Today marked a sad moment in Serie A, Alessandro Nesta declared this is his last season in Italian football. Born and raised in Rome, Alessandro Nesta played a club affiliated with Roma and was scouted from a very young age. Roma desperately wanted to sign Alessandro but Nesta’s father turned down Roma’s offer and let Lazio coach his boy as the family were huge Lazio fans. Joining their academy at the age of nine Alessandro like most young players didn’t have a set position, yet. As he grew older it became apparent that he was to play in defence.
Young Nesta
Nesta who was still in the young team first came to the attention of Lazio fans for all of the wrong reasons, in a training session in 1994 he went in for a tackle with Paul Gasgoigne and broke his leg. Dino Zoff, the Lazio manager at the time, came to the young man’s defence and clarified that the challenge was fine but it simply was bad luck on Gazza’s part. Three years later Alessandro was already Lazio’s team captain, his performances and leadership were already years ahead of him. The young Roman, a season later lead his men to victory in the Coppa Italia final, their first for 40 years, against AC Milan where he scored the winning goal. Success at his boyhood club did not end there, the year after lifting the Coppa Italia he helped Lazio win the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in it’s final year – Lazio are the eternal holders of the Cup Winners Cup, as a result. At the pinnacle of Lazio’s recent years Nesta guided them to a Scudetto in 1999/00 under the reign of Sven Goran Erikson. Lazio sadly were forced to sell Nesta due to financial reasons on deadline day in 2002/03. He was now a Milan player.
Success at Lazio
Nesta’s time at Milan was even more showered with titles than his time at Lazio. In his first season he won the Champions League, the fans loved him. In his time at the club he won two league titles, two Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, an Italian Super Cup, an Italian Cup, two League Super Cups and a FIFA Club world Cup. Even in his final season in Serie A he was pulling out performances of the highest level, most notably in the games against Barcelona in the Champions League – the game he played when they drew 2-2 at the San Siro was simply a masterclass in defending.
Nesta’s international career spanned for a golden period of 11 years. He made his first team debut in 1996 after having won the U21 European Championship and retired shortly after winning the World Cup in 2006 due to constant injury. Injury had plagued Nesta’s career and despite being part of the World Cup winning team he didn’t make it past the group stages and watched Italy win the tournament from the bench. In 2008 he suffered a huge set back which put him out for an entire season, many claimed his career was finished but Nesta remained focused. He returned the following season and played for another three years for Milan.
Milan
Alessandro was an agile defender who could carry the ball forward from a young age as he played in various positions up until breaking into the first team. His pace helped him along with the timing and anticipation of his tackling which was second to none. Even as he grew older and was not as fast as he once was his anticipation and reading of the game more than made up for it. In a recent documentary he pays homage to all off his managers through the years and says how each one had an influence on him even all the way back to his very first coach when he was 4 years old.
A true footballing great who was synonymous with the number 13 shirt. Alessandro Nesta is bowing out at the right time; with grace and dignity. In his press conference in which he declared that he would be leaving Italian football he stated: “I don’t want to wait for my turn on my bench… If I don’t feel important [within the club] I’d rather stay at home”. A natural born leader and champion, a good man and most notably – the last of a golden generation of Italian defenders. Alessandro Nesta hangs up his boots in Italy and it is presumed that he will embark on a new journey over-seas, most likely in the MLS. Good luck to him, no doubt he will be a star there as he has been in Italy.
Nesta tackling Zidane
Along with Nesta’s faultless trophy collection, he also has some excellent individual titles which truly highlight his pedigree:
– Serie A Young Player of the Year: 1998
– Serie A Defender of the Year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
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