Alessandro Nesta,born March 19, 1976 in Rieti, is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.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.
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. He usually partnered captain Fabio Cannavaro in the heart of the defense.
During the 2006 World Cup, 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 FIFA World Cup, and missed Italy's final game in the 2002 FIFA World Cup with an injured foot.
After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nesta's continuous injuries forced him to retire from the international team. Coach Roberto Donadoni unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to come out of retirement for Euro 2008.
On 7 May 2007, Nesta married his fiancée, Gabriela Pagnozzi, in a civil ceremony in Milan; the religious ceremony followed on May 30, 2007. Gabriela 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, she has stayed with me." Their daughter, Sofia, was born on October 19, 2006 and on March 20, 2008 their son Tommaso was born.
ALESSANDRO NESTA PROFILE
Full name: Alessandro Nesta
Date of birth: March 19, 1976 (1976-03-19) (age 35)
Place of birth: Rieti, Italy
Height: 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing position: Centre back
Club information
Current club: Milan
Number: 13
Youth career
1985–1993 Lazio
Senior career*
1993–2002 Lazio 193 (1)
2002– Milan 203 (6)
National team‡
1995–1996 Italy U-21 6 (1)
1996–2006 Italy 78 (0)
