Alessandro Nesta

At 48 years old, Alessandro Nesta has this physical status:

Alessandro Nesta (Italian pronunciation: [alesandro nsta]; born 19 March 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former footballer. He is often deployed as a center-back and is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. He was best known for his speed, artistic interpretations, elegance on the ball, ball control, and close marking opponents.

He made over 400 appearances in a 20-year career with Lazio and AC Milan, winning domestic and European accolades with both clubs. Later in his career, he competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) for the Montreal Impact and the Indian Super League's Chennaiyin. Nesta is a four-time Serie A Defender of the Year and a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year. He was voted one of the top 100 greatest live footballers in 2004 as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebrations. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Nesta was a member of the Italy national team for a decade beginning in 1996, winning 78 caps in total. He competed at the 1996 Olympics, three UEFA European Championships, and three FIFA World Cups, all on international stage. Nesta was a member of the 2006 World Cup in Italy, and he also represented the Italian side in the Euro 2000 final.

Personal life

In a civil ceremony in Milan on May 7, Nesta married Gabriela Pagnozzi, his fiancée, on May 7th; the civil ceremony followed on May 30. During the 1998 World Cup, Gabriela was working for Casa Italia, the Italy national team's headquarters. Following his injury against Austria, they began their love as she tended to him. "I can say that I got the injury and she was in France at the time." And while the pain has ended, [but] she has stayed with me." Sofia's daughter, Sofia, was born on October 19, 2006, and their son Tommaso was born on March 20, 2008. Gian Marco Nesta, his uncle, is also a professional footballer.

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Club career

Nesta was first discovered by Francesco Rocca, a scout for Roma, but his father, a Lazio fan, refused to accept the invitation. He began his youth with Lazio in 1985, including as a striker and midfielder, before being placed as a defender. He was recalled to the first team in 1993-94 and made his debut against Udinese in a 2–2 away draw; Nesta was on for Pierluigi Casiraghi in the 78th minute.

He took over the team captaincy in 1997 under Sven-Göran Eriksson, and helped Lazio beat AC Milan in the 1998 Coppa Italia final, in which he scored the winning goal. He will also play in the UEFA Cup Final this season, losing out to Internazionale. Nesta was named Young Footballer of the Year at the 1998 Italian footballing awards for his efforts throughout the year.

Due to ligament injuries suffered during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he was forced to miss nearly half the year. He returned to the field in December, but Lazio's captain led Lazio in the championship hunt but lost by a single point on the last day of the season. He did win the first two trophies at the international level of his team, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, won against Mallorca, and the European Super Cup over Manchester United in August.

He led Lazio to the Scudetto and Coppa Italia in 1999–2000, winning the double. During Lazio's time as Prime Minister Dino Zoff's reign as Prime Minister of Argentina and third in Serie A, Nesta's three consecutive Defender of the Year awards were given to him three consecutive Serie A Defender of the Year awards between 2000 and 2002. Lazio's financial difficulties, as well as its then-president Sergio Cragnotti, resulted in the sale of Nesta to Milan in 2002. Nesta left the club with a backlog salary of €2 million, part of which was turned into shares of the Biancocelesti club.

Lazio had to sell several of the country's best players, including Nesta, who moved to Milan for €30,987,000 (60 billion lire), months before the 2002–03 Serie A campaign. Among others, Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Alessandro Costacurta, and Jaap Stam will all be present a strong defensive line during this period. Nesta's first two seasons with the Rossoneri were extremely fruitful. For the first all-Italian Champions League final in history, Milan defeated rivals Juventus at Old Trafford in the 2002–03 season. During the game, Nesta helped Milan keep a clean sheet, resulting in a penalty shootout after a 0–0 deadlock during extra time. Milan defeated Milan 3–2 after Nesta was able to score his penalty kick. Nesta also won the Coppa Italia during his first season with the team, while Milan finished third in Serie A this season. Nesta was nominated for the Serie A Defender of the Year award once more for his contributions, and he was chosen to be part of the UEFA Team of the Year.

Milan lost both the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana to Juventus and the Intercontinental Cup final to Boca Juniors on penalties in the following season. Nesta won the European Super Cup with Milan over Porto, but it was his second Scudetto of the season, when Milan set an Italian record for points won. Milan was disqualified in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, to eventual champions Lazio, although Nesta was able to score a goal in the quarter-finals against Roma. Nesta was once more selected to be a member of the UEFA Team of the Year for the third straight season.

