Alessandro Pistone facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 July 1975 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Milan, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Full-back | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Solbiatese | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | AC Crevalcore | 29 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Vicenza | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Inter Milan | 45 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Newcastle United | 46 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | → Venezia (loan) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2000–2007 | Everton | 103 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | R.A.E.C. Mons | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 263 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Italy U21 | 11 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | F.C.D. Oggiono | |||||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Alessandro Pistone (born 27 July 1975) is a former professional football player from Italy. He played as a full-back, which is a defensive position on the side of the field. After his playing career, he also became a football manager.
Alessandro was known for playing with big teams like Inter Milan in Italy and Newcastle United and Everton in England. He also played for other clubs such as Solbiatese, Vicenza, Venezia, and R.A.E.C. Mons. He also played for the Italy Under-21 national team and represented his country in the 1996 Olympics.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting Out in Italy
Alessandro Pistone was born in Milan, Italy. He began his football journey at small Italian clubs like Solbiatese and AC Crevalcore. These teams were not very big. Later, he moved to Vicenza for the 1995–96 season. His good playing there caught the attention of Roy Hodgson, who was the manager of Internazionale at the time.
Playing for Inter Milan
In 1996, Pistone joined Internazionale, also known as Inter Milan. This was a dream come true for him, as it was his hometown club. He played 45 games for Inter. He also played in the final of the 1997 UEFA Cup Final in 1997, but his team lost that match.
Time at Newcastle United
After his impressive season at Inter Milan, Newcastle United bought Pistone in July 1997 for about £4.5 million. Even though he was usually a full-back, he sometimes played as a central defender for Newcastle. He played in the 1998 FA Cup Final in 1998, but Newcastle United lost to Arsenal.
During his second season, Pistone got injured. He was later not chosen to play by the new manager. He even trained with the reserve team for a while. However, when a new manager, Bobby Robson, took over, Pistone started playing regularly again. He scored one goal for Newcastle in a league game against Middlesbrough in May 2000.
Moving to Everton
In July 2000, Pistone moved to Everton for about £3 million. He played in the first game of the 2000–01 season. However, he then faced many injuries, including a serious knee injury that kept him out for six months. Because of these injuries, he only played 8 games in his first season with Everton.
Pistone continued to struggle with injuries in the 2001–02 season, missing most of the games. But he did score his first goal for Everton against Bolton Wanderers that season.
He managed to overcome his injuries and played in most of Everton's games during the 2004–05 season. His contract was ending, and the manager was worried about his injuries. So, he was first offered a one-year contract. Pistone didn't sign it at first. But when Everton qualified for the Champions League, they needed more defenders. So, he was offered a new two-year contract, which he accepted.
In the 2005–06 season, Pistone played only 3 games before getting another serious knee injury. This injury ended his season early. After this, he did not play any more first-team games for Everton. He left the club on 14 May 2007, after playing 103 games for them over seven years.
Later Career and Retirement
After leaving Everton, Pistone tried out for other clubs like Middlesbrough and Watford, but he did not get a contract with them.
He then went to Belgium and signed with RAEC Mons in December 2007. He said he felt the club believed in him. However, he only played four games for them before leaving at the end of the 2007–08 season.
International Games
Alessandro Pistone played for the Italian Under-21 national team. He helped them win the European Under-21 Championships in 1996. In the final against Spain, he even scored a penalty kick in the shootout that helped Italy win. Pistone also played for Italy at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Life After Playing Football
Coaching Young Players
After he stopped playing football, Pistone started coaching. He worked with young players at clubs like Aldini Bariviera and Varese Calcio. In 2015, he became the manager of a first team called Oggiono in Italy's fifth league. He left Oggiono in 2016 because of the club's money problems.
Other Activities
Since retiring from football, Alessandro Pistone has also played in poker tournaments in Italy. He also owns and runs a restaurant in Milano near Central Station, Italy. His restaurant is known for a special dish called Saveloy Dip.
See also
In Spanish: Alessandro Pistone para niños
