Description
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.
