Alessandro Nesta

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Personal information
Alessandro Nesta

Full name	Alessandro Nesta
Date of birth	March 19 1976
Place of birth	Rome, Italy
Height	6'2 (187 cm)
Nickname	Sandro
Position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	AC Milan
Youth clubs
1985-1993	SS Lazio
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1993-2002 2002-	SS Lazio AC Milan	193 (1) 84 (1)
National team**
1995-1996</br>1996-	Italy U-21</br>Italy	6 (1)</br>78 (0) <ref>Source: FIFA World Cup official site </ref>
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 5 2005. ** National team caps and goals correct as of October 11 2006.

Alessandro Nesta (born March 19, 1976 in Rome), is an Italian footballer. He plays centre back for AC Milan in Serie A. He has previously played for S.S. Lazio. With amazing tackling skills and game reading ability, he is widely considered one of the best defenders in the world.

1 Playing career
2 Personal
3 Honours
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Playing career

Nesta had a happy childhood gowing up in the Cinecittà area of Rome. He attended "Margherita Bosco" primary school where he first started playing football. Fernando, Alessandro's older brother, was advised to play a sport because of a back problem, and enrolled at the local football club. Young Alessandro threw a tantrum till his father gave in and he was enrolled as well, thus marking the beginning of his career. Alessandro Nesta was first discovered by Francesco Rocca (Currently U-17 coach for Italy) a scout for A.S. 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 striker and midfielder before settling in defence. His international career first showed signs of growth when he played for the Italian national Under-15 and Under-16 sides. In 1993, he joined Lazio's first-team squad.

In 1996, Nesta was a member of the Italian Under-21 team that defeated Spain to win the European Under-21 Championship, picking up the award for best defender in the tournament along the way. He made his full international debut for Italy against Moldova on October 5, 1996. In 1997, he was given the captaincy of Lazio. It was in the 1997-98 season that Lazio won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup), beating A.C. Milan in the final, with Nesta amongst the goal-scorers. In May 1998 he lost the UEFA Cup final with Lazio against Inter. This was followed however by a series of trophy wins including a Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup in 1999 and a rare Championship and Italian Cup double in 2000, not to mention two Italian Super Cup victories.

Just before the 2002-03 season Lazio was forced to sell Nesta because of serious financial problems to A.C. Milan. With Milan he has won the Scudetto (Italian Championship), Coppa Italia, Champions League and the European Super Cup.

Nesta has appeared over 70 times for the Italian national team and has been a mainstay in it since the late 1990s. He played for his country in Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. On the June 7, 2006, edition of Pardon the Interruption, ESPN analyst Tommy Smyth proclaimed Nesta as the top defender and one of the top five players for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Other players in Smith's top five included Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Petr Čech, and Thierry Henry.

He was injured early on in the 2006 World Cup, in the group match against the Czech Republic, and played no further part in Italy's eventual triumph.

Rumors since the beginning of the 2006-2007 season have been ciruculating regarding a possible return to Lazio as he has yet to renew his contract with his current club Milan, which could allow him to leave on a free transfer in 2007.

[edit] Personal

Nesta is married to Gabriela Pagnozzi (daughter of Raffaelle Pagnozzi, General Secretary of CONI). She is a specialist in economics and was working for "Casa Italia", the headquarters of the Azzurri, during the 1998 World Cup at France. He was injured after the World Cup game against Austria, Gabriela took care of him, and this is how this love story began. "I can say, I got the injury and her in France then. And the injury has gone, she has stayed with me." The two of them live together in Milan. Their newborn daughter, Sofia, was born October 19, 2006.

[edit] Honours

1995 - Won Italian Under-21 Championship with S.S. Lazio.
1996 - Won European Under-21 Championship with Italy
1998 - Won Coppa Italia and SuperCoppa Italiana (Italian SuperCup) with S.S. Lazio
1999 - Won European Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup with S.S. Lazio
2000 - Won Scudetto, Coppa Italia and SuperCoppa Italiana with S.S. Lazio
2003 - Won Coppa Italia, Champions League and European Super Cup with A.C. Milan
2004 - Won Scudetto with A.C. Milan
2006 - Won FIFA World Cup with Italian National side

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Image:Flag of Italy.svg	Italy squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists	Image:Flag of Italy.svg
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

Image:Flag of Italy.svg	Italy squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup	Image:Flag of Italy.svg
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

Image:Flag of Italy.svg	Italy squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions (4th Title)	Image:Flag of Italy.svg
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