Simone Perrotta

Simone Perrotta

Personal information
Full name	Simone Pasquale Perrotta
Date of birth	17 September 1977 (1977-09-17)
Place of birth	Ashton-under-Lyne, England
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Roma
Number	20
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1998	Reggina	77	(1)
1998–1999	Juventus	5	(0)
1999–2001	Bari	56	(1)
2001–2004	Chievo	95	(6)
2004–	Roma	224	(34)
National team‡
1998–2000	Italy U-21	6	(1)
2002–2009	Italy	48	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 February 2009

Simone Perrotta, Ufficiale OMRI (born September 17, 1977 in Ashton-under-Lyne) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma. He was a member of the Italian national football team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Perrotta grew up in the youth system of Reggina and debuted in Serie B in 1995, becoming an important fixture in their line-up. In 1998, Juventus decided to sign him, but with great midfielders like Antonio Conte, Didier Deschamps, and Zinédine Zidane ahead of him he only collected 5 appearances for the Turin club. In 1999, he was loaned to Bari in a co-ownership deal for €1.25million (as part of Gianluca Zambrotta's deal), where he played for 2 seasons. In 2001/2002 he was shipped to Chievo. There, he was a mainstay in the midfield of the surprising Chievo squad that was 1st place at the winter break. He even provided the winning assist in their famous victory over Inter that season.

Roma

In 2004, Roma signed him from the Veneto club for €7.2 million. (also, new signing Matteo Brighi, who valued €16 million, was loaned to Chievo) In merit of his fine performances for the capital club, he earned a call-up to Marcello Lippi's World Cup squad, starting all 7 games for the champions. He signed a contract extension with the capital club, keeping him in Rome until 2010.

Under Roma coach Luciano Spalletti's 4–2–3–1 formation, he played behind the first striker in between the left and right winger as an attacking central midfielder.

Perrotta signed a new one-year extension to his contract with Roma in October 2009, that will keep him at the club until 2011. In March 2011 he signed another contract, with basic salary decreased.

In 2011-12, Perrotta is usually playing as a central midfielder alongside Daniele De Rossi and Miralem Pjanić.

International career

Although eligible for England, Perrotta played at the U-21 level for Italy. He won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship but dropped from the 2000 Summer Olympics squad due to injury. He debuted at the senior level in 2002. He played for Italy at Euro 2004, scoring a goal against Bulgaria.

Perrotta also represented the Italian national team during the 2006 FIFA World Cup under coach Marcello Lippi, starting in all seven of the Azzurri's games en route to their World Cup title.

Unlike with Roma, Perrotta is often used as a left winger with the Italian national team or as a "front-lying" defensive midfielder, as he was in the 2006 World Cup.

Personal life

Perrotta lived in England until the age of 4, attending the former St Ann's RC Primary School, Burlington Street, Ashton-under-Lyne. His parents, Francesco and Anna Maria, ran a pub in Ashton and lived on Fitzroy Street and briefly at the Chiltern Chapel before moving back to Italy in 1982. Perrotta is of Calabrian origins despite being born in England.

On December 22, 2010, a statue of Perrotta was unveiled in Ashton-under-Lyne, close to Curzon Ashton F.C.'s Tameside Stadium in the Roy Oldham Sports Village, Richmond Street. The triple sculpture by Andrew Edwards and Sculpure For Sport commemorates the three men from the borough of Tameside who hold World Cup winner's medals: Geoff Hurst, Jimmy Armfield and Perrotta.

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1995–96	Reggina	Serie B	22	0			-		22	0
1996–97			29	0			-		29	0
1997–98			26	1			-		26	1
1998–99	Juventus	Serie A	7	0	6	1	1	0	14	1
1999–00			0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
1999–00	Bari	Serie A	31	1			-		31	1
2000–01			25	0	0	0	-		25	0
2001–02	Chievo	Serie A	32	4	3	1	-		35	5
2002–03			32	1	0	0	2	0	34	1
2003–04			31	1	0	0	-		31	1
2004–05	Roma	Serie A	30	3	5	0	4	0	39	3
2005–06			35	5	5	2	7	1	47	8
2006–07			34	8	7	4	9	1	50	13
2007–08			29	5	6	1	6	1	41	7
2008–09			25	5	2	0	6	0	33	5
2009–10			32	5	3	0	5	1	40	5
2010-11			26	3	3	0	6	1	34	4
2011-12			13	0	0	0	2	1	15	1
Total	Roma		224	34	31	7	45	6	293	47
Career total			458	42	40	7	49	6	541	57

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2002	1	0
2003	11	0
2004	9	1
2005	0	0
2006	12	1
2007	5	0
2008	8	0
2009	1	0
Total	47	2

Honours

Roma

• Serie A:
  • Runner-up: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
• Coppa Italia:
  • Winner: 2007, 2008
  • Runner-up: 2005, 2006, 2010
• Supercoppa Italiana:
  • Winner: 2007
  • Runner-up: 2006, 2008, 2010

National Team

• FIFA World Cup:
  • Winner: 2006
• UEFA Under-21 European Championship:
  • Winner: 2000

External links

• Profile on AS Roma's official website
• FootballDatabase.com provides Perrotta's profile and stats