Official Site of The 2002 FIFA World Cup TM | May 31 - June 30
2002 FIFA World Cup - Korea and Japan
Seoul - Tokyo, 29 May 2002
News
Teams
Groups
Match Schedule
Photo Gallery
Preliminaries
Official Downloads
Referees
Germany 2006
 
  FIFA Club
Sign up for Newsletter
Play the Budweiser Challenge
FIFA Club
  Promotions
Win Tickets with the Budweiser Challenge
For more on Destination Korea, Click Here!
  Help
Help
Official Partners



 Italy (ITA)

13 NESTA Alessandro

Birth Date:  19 March 1976
Height:  187 cm
Weight:  79 kg
Position:  DF
Current Club:  Lazio Rome (ITA)
Int'l Goals:  0 (as of 27 May 2002)
Int'l Caps:  43 (as of 27 May 2002)
First Int'l Cap:  Moldova ( 5 October 1996)

 Stats - FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Legend  
 MP   MinP   WCG   A   PG   S   SOG   YC   RC   FC   FS   TC 
 0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0 

Profile:
In Alessandro Nesta, Italian supporters can find a bit of solace. Along with Paolo Maldini and Fabio Cannavaro, Nesta forms Italy's rock-solid defence. Nesta has what the other two have: FIFA World CupTM experience. The trio will be counted upon to lead Italy deep into the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.

The Lazio's defender is just 26 years old and is seen by many as the heir apparent to Maldini, as the Lazio product has continued to evolve into a world-class defender.

Nesta made his debut with Lazio at the age of 17. Soon, he was part of a side that would finish in the top six it Italy's Serie A every single season. Not until 2000, though, would he celebrate a Scudetto with the Roman club.

Nesta's defensive skills earned him a quick call-up to the national team. He made the trip with the Azzurri to the UEFA European Championship England 1996 but did not play a game. Soon after making his senior debut against Moldova a few months later, Nesta and Cannavaro would prove to be the best young defenders in the Italy squad, and Nesta quickly earned the respect of his comrades.

""Alessandro has won a lot over the last few years and has picked up a lot of experience very quickly,"" Cannavaro said. ""He makes very few mistakes. He's always there to help out, and he's used to winning under pressure.""

Nesta's ball control is as good as many of the forwards he shuts down in Serie A. His vision when he moves the ball out of Italy's third is extraordinary. At Euro 2000, Nesta was a major part of Italy's run to the final match. Though the Italians ultimately succumbed to an outstanding France side, Nesta and the Italian defence nearly carried Italy to the title.

The Azzurri's defender will have the task of stopping tough Ecuadorian, Croatian, and Mexican strikers in the group stage in Japan this summer, but if his history holds form, Nesta will come out on top.

 FIFA World Cup Matches
17 June 1998 Italy - Cameroon 3-0 (1-0)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)
11 June 1998 Italy - Chile 2-2 (1-1)
1998 FIFA World Cup France (TM)





Matches
ITA : ECU
03 Jun / Sapporo
ITA : CRO
08 Jun / Ibaraki
MEX : ITA
13 Jun / Oita

Full Schedule...
Squad
 1 BUFFON Gianluigi (GK)
 2 PANUCCI Christian
 3 MALDINI Paolo
 4 COCO Francesco
 5 CANNAVARO Fabio
 6 ZANETTI Cristiano
 7 DEL PIERO Alessandro
 8 GATTUSO Gennaro
 9 INZAGHI Filippo
 10 TOTTI Francesco
 11 DONI Cristiano
 12 ABBIATI Christian (GK)
 13 NESTA Alessandro
 14 DI BIAGIO Luigi
 15 IULIANO Mark
 16 DI LIVIO Angelo
 17 TOMMASI Damiano
 18 DELVECCHIO Marco
 19 ZAMBROTTA Gianluca
 20 MONTELLA Vincenzo
 21 VIERI Christian
 22 TOLDO Francesco (GK)
 23 MATERAZZI Marco
Photo Gallery
Belgium's Branko Strupar
More photos...
View Slideshow
FIFA Archives
France 1998
photo gallery
 
More photos...


FIFAworldcup.com
Home | Destination Asia | Entertainment | Pure Football | Tournament
©2002 FIFA, All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Copyright Notice | Privacy Policy
Top picture ©POPPERFOTO
Yahoo! Official Partner2002 FIFA World Cup - Korea and Japan