Alessandro Nesta

Alessandro Nesta (born 19 March 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is currently manager of Serie B club Reggiana.

Usually deployed as a centre-back, he is widely considered as one of the best defenders of all time.

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 AC 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 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.

He began his youth career with Lazio in 1985, playing in various roles, including as a striker and midfielder, before being placed in the role of a defender.

In the 1993–94 season he was called up to the first team, and on 13 March 1994 he made his debut in a 2–2 away draw against Udinese; Nesta came on for Pierluigi Casiraghi during the 78th minute.

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.

He assumed the team captaincy in 1997 under Sven-Göran Eriksson, and helped Lazio win the 1998 Coppa Italia against AC Milan in the final, in which he scored the winning goal.

He would also make the UEFA Cup Final that season, losing out to Internazionale.

Nesta was awarded the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award at the 1998 Italian footballing awards for his performance throughout the season.

The following year he was forced to stay out for nearly half the season due to ligament injuries suffered during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

He returned to the field in December, and, as captain, led Lazio in the title race, lost by a single point on the final day of the season.

He did, however, win the first two trophies at the international level of his team: the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, won against Mallorca, and, in August, the European Super Cup over Manchester United.

In the 1999–2000 season he led Lazio to the Scudetto and Coppa Italia, winning the double.

During the 2000–01 season, under Dino Zoff, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana and finished third in Serie A. Nesta's performances and success for Lazio during this period earned him three consecutive Serie A Defender of the Year awards between 2000 and 2002.

Financial problems for Lazio and its then-president Sergio Cragnotti led to the sale of Nesta to Milan in 2002.

Nesta left the club with a backlog salary of €2 million, half of which were converted into shares of the Biancocelesti club.

Just before the 2002–03 Serie A campaign, financial woes forced Lazio to sell many of their best players, including Nesta, who transferred to Milan for €30,987,000 (60 billion lire).

During this time, he would form a formidable defensive line alongside Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Alessandro Costacurta and Jaap Stam, among others.

Nesta's first two seasons with the Rossoneri were very successful.

During the 2002–03 season, he won the Champions League for the first time in his career as Milan defeated rivals Juventus at Old Trafford in the first all-Italian Champions League final in history.

Nesta helped Milan keep a clean sheet during the match, which went to a penalty shootout following a 0–0 deadlock after extra time.

Nesta was able to score his penalty kick as Milan won the shootout 3–2.

Nesta also won the Coppa Italia over Roma during his first season at the club, while Milan finished third in Serie A that season.

Nesta was once again awarded the Serie A Defender of the Year award for his performances, and was elected to be part of the UEFA Team of the Year.

The following season, Milan lost both the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana to Juventus and the Intercontinental Cup final to Boca Juniors, on penalties.

Nesta managed to win the European Super Cup with Milan against Porto, however, and captured his second Scudetto that season, during which Milan set an Italian record for points won.

Milan were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, to eventual winners Lazio, although Nesta managed to score a goal in the quarter-final match against Roma.

Nesta was once again elected to be part of the UEFA Team of the Year, for the third consecutive season.

In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 100 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration.

In 2021, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Nesta began the next season by defeating his former team Lazio to capture the 2004 Supercoppa Italiana.

Milan also reached the Champion's League final in 2005, losing to Liverpool on penalties, while in Serie A, they finished behind champions Juventus.

Despite finishing second in both Serie A and the Champions League, Nesta was elected to the 2005 FIFPro World XI for the first time in his career, for his performances.

During the 2005–06 AC Milan season, Milan once again finished behind Juventus in Serie A, although both Juventus and Milan were later deducted points for being involved in the 2006 matchfixing scandal, and the title was awarded to Internazionale; Juventus were relegated while Milan finishing in third place after the point deduction.

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.

Nesta was first discovered by Francesco Rocca, a scout for Roma, but his father, a Lazio fan, turned down the offer.