Description
FABIO GROSSO BIOGRAPHY :
Fabio Grosso Ufficiale (born 28 November 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer and current manager of French Ligue 1 club Lyon. After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Perugia, he made his breakthrough during his two seasons with Palermo, which earned him a move to defending Serie A champions Inter Milan in 2006. During his only season with Inter, he helped the club defend the Serie A title and win the Supercoppa Italiana. He later also won titles with Lyon in France and with Juventus. Grosso retired in 2012 after winning the Scudetto with Juventus. At international level, Grosso made 48 appearances for Italy and scored the decisive late first goal against Germany in the 2006 World Cup semi-final. He also scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout against France in the final of the tournament which enabled the Azzurri to win the trophy for the fourth time in their history. He also represented Italy at UEFA Euro 2008 and at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
CRISTIAN ZACCARDO BIOGRAPHY :
Cristian Zaccardo Ufficiale (born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Italian club Bologna in 2000, and remained with the club until 2004, aside from a loan spell with Spezia. He subsequently moved to Palermo, where he came to prominence during his four seasons at the club. In 2008, he moved to German club VfL Wolfsburg for a season, where he won the 2008–09 Bundesliga title. He returned to Italy the following season, joining Parma, and in 2013 he moved to Milan, before joining Carpi in 2015; he spent the 2016–17 season on loan with Vicenza in Serie B. In October 2017, he joined Maltese Premier League side Ħamrun Spartans. In January 2019, he signed with San Marinese club Tre Fiori, where he won the Coppa Titano, before announcing his retirement in July. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team on 17 occasions between 2004 and 2007, scoring one goal; he was a member of the Italian side that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
FRANCESCO TOTTI BIOGRAPHY :
Francesco Totti (born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional footballer who played solely for Roma and the Italy national team primarily as an attacking midfielder or second striker, but could also play as a lone striker or winger. He is often referred to as Er Bimbo de Oro (The Golden Boy), L’Ottavo Re di Roma (The Eighth King of Rome), Er Pupone (The Big Baby), Il Capitano (The Captain), and Il Gladiatore (The Gladiator) by the Italian sports media. A creative offensive playmaker renowned for his vision, technique, and goalscoring ability, Totti is considered to be one of the greatest Italian players of all time and Roma’s greatest player ever. Totti spent his entire career at Roma, winning a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. He is the second-highest scorer of all time in Italian league history with 250 goals, and is the sixth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions with 316 goals. Totti is the top goalscorer and the most capped player in Roma’s history, holds the record for the most goals scored in Serie A while playing for a single club, and also holds the record for the youngest club captain in the history of Serie A. In November 2014, Totti extended his record as the oldest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, aged 38 years and 59 days. A 2006 FIFA World Cup winner and UEFA Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. In 2007, Totti announced his international retirement due to recurring physical problems and in order to focus solely on club play with Roma. Totti won a record eleven Oscar del Calcio awards from the Italian Footballers’ Association: five Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Goal of the Year awards, one Serie A Goalscorer of the Year award, and one Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award. He also won the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the 2010 Golden Foot. Totti was selected in the European Sports Media team of the season three times. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world’s greatest living players as selected by Pelé, as part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations. In 2011, Totti was recognised by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe. In 2015, France Football rated him as one of the ten-best footballers in the world who are over age 36. Following his retirement in 2017, Totti was awarded the Player’s Career Award and the UEFA President’s Award.
Francesco Totti (born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional footballer who played solely for Roma and the Italy national team primarily as an attacking midfielder or second striker, but could also play as a lone striker or winger. He is often referred to as Er Bimbo de Oro (The Golden Boy), L’Ottavo Re di Roma (The Eighth King of Rome), Er Pupone (The Big Baby), Il Capitano (The Captain), and Il Gladiatore (The Gladiator) by the Italian sports media. A creative offensive playmaker renowned for his vision, technique, and goalscoring ability, Totti is considered to be one of the greatest Italian players of all time and Roma’s greatest player ever. Totti spent his entire career at Roma, winning a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. He is the second-highest scorer of all time in Italian league history with 250 goals, and is the sixth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions with 316 goals. Totti is the top goalscorer and the most capped player in Roma’s history, holds the record for the most goals scored in Serie A while playing for a single club, and also holds the record for the youngest club captain in the history of Serie A. In November 2014, Totti extended his record as the oldest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, aged 38 years and 59 days. A 2006 FIFA World Cup winner and UEFA Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. In 2007, Totti announced his international retirement due to recurring physical problems and in order to focus solely on club play with Roma. Totti won a record eleven Oscar del Calcio awards from the Italian Footballers’ Association: five Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Goal of the Year awards, one Serie A Goalscorer of the Year award, and one Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award. He also won the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the 2010 Golden Foot. Totti was selected in the European Sports Media team of the season three times. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world’s greatest living players as selected by Pelé, as part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations. In 2011, Totti was recognised by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe. In 2015, France Football rated him as one of the ten-best footballers in the world who are over age 36. Following his retirement in 2017, Totti was awarded the Player’s Career Award and the UEFA President’s Award.
