Gianluca Zambrotta facts for kids
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Zambrotta in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 February 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Como, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Full-back | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | Como | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Como | 48 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Bari | 59 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2006 | Juventus | 217 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Barcelona | 58 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | AC Milan | 80 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Chiasso | 10 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 472 | (26) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Italy U21 | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2010 | Italy | 100 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Chiasso (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Chiasso | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Delhi Dynamos | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Jiangsu Suning (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Gianluca Zambrotta (born 19 February 1977) is a former Italian footballer. He played as a full-back or a wide midfielder. He could play on both the left and right sides of the field.
Zambrotta played for several Italian clubs during his career. He started with his hometown club Como in 1994. He became well-known at Bari, which led to him joining Juventus in 1999. With Juventus, he won two Serie A titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles in 2002 and 2003. He also reached the 2003 UEFA Champions League final.
Later, he played for Barcelona from 2006 to 2008, winning the 2006 Supercopa de España. He then returned to Italy to play for AC Milan, where he won another Serie A and Supercoppa Italiana title in 2011. He finished his playing career with Swiss club Chiasso in 2014, and later became their coach.
For the Italian national team, Zambrotta played 100 games. He played in three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championship tournaments. He was a key player when Italy won the 2006 World Cup. He was also part of the team that reached the Euro 2000 final.
Contents
Playing Career: A Football Journey
Starting Out at Como
Zambrotta began his professional football journey at age 17 with his local club, Como, in 1994. In his first season, he played only one match. When Como moved down to a lower league in 1995, Zambrotta started playing more often. He played as a winger or a wide-midfielder. In two seasons, he played 47 games and scored 6 goals for Como.
Rising to Fame at Bari
In 1997, Zambrotta's talent was noticed by Bari's coach, Eugenio Fascetti. Bari had just moved up to Serie A, Italy's top league. Zambrotta made his Serie A debut on 31 August 1997. In his first year, he played on the left wing and scored 2 goals in 27 games.
In the 1998–99 season, Zambrotta really started to shine. He showed off his skills and smart play. On 10 February 1999, at just 22 years old, he played his first game for the senior Italian team. This was a friendly match against Norway. He became the first Bari player in 50 years to play for the national team. After this season, he moved to Juventus.
Winning Titles with Juventus
Zambrotta joined Juventus on 1 July 1999. In his first season, he played 32 league games and scored one goal. Juventus nearly won the league title that year but finished second. In the 2001–02 season, Zambrotta won his first Scudetto (Italian league title) with Juventus.
After an injury in 2002, Zambrotta started playing as a left-back. He quickly became very good in this new position. He showed his speed, energy, and ability to help both in attack and defense. Juventus won their second league title in a row in the 2002–03 season. They also reached the 2003 UEFA Champions League final, but lost to AC Milan in a penalty shootout.
Zambrotta won four league titles with Juventus in total. He played 217 league games and scored seven goals. In 2006, Juventus faced problems, and Zambrotta decided to leave the club. He moved to Barcelona for €14 million. During his seven years at Juventus, he was part of one of the best defenses in the world. He played 297 games for Juventus, scoring ten goals overall.
Time at Barcelona
Zambrotta signed a four-year contract with Barcelona in Spain. He joined his Juventus teammate Lilian Thuram there. He made his official debut for Barcelona on 17 August 2006. On 17 March 2007, he scored his first goal for the club. He also scored in other important games.
In two seasons with Barcelona, Zambrotta played 58 league games and scored three goals. After his time in Spain, he decided to return to Italy.
Returning to Italy with AC Milan
On 31 May 2008, Zambrotta signed a three-year contract with AC Milan. Milan paid €9 million for him. In the 2008–09 season, Zambrotta played more games than any other Milan player. On 21 September 2008, he scored his first goal for Milan from a long distance.
For the 2010–11 season, Zambrotta played in different positions. He helped Milan win their 18th Scudetto (league title). Later that year, he also won the Supercoppa Italiana with Milan. He played his last game for Milan on 13 May 2012.
Final Playing Days at Chiasso
After leaving Milan, Zambrotta started training with his hometown club Como in December 2012. In 2013, he began studying to become a coach.
