Alessandro NestaUfficiale OMRI[4][5] (Italian pronunciation:[alesˈsandroˈnɛsta]; born 19 March 1976) is an Italian professionalfootball coach and former player who played as acentre-back. He was most recently the head coach ofSerie A clubMonza. Nesta is widely considered as one of the greatest defenders of all time, and was known for his pace, artistictackles, elegance on the ball, distribution and tight marking of opponents.[6][7][8][9][10]
Nesta was first discovered byFrancesco Rocca, a scout forRoma, but his father, aLazio fan, turned down the offer.[14] He began his youth career with Lazio in 1985, playing in various roles, including as a striker and midfielder, before being placed in the role of a defender. In the1993–94 season he was called up to the first team, and on 13 March 1994 he made his debut in a 2–2 away draw againstUdinese; Nesta came on forPierluigi Casiraghi during the 78th minute.[15]
The following year he was forced to stay out for nearly half the season due to ligament injuries suffered during the1998 FIFA World Cup. He returned to the field in December, and, as captain, led Lazio in the title race, lost by a single point on the final day of the season.[19][20] He did, however, win the first two trophies at the international level of his team: theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, won againstMallorca,[21] and, in August, theEuropean Super Cup overManchester United.[22]
In the1999–2000 season he led Lazio to theScudetto andCoppa Italia, winning thedouble. During the2000–01 season, underDino Zoff, Lazio won theSupercoppa Italiana and finished third in Serie A. Nesta's performances and success for Lazio during this period earned him three consecutiveSerie A Defender of the Year awards between 2000 and 2002.[23][24][25][26] Financial problems for Lazio and its then-presidentSergio Cragnotti led to the sale of Nesta to Milan in 2002. Nesta left the club with a backlog salary of €2 million, half of which were converted into shares of theBiancocelesti club. He is considered to be one of the best Lazio defenders.[27]
Just before the2002–03 Serie A campaign, financial woes forced Lazio to sell many of their best players, including Nesta, who transferred to Milan for€30,987,000 (60 billion lire).[28] During this time, he would form a formidable defensive line alongsidePaolo Maldini,Cafu,Alessandro Costacurta andJaap Stam, among others. Nesta's first two seasons with theRossoneri were very successful.[29][30][31] During the2002–03 season, he won theChampions League for the first time in his career as Milan defeated rivalsJuventus atOld Trafford in the first all-Italian Champions League final in history. Nesta helped Milan keep a clean sheet during the match, which went to a penalty shootout following a 0–0 deadlock after extra time. Nesta was able to score his penalty kick as Milan won the shootout 3–2.[32] Nesta also won theCoppa Italia overRoma during his first season at the club,[33] while Milan finished third inSerie A that season. Nesta was once again awarded theSerie A Defender of the Year award for his performances,[26] and was elected to be part of theUEFA Team of the Year.[24][34][35]
Nesta began the next season by defeating his former team Lazio to capture the2004 Supercoppa Italiana.[42] Milan also reached theChampion's League final in2005, losing toLiverpool on penalties,[43] while inSerie A, they finished behind champions Juventus.[44] Despite finishing second in both Serie A and the Champions League, Nesta was elected to the 2005FIFPro World XI for the first time in his career, for his performances.[24][34][45]
During the2005–06 AC Milan season, Milan once again finished behind Juventus inSerie A, although both Juventus and Milan were later deducted points for being involved in the2006 matchfixing scandal, and the title was awarded to Internazionale; Juventus were relegated while Milan finishing in third place after the point deduction.[46][47] Milan also reached the semi-finals of theChampions League in 2006, losing out to eventual championsBarcelona,[48] while they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of theCoppa Italia.[49]
Nesta won his thirdEuropean Super Cup in August 2007 when Milan defeatedSevilla 3–1.[55] Nesta signed a contract extension that would keep him at Milan until 2011.[56] Nesta went on to score his first goal for Milan since April 2006 in a 1–1 draw withSiena on 15 September 2007. He followed this up with an important goal for Milan in the 4–2 victory over Boca Juniors in thefinal of the2007 FIFA Club World Cup.[24][57] Milan would disappoint throughout the rest of the season, however, finishing fifth inSerie A,[58] and being eliminated in the round of 16 of theUEFA Champions League and theCoppa Italia.[59][60]
Serious back injuries forced Nesta out of action for the whole2008–09 season, which raised concerns about his chances to make a comeback into active football.[61] He fully recovered from his injuries and came on as 77th-minute substitute in Milan's finalSerie A away match toFiorentina on 31 May 2009 for his first competitive appearance of the season.[62] Milan finished the domestic season in third place, qualifying for the Champions League.[63]
