 Birindelli training withJuventus in 2006 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1974-11-12)12 November 1974 (age 51) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pisa, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Full-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Pianese (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| San Frediano | |||||||||||||||||
| –1992 | Empoli | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1997 | Empoli | 117 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2008 | Juventus | 196 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Pisa | 37 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Pescina Valle del Giovenco | 27 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 377 | (3) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Italy U23 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Italy | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Pistoiese | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Pianese | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Alessandro Birindelli (Italian pronunciation:[alesˈsandrobirinˈdɛlli]; born 12 November 1974) is an Italian former professionalfootballer who played as afull-back or as awide midfielder. He is the head coach ofSerie C Group B clubPianese.
Equally at ease on both the left and the right flanks,[1] he was best known for his 11-year spell withJuventus, during which time he won several accolades and appeared in 305 official games in all competitions.
Born to Paolo and Erminia Birindelli inPisa as the second of two children, Birindelli started playing football at the age of eight for the local team of San Frediano (an area of Pisa not far from his boyhood home and thechurch of the same name).
A longtimeJuventus fan, being an admirer ofMichel Platini, he was also influenced byPaolo Maldini's professionalism and sportsmanship,[2] and enteredEmpoli FC's youth academy, beginning his career as aright winger before moving into defence. In 1996, he won theCoppa Italia Serie C, as the team finished second in its group inSerie C1, thus earningSerie B promotion; Empoli followed this withanother climb, now toSerie A, after collecting 64 points which trailed onlyBrescia Calcio's 66.
After nearly 150 official matches, Birindelli ended his career with Empoli and moved to Juventus in 1997, managed at the time byMarcello Lippi, joining an already strong squad – which featured young prodigiesAlessandro Del Piero andZinedine Zidane – and arriving alongsideEdgar Davids andFilippo Inzaghi. He made his league debut in a 2–0 victory overUS Lecce on 31 August, but his first competitive appearance had taken place in theSupercoppa Italiana defeat ofVicenza Calcio.
Inhis first season Birindelli won theScudetto overInter Milan, by five points. He was an unusedsubstitute as the clublost theUEFA Champions League for the second consecutive time,now toReal Madrid.[3]
Birindelli won two more leagues with Juventus, in2002 and2003, adding twoItalian Supercups and also reaching twoCoppa Italia finals. Again, he was a part of the side which lost in a Champions League final, this time in the2002–03 edition againstAC Milan onpenalties which was the first all-Italian final in the history of the competition, being one of only team players to convert his attempt in an eventual 3–2 defeat.[4]
In the summer of 2005, while playing a friendly againstS.L. Benfica, Birindelli injured his ankle and missed the entirecampaign. Due to theTurin club's involvement in the2006 Italian football scandal, it was stripped of its2005 and 2006 titles, and also relegated to the second division.
Birindelli and Juventus initially started2006–07 with a 30-point deduction as a further punishment for their role in the match-fixing scandal, but it was ultimately reduced to nine, which allowed for anotherCadetti conquest for the player and the subsequent promotion. He contributed with 37 league appearances to this feat, while also becomingvice-captain.
Claudio Ranieri took over as coach for the2007–08 season, and Birindelli only played seven times in the league. On 17 May 2008, he left the club after 11 years, claiming that he wished to continue playing for another year or two.[5]
On 22 July 2008, Birindelli was announced asPisa Calcio's new signing, thus finally giving him the opportunity to play for his hometown side.[6] However,the team suffered relegation from the second tier at the end of the campaign, and then excluded from Italian football due to financial issues.
In August 2009, Birindelli signed a two-year contract with lowlyAS Pescina Valle del Giovenco.[7] He found himself afree agent in June 2010, after the club was excluded from football due to heavy debts.
Birindelli representedItaly's under-17s at the1991 FIFA World Championship, but did not start in any of the team's three games. His first start in a national jersey was as part of theMarco Tardelli-led under-23 squad that competed in the 1997Mediterranean Games, held inBari: the nation went on to win thegold medal, with him featuring in three of the four matches including the final againstTurkey.
Birindelli'sfull debut came withGiovanni Trapattoni on 20 November 2002, a 1–1friendly draw with Turkey. He went on to gain a further fivecaps in nearly two years, the last being the 2–0 loss inIceland, and was not summoned forUEFA Euro 2004.
In July 2010 Birindelli retired from active football, immediately being named assistant coach in theZambia national team led by countrymanDario Bonetti. He resigned from his position in February 2011, due to misunderstandings.[8]
Birindelli was a hard-working, tenacious, and versatile player, who was capable of playing as a full-back or wide midfielder on either flank, although he often played on the right side of the pitch. He was mainly known for his speed, stamina, and consistency, as well as his sportsmanship, which enabled him to cover the flank effectively.[1][2][9][10][11]
Birindelli served as assistant coach to theZambia between 2010 and 2011. On 19 September 2011, Birindelli was appointed head coach atUS Pistoiese 1921 inSerie D, leaving his post the following month.
He successively worked as an assistant coach atDinamo București (2012), then joined as head of youth development atPisa (2013-2014) andTrapani (2014-2016).
From 2016 to 2017, Birindelli worked as a coaching member ofEmpoli FC Youth Sector, in charge of the Under-17 team. He successively moved toPisa SC, spending four years with the youth teams of theNerazzurri, before returning to Empoli in 2021 as a youth coach.
On 17 June 2025, Birindelli took over at Serie C clubPianese.[12]
Birindelli married childhood sweetheart Silvia, with whom he had two children, Samuele and Matteo.[2]Samuele Birindelli made his professional debut as a defender forPisa in December 2016.[13]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Empoli | 1992–93 | Serie C1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1993–94 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 1994–95 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||||
| 1995–96 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Serie B | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | |||
| Total | 117 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 121 | 1 | ||||
| Juventus | 1997–98 | Serie A | 29 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 10[a] | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 47 | 2 |
| 1998–99 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8[a] | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2000–01 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 9[a] | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13[a] | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Serie B | 37 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 1 | |||
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 196 | 2 | 38 | 2 | 66 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 305 | 7 | ||
| Pisa | 2008–09 | Serie B | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| Pescina Valle del Giovenco | 2009–10 | Lega Pro Prima Divisione | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Career total | 377 | 3 | 43 | 2 | 66 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 493 | 8 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
Empoli
Juventus
Italy U23
