Alessandro Nesta

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Alessandro Nesta
Personal information
Full name Alessandro Nesta
Date of birth March 19, 1976 (1976-03-19) (age 32)
Place of birth    Rome, Italy
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Playing position Centre Back
Club information
Current club A.C. Milan
Number 13
Youth clubs
1985–1993 Lazio
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993–2002
2002–		 Lazio
A.C. Milan		 193 (1)
157 (3)   
National team2
1995–1996
1996–2006		 Italy U-21
Italy		 006 (1)
078 (0) [1]

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 19:18, 6 June 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of October 11, 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[2][3], (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He plays centre back for Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan. Widely regarded as one of the most talented footballers of his generation, Nesta is rated by many as one of the greatest defenders of all time, and was included in Pelé's selection of the 125 greatest living footballers in FIFA 100. [4][5]. In 2007, he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year, for the fourth time in his career; only Thierry Henry has more appearances, with five. [6]

Contents

[edit] Club career

[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. His talent was first discovered by Francesco Rocca, then a scout for A.S. Roma, but Nesta's father, a Lazio fan, turned down the offer.


[edit] S.S. Lazio

In 1985, he joined S.S. 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 A.C. 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] A.C. 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 F.C. 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.[7]

Nesta scored his first goal for Milan since April 2006 in a 1-1 draw with A.C. Siena on September 15, 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.

[edit] International career

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (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 WC, and missed Italy's final game in the 2002 World Cup with an injured foot. On July 7, 2006, ESPN analyst Tommy Smyth proclaimed Nesta as the top defender and one of the tournament's top five players.

In June 2007, Nesta asked not to be called up against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania because of his recent marriage, he has still not confirmed the future of his international career, but he has not been called up to recent Italy squads, particularly the Euro 2008 squad, leading complaints from his AC milan teammates Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso calling for him to be put back in the side.

[edit] Personal

On May 7, 2007, Nesta married his fiancée, Nadia Baratta, in a civil ceremony in Montreal; the religious ceremony followed on May 30, 2007. Nadia 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 19th, 2006 and on March 20th 2008 their newborn son, Tommaso was born.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Clubs

[edit] S.S. Lazio


  • Italian Under-20 Championship 1995

[edit] A.C. Milan


[edit] International


[edit] Personal

  • FIFA 100 (125 Greatest Living Players)
  • Runner-up: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Source: FIFA World Cup official site
  2. ^ FIFA.com
  3. ^ AscotSportal.com
  4. ^ Top 30 Central Defenders
  5. ^ Best Defenders (football)
  6. ^ uefa.com - Team of the Year
  7. ^ [1]

[edit] External links

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
 Flag of Italy
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
 Flag of Italy
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
 Flag of Italy
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
 Flag of Italy
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
 Flag of Italy
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
 Flag of Italy
v • d • e
A.C. Milan – current squad

1 Dida • 3 Maldini • 4 Kaladze • 5 Emerson • 7 Pato • 8 Gattuso • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Seedorf • 13 Nesta • 16 Kalac • 17 Šimić • 18 Jankulovski • 19 Favalli • 21 Pirlo • 22 Kaká • 23 Ambrosini • 25 Bonera • 31 Digão • 32 Brocchi • 36 Darmian • 43 Paloschi • 44 Oddo • 94 Aubameyang • 99 Ronaldo • ¬ Flamini • ¬ Borriello • ¬ Zambrotta • ¬ Antonini • ¬ Abbiati • Coach: Ancelotti
Awards
Preceded by
Inaugural		 Serie A Defender of the Year
2000 ~ 2003		 Succeeded by
Paolo Maldini
Preceded by
Filippo Inzaghi		 Serie A Young Footballer of the Year
1998		 Succeeded by
Francesco Totti