The following season Nesta scored his first brace for Milan in a 2–1 victory overChievo in the Serie A on 25 October 2009.[64] He began to re-emerge as a starter for the club and was one of Milan's most consistent players throughout the entire2009–10 season underLeonardo, as the team finished third inSerie A.[65][66] Nesta continued his excellent partnership with fellow centre-backThiago Silva throughout the2010–11 season underMassimiliano Allegri, forming a formidable defensive pairing, conceding just 24 goals in 38 games during Milan's victoriousSerie A campaign.[67] Milan also managed to reach the semi-finals of theCoppa Italia,[68] but were once again disappointingly eliminated in the round of 16 of theChampions League.[69] Throughout the 2010–11 season, speculation indicated that Nesta would retire at the end of the season. However, he later confirmed that he wanted to play one more season at Milan before retiring and signed a contract extension on 18 May 2011, which kept him on Milan's squad until summer 2012.[70][71] Nesta was elected to be part of theSerie A Team of the Year for his performances during Milan's successful title run that season.[72]
Nesta began his final season with Milan by winning the2011 Supercoppa Italiana on 6 August 2011, defeating city rivals Inter Milan 2–1 inBeijing.[73][74] Milan finished second to Juventus inSerie A that season,[75] and were eliminated in the semi-finals of theCoppa Italia and the quarter-finals of theChampions League.[76][77] On 10 May, during a press conference, Nesta announced his retirement from Serie A at the end of the season.[78] During his ten seasons at the Milanese club, Nesta collected 325 caps, scoring 10 goals. With Milan, he won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, two Supercoppa Italiana, two Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and a FIFA Club World Cup.[23][24][34]
On 5 July 2012, Nesta signed a contract with theMontreal Impact ofMajor League Soccer (MLS). He signed an 18-month contract on afree transfer. The club also stated he would not be signed as adesignated player. Nesta made his Impact debut againstLyon in a friendly match on 24 July. He made his competitive debut three days later, in a 3–1 home win over theNew York Red Bulls. In 2013, Nesta won his first and only title with Montreal Impact: theCanadian Championship.
On 20 October 2013, Nesta announced that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the2013 MLS Cup Playoffs after playing parts of two seasons with the Impact.[79]
On 28 November 2014, it was announced that Nesta had signed forChennaiyin FC of theIndian Super League for the remainder of the2014 season. He was signed byMarco Materazzi, his former international defensive partner.[80] He made his debut on 9 December in a 2–2 draw againstDelhi Dynamos, partneringMikaël Silvestre in central defence in Chennaiyin's last match of a regular season in which they topped the league.[81]
Nesta began his career for Italy and was a member of theunder-21 squad that won the1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship; in the final againstSpain, following a 1–1 draw, he took Italy's fourth penalty in an eventual 4–2 shoot-out victory.[82] A few months later, he was named toItaly'sUEFA Euro 1996 squad in England byArrigo Sacchi, but did not come off the bench as Italy were eliminated in the group stage by eventual finalistsGermany and theCzech Republic.[83] Later that year, he took part at theSummer Olympics in Atlanta with the under-21 side, where Italy were eliminated in the first round.[84]
After featuring in defence for Italy during theEuro 2000 qualifying campaign under Dino Zoff, Nesta featured in the Italian starting lineup atEuro 2000, partnering with Paolo Maldini and Fabio Cannavaro in defence throughout most of the tournament. Italy only conceded two goals en route to the final, and kept three clean sheets throughout the tournament; the first coming against co-hostsBelgium in the group stage,[90] and the second againstRomania in the quarter-finals, in which he was named man of the match.[91][92]
In the semi-final, a ten-man Italy overcame co-hoststhe Netherlands in a penalty shootout, after a 0–0 deadlock following extra time.[93] Italy advanced to thefinal where they faced defending World Cup Champions France. Following a goal byMarco Delvecchio in the 55th minute, Italy led the match 1–0 until the final minute of stoppage time, whenSylvain Wiltord scored the equaliser.David Trezeguet then scored the golden goal in extra time for France to defeat the Italians in the second consecutive tournament, as the Italians finished the Euro as runners-up.[94] Nesta, along with his defensive partners Maldini and Cannavaro, was elected to be part of the team of the tournament for his performances.[24][95]
After Euro 2000, Nesta remained a first-choice centre-back for Italy under new managerGiovanni Trapattoni, featuring extensively during the2002 World Cup qualifying campaign. During the2002 World Cup, he partnered Fabio Cannavaro in central defence, keeping a clean sheet in the opening win againstEcuador,[96] but once again, injury kept him from playing in the second round, and Nesta did not feature in the controversial second-round defeat to co-hostsSouth Korea.[97] Nesta featured prominently as Italy topped theirEuro 2004 qualifying group. However, Italy's disappointment at major tournaments continued atEuro 2004, where they were eliminated in the first round following a three-way five-point tie withDenmark andSweden, only to be eliminated on direct encounters.[98] Nesta managed to stay injury free and played for a full 90 minutes in all three group games, helping Italy to keep a clean sheet in the opening draw against Denmark.[24][99][100]