MASSIMO ODDO BIOGRAPHY:
Massimo Oddo Ufficiale (born 14 June 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a full-back. Oddo played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, although he is mainly remembered for his time with Lazio, where he won the Coppa Italia, and in particular, Milan, where he won several titles, including the UEFA Champions League and the Scudetto; he also had a spell on loan with German club Bayern Munich. At international level he represented the Italian squad at UEFA Euro 2004, and was also part of the team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
MARCO AMELIA BIOGRAPHY :
Marco Amelia Ufficiale OMRI (born 2 April 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and current coach. A Roma youth product, Amelia spent most of his professional club career at Livorno, where he made 181 appearances across all competitions, including playing and scoring in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup. He later played for several other Italian clubs, and also had a spell in England as a reserve goalkeeper with Chelsea. At international level, Amelia won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, and earned nine senior caps for Italy between 2005 and 2009. He was part of the squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, also being included for Italy’s UEFA Euro 2008 and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squads.
ANDREA PIRLO BIOGRAPHY :
Andrea Pirlo Ufficiale (born 19 May 1979) is an Italian football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie B club Sampdoria. Considered one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the sport, Pirlo was renowned for his vision, ball control, technique, creativity, passing, and free kick ability.
ALESSANDRO NESTA BIOGRAPHY:
Alessandro Nesta (born 19 March 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Serie B club Frosinone. Widely considered to be one of the best centre backs of his time and also as one of the greatest defenders ever, he was best known for his pace, artistic tackles, elegance on the ball, distribution and tight marking of opponents. He made over 400 Serie A appearances in a 20-year career spread between Lazio and Milan, winning domestic and European honours with both clubs. Later in his career, he played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for the Montreal Impact, and for Chennaiyin FC of the Indian Super League. Nesta is a four-time Serie A Defender of the Year and a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 100 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebration. Nesta was a member of the Italy national team for a decade from his debut in 1996, earning 78 caps in total. At international level, he competed at the 1996 Olympics, three UEFA European Championships, and three FIFA World Cups. Nesta was a member of the Italian team that won the 2006 World Cup, and he also represented the Italian side that reached the final of Euro 2000.
Alessandro Nesta (born 19 March 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Serie B club Frosinone. Widely considered to be one of the best centre backs of his time and also as one of the greatest defenders ever, he was best known for his pace, artistic tackles, elegance on the ball, distribution and tight marking of opponents. He made over 400 Serie A appearances in a 20-year career spread between Lazio and Milan, winning domestic and European honours with both clubs. Later in his career, he played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for the Montreal Impact, and for Chennaiyin FC of the Indian Super League. Nesta is a four-time Serie A Defender of the Year and a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 100 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebration. Nesta was a member of the Italy national team for a decade from his debut in 1996, earning 78 caps in total. At international level, he competed at the 1996 Olympics, three UEFA European Championships, and three FIFA World Cups. Nesta was a member of the Italian team that won the 2006 World Cup, and he also represented the Italian side that reached the final of Euro 2000.
LUCA TONI BIOGRAPHY :
Luca Toni Ufficiale OMRI (born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competitions; with 322 career goals, he is currently the fourth-highest scoring Italian player of all time. Something of a footballing nomad, at club level, Toni played for twelve different Italian teams throughout his career. A late bloomer, he spent several seasons in the lower divisions of Italian football, as well as promising spells with minor Serie A clubs Vicenza and Brescia, before finally making his breakthrough with Palermo: he helped the team to Serie A promotion during the 2003–04 season by winning the Serie B title, and was the league’s top scorer with 30 goals; the following season, he helped the club qualify for Europe, scoring 20 goals in Serie A. After two prolific seasons with Fiorentina, Toni also spent three seasons with German side Bayern Munich, where he helped the club to a domestic treble during the 2007–08 season, also reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals; after falling out with the club’s manager during his third season with the team, and being demoted to the reserve squad, he later returned to Italy on loan with Roma in 2010, and subsequently had spells with Genoa and Juventus. In 2012, he played for Al-Nasr Dubai SC, in the UAE Arabian Gulf League, but returned to Fiorentina for a season later that year. He retired in 2016, after three seasons with Verona, the last as team captain. At international level, he represented the Italian national team on 47 occasions, scoring 16 goals. He made his international debut in 2004 and took part at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with Italy; he most notably contributed to Italy’s 2006 World Cup victory, as he scored twice and was elected to the tournament’s All-star team. In addition to the team medals he collected, Toni also won several individual honours: during his first spell with Fiorentina, he won the Capocannoniere (Serie A top scorer) award during the 2005–06 season, in which he scored 31 goals (the most goals in a Serie A season since 1958–59), which also earned him the European Golden Shoe, becoming the first Italian player ever to win the award; he was also the league’s joint top scorer in the 2014–15 Serie A season, in which he became the oldest player to win the award at the age of 38, with 22 goals. Toni also finished as top scorer in the 2007–08 Bundesliga, with 24 goals, and in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, with 10 goals.
