Gianluca Pessotto

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Gianluca Pessotto
Personal information
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Defender/Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1991 Varese 64 (1)
1991–1992 Massese 22 (1)
1992–1993 Bologna 21 (1)
1993–1994 Verona 34 (3)
1994–1995 Torino 32 (1)
1995–2006 Juventus 243 (2)
International career
1996–2002 Italy 22 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianluca Pessotto (born 11 August 1970 in Latisana, Province of Udine) is a former football player who spent the majority of his career with Juventus F.C., where he currently serves as team manager. A versatile player, Pessotto was able to play as a full back or midfielder, preferably on the left side although right-footed, and was also used as a center back on occasion.

After his retirement, Pessotto has served in the Juventus backroom staff as an assistant. He is now in charge of the Youth Sector, replacing former teammate Ciro Ferrara.

Career

AC Milan

Born in Latisana, in the province of Udine, Pessotto started his career in the A.C. Milan youth system. However, he was instantly sold to A.S. Varese 1910 in 1989. He never made a professional appearance for Milan.

Varese

After joining Varese in 1989, Pessotto officially began his professional career. In two full season s with the club, he tallied an impressive 64 appearances, also finding the back of the net on a solo occasion.

Massese

In August 1991, Pessotto transferred to U.S. Massese 1919, although he only remained at the club for one season. in his lone season, he appeared 22 times in the league, netting one goal.

Bologna

Following impressive spells with both A.S. Varese 1910 and U.S. Massese 1919, he transferred to, then, Serie B club Bologna F.C. 1909 in the summer of 1992. Despite being a highly anticipated transfer, Pessotto made just 21 league appearances, and was sold at the conclusion of the season. He also scored one goal for the Bolognese club.

Verona

After a season with Bologna in Serie B, Pessotto transferred to fellow Serie B club, Hellas Verona F.C. in 1993. Pessotto was an undisputed starter for much of the season, impressing greatly. He made 34 league appearances with a seasonal career high of 3 goals.

Torino

After impressing in the second division of Italian football, Pessotto transferred to Torino F.C. in 1994. In his first season in the Serie A, Pessotto racked up a starting position along with 32 league appearances and his first Serie A goal. After greatly impressing in his debut Serie A season, Pessotto moved to city rivals and European giants Juventus FC, in 1995, in what was a very highly regarded transfer.

Juventus

After joining Juventus in 1995, he instantly became a key part of the first team and help Juventus form what was considered as the best defence in the world at this time, and teams strongly regretted ever going down a goal to the club, as they knew how hard it would be to score one back for themselves. Pessotto formed impressive defensive partnerships with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Moreno Torricelli, Paolo Montero, Mark Iuliano, Lilian Thuram, Alessandro Birindelli, Igor Tudor, Gianluca Zambrotta, Nicola Legrottaglie, Fabio Cannavaro, Jonathan Zebina, and Giorgio Chiellini during his lengthy 12 year tenure with the club. He was one of many experienced players who had been at Juventus for a lengthy period of time. Injuries and other issues in the closing stages of his career limited his first-team opportunities to mainly being used a substitute to Jonathan Zebina or Lilian Thuram. Pessotto retired at the end of the 2005–2006 Serie A season, after back to back Scudetti. With Juventus he managed well over 250 total appearances scoring 2 league goals in the process. Among his achievements as a Juventus player, Pessotto won the UEFA Champions League in 1996, playing in 4 Champions League Finals, the UEFA Super Cup in 1996, the Intercontinental Cup in 1996, 1 UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000, 4 Scudetti (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003) 4 Supercoppa Italiana (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003), and 1 Coppa Italia in 1995.

International career

For Italy, Pessotto was capped 22 times. He played for his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In Euro 2000, Pessotto scored a penalty in the shootout win over Holland which sent Italy into the final. However, he only picked up a runners-up medal, as Italy lost after conceding a last minute equaliser, and then conceded a David Trézéguet golden goal. Trezeguet ironically became his Juventus teammate the following season.

Career honours

Pessotto's fall from a building

Following his retirement, Pessotto was successively appointed as the new Juventus team manager. Weeks after his retirement as a footballer, he survived a 15-metre fall from a fourth storey window at the headquarters of Juventus, on 27 June 2006. As he was holding a rosary, it is believed that he was attempting suicide. He later admitted that he had attempted to commit suicide[citation needed] in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal which led his club to be stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated in Serie B for their first time in history. Though not implicated in the scandal, Pessotto was said to be feeling depressed and unhappy with his role, and the relegation of the club. Following his recovery, Pessotto returned into Juventus in his role as team manager. [1][2] He suffered multiple fractures and internal bleeding from the fall. On 17 July 2006, medical staff declared him out of danger and stated that he would not have long-term mental damage or physical paralysis.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Pessotto was depressed - Wife". Teamtalk.com. 28 June 2006.
  2. ^ "Italians see Pessotto in hospital". BBC. 29 June 2006.
  3. ^ "Pessotto meets his sons in hospital". ANSA. 17 July 2006.

External links

Template:Persondata

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