The best of a generation, a World Cup winner and unsung hero, Alessandro Nesta is the latest top player to announce his retirement from the beautiful game.
The 37-year-old Italian has been a household name on the world stage for as long as one cares to remember, with stellar performances for Lazio, AC Milan and Italy.
The final chapter in the accomplished centre-half’s footballing journey has seen him player for Montreal Impact in the MLS, and he has admitted that his playing days will come to a close after the current campaign.
The defender has played a role in leading Impact to a place in the finals series, and the 37-year-old will try to end his career on a high by winning a landmark 20th competition before calling it a day.
A world away from the Canadian city he has called home since July 2012, Nesta started his career in native Rome, signing for Lazio’s youth academy all the way back in 1985.
Nine momentous years in the Biancocelesti’s first team marked one of the most successful spells in the Stadio Olimpico club’s history, with Nesta as the club’s standout performer, captain and talisman.
The resolute defender led Lazio to the Scudetto in 1999-2000 for only the second time in the capital city club’s history, following the side’s only ever European success the season before; the Uefa Cup Winners Cup.
Two Coppa Italias and two Supercoppa Italiana triumphs were added domestically, while Lazio also won the 1999 European Super Cup against Manchester United.
Nesta made his debut for Italy while the captain of Lazio, but a 2002 move to AC Milan saw the defender recognised as one of the best in the business. He followed in the footsteps great Italian defenders at the Giuseppe Meazza, such as Franco Baresi; he now is one of those great defenders.
Alongside the likes of Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini and Cafu, Nesta took his place in a formidable Rossoneri backline. Two Serie A titles, three domestic cup triumphs, two Champions League crowns and over 200 Serie A appearances followed.
Following his debut for the Azzurri in 1996, Nesta became a mainstay in the European nation’s rearguard, and amassed 78 caps over a ten-year international career. The highlight came just as he was ready to call it a day; winning the 2006 World Cup.
Often unappreciated, with the likes of Fabio Cannavaro and Maldini gaining the widespread acclaim at national level, Nesta’s assurance and positional sense for club and country were something of legend.
He followed in a great line of amazing Italian centre-halves and typified the attributes of his predecessors; strength, an unparalleled reading of the game and complete doggedness.
The retirement of Alessandro Nesta means the removal of another legendary name from the game’s playing personnel, but the ageing defender has admitted that he is interested in becoming a coach.
A truly world-class player, Nesta will be missed.
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