On 19 July 2013, Zambrotta signed with Swiss club Chiasso. He also had the option to become a player-assistant manager. He made his debut for Chiasso on 11 August 2013. In November, he became the player-manager. He helped Chiasso avoid moving down to a lower league in May 2014, and then announced he was ending his playing career. He continued to manage Chiasso for another season.
International Career: Playing for Italy
Early Years with Italy
Zambrotta quickly caught the eye of the Italian national team. He played for the Italy under-21 team for the first time on 25 March 1998. He scored his first goal for the U21 team in April 1998.
On 10 February 1999, just before his 22nd birthday, Zambrotta played his first game for the senior Italian team. This is called earning his first "cap." It was a friendly match against Norway.
He played in UEFA Euro 2000 under manager Dino Zoff. Italy reached the final, and Zambrotta played in four games. However, he missed the final against France because he received a red card in the semi-final. Zambrotta also played for the under-21 team at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Under new manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Zambrotta also played for Italy at the 2002 World Cup. Italy was eliminated in the round of 16 by South Korea. Zambrotta had to leave the game early due to an injury.
Euro 2004 Performance
In 2003, Zambrotta became the main left-back for the national team. On 30 May 2004, he scored his first goal for Italy in a friendly game against Tunisia. Italy won 4-0.
At UEFA Euro 2004, Italy did not do well and was eliminated early. However, Zambrotta was praised for his performances. He was chosen as part of the "Team of the Tournament." In Italy's last group match, he helped set up the winning goal against Bulgaria.
Winning the 2006 World Cup
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New coach Marcello Lippi moved Zambrotta to right-back. He became a very important player in the team that qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Zambrotta had a small injury before the tournament, but he recovered quickly. He played his first game in the World Cup against the United States. In the quarter-final on 30 June, Italy beat Ukraine 3-0. Zambrotta scored the first goal with a powerful shot from far away. This was his second goal for Italy. He also made a great save on the goal-line and helped set up another goal for Luca Toni.
Zambrotta played in Italy's semi-final win against Germany. He also played in Italy's winning final against France. His ability to play in different positions helped the Italian team a lot. He was chosen for the 2006 World Cup All-Star team.
Later International Matches
Zambrotta also played for Italy at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. In 2010, he was chosen for the 2010 World Cup. He even captained Italy in a friendly game before the World Cup. Italy did not do well in this tournament and was eliminated in the first round.
Zambrotta played his last game for Italy on 12 October 2010, against Serbia. This was his 100th and final game for Italy. He is one of Italy's most-capped players of all time. In total, he scored two goals for Italy between 1999 and 2010.
Playing Style
Zambrotta is considered one of Italy's best attacking full-backs. Even though he was naturally right-footed, he could use both feet well. This made him very flexible, allowing him to play on both the left and right sides of the field. He could play as a full-back, a wing-back, or even as a winger or wide midfielder.
His main strengths were his speed, marking skills, tackling, and stamina. He was also good at running forward with the ball and sending in great crosses. He had a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. Zambrotta was a dynamic, energetic, and hard-working player with good technical skills.
Coaching Career
After managing Chiasso, Zambrotta became the head coach of an Indian football club called Delhi Dynamos in 2016. His former teammate Simone Barone was his assistant.
In June 2017, Zambrotta left Delhi Dynamos to become an assistant manager at a Chinese club, Jiangsu Suning.
Personal Life
Gianluca Zambrotta was born in Como, Italy. He is married to Valentina Liguori, who is an Italian model. Their first son, Riccardo, was born in August 2012.
In 2007, Zambrotta was named the honorary president of his hometown club, Como. In 2014, he opened a sports center in Como called the Eracle Sports Centre.
Zambrotta is also featured in the EA Sports' football video game FIFA 20 as one of the "Ultimate Team Icons."
Honours and Awards
Juventus
- Serie A: 2001–02, 2002–03
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2003
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2002-03
Barcelona
- Supercopa de España: 2006
AC Milan
- Serie A: 2010–11
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2011
Italy
- FIFA World Cup: 2006
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2000
Individual Awards
- UEFA Euro 2004: Team of the Tournament
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2006
- FIFPro World XI: 2006
- 2006 FIFA World Cup: All-Star Team
Special Recognition
- Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic: 2000
- Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic: 2006
- CONI: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: 2006
See also
In Spanish: Gianluca Zambrotta para niños
