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Alessandro Nesta (born March 19, 1976 in Rome), standing at 187 cm and
weighing 79 kg, is an Italian footballer. He plays at center back for A.C.
Milan in Serie A. He has previously played for S.S. Lazio. With amazing
tackling skill and game reading ability, he is widely considered one of the
best defenders in the world.
Sandro had a happy childhood in his quarter of Cinecittà, in Rome. He
attended the primary school at "Margherita Bosco", where he first started
playing football.
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Alessandro's older brother, was advised to play a sport because of his 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, and so his
career began. 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 the youth academy of Lazio, where he rose through the
ranks playing in various positions, including striker and midfielder. His
international career first showed signs of growth when he played for the
Italian national Under-15 and Under-16 sides. In 1993, he managed to join
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.
Just before the 2002-'03 season, Nesta joined A.C. Milan. With Milan he has
won the Scudetto Serie A (Italian Championship), Coppa Italia, Champions
League and the European Super Cup.
Nesta has appeared over 60 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 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004.
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 soon-to-be-played 2006 FIFA World Cup. Other players in
Smith's top five included Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Petr Cech, and Thierry
Henry.
Nesta is engaged 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. |
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