Nesta began the next season by defeating his former team Lazio in the 2004 Supercoppa Italiana. Milan reached the Champions' League final in 2005, losing on penalties to Liverpool, although in Serie A, they finished second, behind champions Juventus. Nesta was named to the 2005 FIFPro World XI for the first time in his career, despite placing second in both Serie A and Champions League.

Milan finished second behind Juventus in Serie A during the 2005–06 season, although both Juventus and Milan were later disqualified for being complicit in the 2006 matchfixing fiasco, and Internazionale was named in third place, with Milan finishing in third position after the point deduction. Milan also reached the semifinals of the Champions League in 2006, losing to eventual champions Barcelona, who were disqualified from the Coppa Italia's quarterfinals.

Nesta was instrumental in Milan's return to the 2007 Champions League final, defeating Liverpool 2–1 in Athens despite missing the majority of the 2006–07 season due to a shoulder injury. Despite Milan's point deductions throughout the season, Nesta was able to return from injury in time to help Milan win their fourth-place finish in Serie A, clinching the final Champions League position. Nesta was selected to both the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFPro World XI for his 2011 debuts.

In August 2007, Nesta lifted his third European Super Cup, beating Sevilla 3–1. Nesta has signed a new deal that will keep him at Milan until 2011. In a 1–1 draw with Siena on September 15, Nesta scored his first goal for Milan since April 6, 2006, the first goal for the city since April 2006. In the 4–2 win over Boca Juniors in the final of the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, he carried this up with a crucial goal for Milan. Milan will struggle throughout the remainder of the season, but the UEFA Champions League and Coppa Italia's round of 16 will see them finish fifth in Serie A and eliminated in the group's round of 16.

Nesta was forced to miss the entire 2008–09 season due to serious back problems, which caused fears about his return to active football. In Milan's final Serie A away match to Fiorentina on May 31, he fully recovered from his injury and came on as 77th-minute substitute on his first competitive appearance of the season. Milan came in third place in the domestic season.

In a 2–1 win over Chievo in the Serie A, Nesta recorded his first brace for Milan. He began to reemerge as a starter for the team and was one of Milan's most consistent players under Leonardo's tenure from 2009 to 2010. During Milan's triumphant Serie A campaign, Nesta maintained his excellent collaboration with fellow centerback Thiago Silva from 2010–11, forming a strong defensive pairing and conceding only 24 goals in 38 games. Milan also qualified to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia but were then disqualified in the Champions League's round of 16. Nesta is expected to retire at the end of the season, according to rumors during the 2010–11 season. On the other hand, he later admitted that he wanted to play one more season at Milan before retiring and signed a contract extension on May 18, which kept him on Milan's staff until 2012. Nesta was chosen to be a member of the Serie A Team of the Year in Milan for his contributions during the season's triumphant championship run.

Nesta started his Milan career by winning the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana, defeating city rivals Internazionale 2–1 in Beijing on August 6, 2011. Milan finished second second in Serie A this season and were disqualified in the Coppa Italia and the Champions League quarterfinals. Nesta announced his retirement from Serie A at the end of the season on May 10th during a press conference. Nesta had 325 caps, scoring ten goals during his ten seasons with the Milanese club. With Milan, he has won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, two Supercoppa Italiana, two Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, and a FIFA Club World Cup.

Nesta signed a major league Soccer contract on July 5, 2012. (MLS). He started an 18-month contract on a free transfer. He would not be signed as a designated player, according to the club. Nesta made his Impact debut against Lyon in a friendly match on July 24th. In a 3–1 home victory over the New York Red Bulls, he made his competitive debut three days later. Nesta was crowned with the Canadian Championship in 2013 in his first and only title.

Nesta announced on October 20th, 2013 that he would be retiring at the end of the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs after playing for two seasons with the Impact.

Nesta had signed for Chennaiyin FC of the Indian Super League for the remainder of the 2014 season, as it was reported on November 28th. Marco Materazzi, his former international defensive partner, had him drafted him. In Chennaiyin's last match of a regular season in which the team topped the league, he made his debut against Delhi Dynamos, 2–2 draw.