DANIELE DE ROSSI BIOGRAPHY:
Daniele De Rossi Ufficiale OMRI (born 24 July 1983) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, currently in charge as assistant coach of the Italy national football team. He is mostly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A, as well as a former FIFA World Cup-winning Italy national team player. De Rossi made his professional debut with Roma during the 2001–02 season, and made his Serie A debut the following year. With the club, he won the Coppa Italia twice in 2007 and 2008, and the 2007 Supercoppa Italiana. He was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2006, and the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year in 2009. De Rossi inherited the captaincy of Roma at the start of the 2017–18 season, following the retirement of Francesco Totti, during which he helped Roma to the Champions League semi-final for the first time in the Champions League era. At the end of the 2018–19 season, he left Roma after 18 seasons with the team. With 616 appearances for Roma in all competitions, he is the club’s second-most capped player of all time, behind Totti. He subsequently joined Argentine club Boca Juniors in the summer of 2019, and retired from professional football in January of the following year. De Rossi represented Italy at under-19, under-20, under-21 and senior levels, winning the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, and also represented Italy at the 2004 Olympics, winning a bronze medal. From his senior international debut in 2004, until his retirement from the national team in 2017, he earned 117 caps, and is Italy’s fourth-highest capped player of all time. With 21 goals, he is the highest scoring midfielder for Italy post-World War II, and Italy’s all-time second most prolific midfielder behind Adolfo Baloncieri. He was part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning squad and has also participated at UEFA Euro 2008, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012 (finishing in second place), the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup (finishing in third place), the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2016. De Rossi was named in the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament for his performances. Along with Mario Balotelli and Giuseppe Rossi, De Rossi is Italy’s top scorer in the Confederations Cup, with two goals. In 2009, the French sports magazine L’Équipe named De Rossi as the eighth-best midfielder in the world.
MARCO MATERAZZI BIOGRAPHY:
Marco Materazzi Ufficiale OMRI (born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two periods with Perugia (1995–98 and 1999–2001) and signed for Inter Milan in 2001 for €10 million. At club level, he won a number of major honors with Inter, including five Serie A league titles in a row from 2006 to 2010, one UEFA Champions League, one FIFA Club World Cup, four Coppa Italia titles, and the Supercoppa Italiana four times. Materazzi earned 41 caps for Italy from his debut in 2001 until 2008, playing in two World Cups and two European Championships. He was one of the key players in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final against France; he gave away an early penalty that led to France’s first goal, scored Italy’s equalising goal twelve minutes later and, in extra time, received a headbutt from Zinedine Zidane who was punished with a red card. Italy then went on to win the World Cup in a penalty shoot-out, during which Materazzi scored again. A controversial and provocative figure in football, he was known for his very physical and aggressive style of defending, which saw him collect numerous cards throughout his career.
VINCENZO IAQUINTA BIOGRAPHY:
Vincenzo Iaquinta Ufficiale OMRI (born 21 November 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Prior to joining Juventus in 2007, he initially played for several smaller Italian clubs, and subsequently moved to Udinese in 2000, where he spent seven seasons, representing the club in the UEFA Champions League. After failing to make an appearance under new manager Antonio Conte during the first half of the 2011–12 season, in January 2012, he was sent on a half-season loan to Cesena; he returned to Juventus the following season, but once again made no appearances due to injury as the club won the league title; he subsequently retired from football in 2013. Iaquinta played 40 matches for the Italy national football team between 2005 and 2010, scoring six goals. He was included in their squad which won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as well as the team for the 2010 edition of the tournament, scoring a goal on each occasion; he also took part at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with Italy.