Following two successive disappointments, newly-appointed coachMarcello Lippi kept Nesta in the starting lineup as Italy was on top of theirqualification group to the2006 World Cup. Despite starting thefinal tournament strongly, helping Italy to keep a clean sheet in their opening win overGhana,[101] theWorld Cup turned out to be a personal disappointment for Nesta, as an injury in the final group game against the Czech Republic, which Italy won 2–0,[102] put him on the sidelines while Italy went on to win the trophy.[103][104] After the World Cup, Nesta made one appearance in theEuro 2008 qualifiers, in a 3–1 away win againstGeorgia on 11 October 2006, but continuous injuries forced him to retire from the international team.[105][106][107] Prior to thefinal tournament, Nesta rejectedRoberto Donadoni's invitation to return to the national team.[108] Two years later, he similarly turned down an invitation from Marcello Lippi prior to the2010 World Cup.[109] He made 78 appearances for Italy in total.[3]
On 31 August 2015, Nesta was introduced as the first head coach of the newly formedMiami FC, which began play in theNorth American Soccer League (NASL) in April 2016.[110] After finishing a combined 7th place in his first season, Miami FC finished in first place in his second, as Spring and Fall champions of the2017 NASL season. However, the team were defeated in the season playoffs semifinal round to theNew York Cosmos following a 6–5 loss in the penalty shootout after a goalless draw.[111] He resigned as coach following the completion of the 2017 season, on 17 November.[112]
On 14 May 2018, Nesta was appointed manager ofPerugia.[113] After a 4–1 loss toVerona in the2018–19 Serie B promotion playoffs, Nesta parted with Perugia on 21 May 2019.[114]
On 17 June 2019, Nesta was appointed manager ofFrosinone on a two-year contract.[115] The team finished the2019–20 Serie B season in 8th, just making it into the playoffs. They lost the playoff final toSpezia after a 1–1 aggregate draw, as the opponents had performed better in the regular season.[116] On 22 March 2021, Nesta was sacked.[117]
On 12 June 2024, Serie A sideMonza announced the appointment of Nesta as head coach, starting from 1 July. He replacedRaffaele Palladino, who had left forFiorentina after helping the team to 12th place in their second season in the top flight.[120] He missed the first game of the season againstEmpoli due to suspension,[121] debuting on 24 August with a 1–0 home loss to aGenoa team led by fellow 2006 World Cup winnerAlberto Gilardino.[122]
On 23 December 2024, Nesta was removed from his coaching post with immediate effect following a 1–2 loss to Juventus, the club's third consecutive loss, which left Monza at the bottom of the league table with just 10 points after 17 games.[123]
However on 10 February 2025, Nesta was again reappointed asAC Monza's head coach just after 7 weeks of sacking him.[124]
Nesta was a complete and dominant defender, who was influential both at club and international level, and who is regarded by pundits as being one of the greatest and most talented defenders both of his generation and of all time.[6][7][8][125][126] Despite being a strong and imposing defensive, athletic and physical presence, he was also an extremely agile and elegant player, with excellent balance, ball skills, vision and passing ability for a defender, which allowed him to bring the ball out of the defence and start plays from the back after winning back possession; these abilities led him to be compared to former Milan captainFranco Baresi.[125][126][127][128][129]
Although Nesta was usually deployed as acentre-back during his career, he initially started out as a right-sidedfull-back; his technical skills, athleticism and defensive ability made him a versatile player from a tactical standpoint, who was capable of playing anywhere along the backline, and also allowed him to be deployed on the left, or even as asweeper on occasion.[125][130][131][132][133] Nesta was also excellent in the air, and was unusually quick for a centreback; he often stood out throughout his career for his pace, acceleration, and stamina.[8][126][128][134][135][136]
In addition to his class, as well as his technical and physical abilities, Nesta also possessed an excellent positional and tactical sense, as well as an acute capacity to read the game, which enabled him to anticipate and close down opponents in one on one situations, and prevent attacking plays; his defensive intelligence enabled him to maintain a consistently high level of performance even towards the end of his career, as he lost his pace and stamina. Due to his ability to lead from the back and organise his teammates, he excelled in azonal marking system, but was also known for his tight marking of opposing players. An accurate and tenacious ball-winner, he was known for his artistic sliding tackles, acrobatic clearances, and ability to time his challenges well.[8][125][128][134][137][138][139][140] Despite his talent, Nesta's career suffered from the many injuries he encountered, which hindered him from playing in the knockout stages at each of the three World Cups at which he participated.[125][130][134]
On 7 May 2007, Nesta married his fiancée, Gabriela Pagnozzi, in a civil ceremony in Milan; the religious ceremony followed on 30 May 2007. Gabriela was working forCasa Italia, the Italy national team headquarters, during the 1998 World Cup. Their relationship was born when she tended to him following his injury against Austria. "I can say, I got the injury and her in France then. And the injury has gone, [but] she has stayed with me." The couple has three children, Sofia, Tommaso and Angelica.[24] His nephewGian Marco Nesta is also a professional footballer.[141]
^abcdefghijklmnopGiorgio Dell'Arti; Claudia Casiraghi (23 June 2014)."Alessandro Nesta".Il Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived fromthe original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved19 March 2015.
^"La notte degli Oscar" [Oscar Night] (in Italian). Rai Sport. 22 September 1998. Archived fromthe original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved4 January 2016.
