Carboni • 5 Costacurta • 6 Nesta • 7 Donadoni • 8 Mussi • 9 Torricelli • 10 Albertini • 11 Baggio • 12 Toldo • 13 Rossitto • 14 Del Piero • 15 Di Livio • 16 Di Matteo • 17 Fuser • 18 Casiraghi • 19 Chiesa • 20 Ravanelli • 21 Zola • 22 Bucci • Coach: Sacchi v • d • e Italy squad – 1996 Summer Olympics 1 Pagliuca • 2 Panucci • 3 Nesta • 4 Cannavaro • 5 Galante • 6 Fresi • 7 Ametrano • 8 Crippa • 9 Branca • 10 Brambilla • 11 Delvecchio • 12 Buffon • 13 Pistone • 14 Tommasi • 15 Pecchia • 16 Morfeo • 17 Lucarelli • 18 Bernardini • 19 Sartor • Coach: Maldini v • d • e Italy squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Toldo • 2 Bergomi • 3 P. Maldini • 4 Cannavaro • 5 Costacurta • 6 Nesta • 7 Pessotto • 8 Torricelli • 9 Albertini • 10 Del Piero • 11 D. Baggio • 12 Pagliuca • 13 Cois • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Di Livio • 16 Di Matteo • 17 Moriero • 18 R. Baggio • 19 Inzaghi • 20 Chiesa • 21 Vieri • 22 Buffon • Coach: C. Maldini v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Runners-up 1 Abbiati • 2 Ferrara • 3 Maldini • 4 Albertini • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Negro • 7 Di Livio • 8 Conte • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Del Piero • 11 Pessotto • 12 Toldo • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Ambrosini • 17 Zambrotta • 18 Fiore • 19 Montella • 20 Totti • 21 Delvecchio • 22 Antonioli • Coach: Zoff v • d • e Italy squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Maldini • 4 Coco • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Zanetti • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Totti • 11 Doni • 12 Abbiati • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Di Livio • 17 Tommasi • 18 Delvecchio • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montella • 21 Vieri • 22 Toldo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Oddo • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Ferrari • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Vieri • 10 Totti • 11 Corradi • 12 Toldo • 13 Nesta • 14 Fiore • 15 Favalli • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Di Vaio • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Peruzzi • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni v • d • e Italy squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Winners (4th title) 1 Buffon • 2 Zaccardo • 3 Grosso • 4 De Rossi • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 Totti • 11 Gilardino • 12 Peruzzi • 13 Nesta • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Barone • 18 Inzaghi • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Oddo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Lippi