International career

Nesta began his career in Italy and was a member of the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, a point that was won by a 1–1 draw in the final against Spain; in the final against Italy, he scored Italy's fourth penalty in a 4–2 shoot-out victory. A few months later, he was named in Italy's UEFA Euro 1996 squad, Arrigo Sacchi, but did not come off the bench, as Italy was eliminated from the group stage by eventual finalists Germany and the Czech Republic, but not a few months later. He appeared in a qualifier for the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Moldova on October 5th, 1996, but he continued to make seven appearances in the qualifying campaign for the first time under Cesare Maldini. Nesta participated in all three group games, alongside Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Costacurta, and Giuseppe Bergomi, assisting Italy in keeping a clean sheet against Cameroon. Despite being disqualified by the hosts and eventual champions France on penalties in the quarter-finals, he made no further appearances due to illness.

Nesta was in the Italian starting lineup at Euro 2000, partnering with Paolo Maldini and Fabio Cannavaro in defense throughout the majority of the tournament after being active in defense for Italy during Dino Zoff's Euro 2000 qualifier campaign. Italy only conceded two goals en route to the final and kept three clean sheets throughout the tournament; the first against Belgium in the group stage and the second against Romania in the quarter-finals, in which he was named man of the match. After a 0–0 deadlock after extra time, a ten-man Italy defeated co-hosts the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. In the final, Italy advanced to the semifinals against defending World Cup Champions France. Following a goal by Marco Delvecchio in the 55th minute, Italy led the match 1–0 until the final minute of stoppage time, when Sylvain Wiltord scored the equalizer. As the Italians finished the Euro as runners-up, David Trezeguet scored the golden goal for France in extra time to defeat the Italians in their second straight tournament. Nesta and his defensive partners Maldini and Cannavaro were selected to be a part of the tournament's team for their accomplishments.

Nesta's remained a first-choice center back for Italy under new boss Giovanni Trapattoni, who appeared frequently during the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign. During the 2002 World Cup, he joined Fabio Cannavaro in central defense, keeping a clean sheet in the opening victory over Ecuador, but injury prevented him from playing in the second round, and Nesta did not participate in the controversial second round loss to co-hosts South Korea. As Italy defeated Italy in Euro 2004 qualifying group, Nesta ranked highly. The disappointment at major tournaments in Italy continued in 2014, but they were eliminated in the first round after a three-way five-point tie with Denmark and Sweden, and only to be defeated on direct encounters. In all three group games, Nesta managed to avoid injury and played for a full 90 minutes, aiding Italy in keeping a clean sheet against Denmark in the first round.

Nesta was kept in the starting lineup as Italy topped their qualification group en route to the 2006 World Cup after two previous disappointments. Despite starting the final tournament strongly and assisting Italy in their opening victory over Ghana, Nesta's World Cup proved to be a personal disappointment, as his injury in the final group game against the Czech Republic, which Italy defeated 2–0, kept him on the sidelines while Italy continued to win the trophy. Nesta made one appearance in the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Georgia on October 11, 2006, but persistent illness forced him to leave the international team after the World Cup. Nesta turned down Roberto Donadoni's invitation to return to the national team ahead of the final tournament. He turned down Marcello Lippi's invitation two years ago before the 2010 World Cup. He made 78 appearances for Italy in total.

Managerial career

Nesta was appointed as the first head coach of the newly formed Miami FC, which started playing in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in April 2016. Miami FC finished in first place in his second season as the 2017 NASL champions. However, the team was disqualified in the season playoffs semifinal round to the New York Cosmos after losing 6–5 on penalties after a goalless draw. Following the end of the 2017 season, he resigned as coach on November 17.

Nesta was proclaimed Perugia's chief on May 14, 2018. Nesta parted with Perugia on May 21, 2019 after a 4–1 loss to Verona in the 2018-19 Serie B promotion playoffs.

Nesta was appointed as the Frosinone's boss on a two-year deal on June 17th. The team finished 8th in the 2019-20 Serie B season, only making it to the playoffs. They lost the playoff final to Spezia after a 1–1 aggregate draw, although the opponents had been much better in the regular season. Nesta was fired on March 22, 2021, on March 22, 2021.

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