Gianluca Zambrotta
Encyclopedia
Gianluca Zambrotta is a world cup winning Italian
footballer who currently plays as a full back for Serie A
club Milan
.
Zambrotta was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
(Cavaliere O.M.R.I.) in 2000 and he was made an Officer of the same order (Ufficiale O.M.R.I.) in 2006.
career began when his great potential was spotted by Bari
boss, Eugenio Fascetti. Zambrotta was snapped up by Fascetti after Bari had won promotion to Serie A. In his first year in the top flight, Zambrotta played on the left wing and scored two goals in 27 appearances. In the 1998–99 season, following the departure of Nicola Ventola
, Zambrotta exploded on to the scene. In week 1, he scored the only goal of the game against Venezia after just 9 minutes into the first half. Zambrotta continued to shine and was the key figure for Bari's surprise start to the campaign. In week 7, he scored the opening goal at San Siro and helped Bari
to win the game 3–2 against Internazionale
. In February 1999, the Italian Under-21 International was rewarded by the coach of Italy
, Dino Zoff
, for his displays. He earned his first cap
in a friendly against Norway
. He became the first player of Bari to play for the national side in 50 years. Throughout the 1998–99 season, he made 32 appearances and scored four goals. Halfway through this season, he was brought to the most successful club in Italy, Juventus
, by Carlo Ancelotti
for 30 billion Italian lire (€15 million, but €1.25M paid via Simone Perrotta
's 50% rights) and would play in the black-and-white jersey starting the season after.
in the heavy rain while Lazio
got the three points at home by beating Reggina
3–0 and overcame Juventus with one point. Zambrotta was brought on in the second half in that game and was later given a red card by the referee, Pierluigi Collina
. In his second season for Juventus, 2000–01, Zambrotta made 29 league appearances and scored three goals. But Juventus finished once again in second place. Zambrotta won his first Scudetto in the season 2001–02, while he made 32 league appearances and scored one goal during the season. After Zambrotta suffered an injury in the game against South Korea during the 2002 World Cup
, he missed the beginning of the 2002–03 Serie A
camaign. During his absence, the new signing of Juventus Mauro Camoranesi
took his place on the right wing and was in superb form. This prompted then coach, Marcello Lippi
, to switch Zambrotta to the left-back when he returned to action. Zambrotta adapted to his new position very quickly and performed particularly well. He remained a regular first team player as Juventus won the second consecutive scudetto and reached the Champions League
final, in which they were defeated by Milan
in the penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw. Zambrotta won four Scudetti with Juventus, making a total of 217 league appearances and scoring seven goals in six seasons. In 2005–06, following the injury of Jonathan Zebina
, as well as the arrival of Giorgio Chiellini
and his successful switch with the national team, Zambrotta was again switched to the right-back. Since then, Zambrotta switched between right and left-back frequently throughout the season. In 2005, Zambrotta extended his contract to 2010 but, following Juventus' relegation to Serie B
due to Calciopoli, he decided to leave the club in summer 2006 with Milan
, Chelsea
, Real Madrid
and Barcelona
widely tipped to sign him. He was eventually transferred to Barcelona for €14 million. He signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, where he joined fellow Juventus defender Lilian Thuram
, who also left the club. During his 7 year tenure with Juve, Zambrotta formed one of the best teams in the world at the time, as well as one of the world's most feared defenses. He formed defensive partnerships with the likes of Mark Iuliano
, Paolo Montero
, Ciro Ferrara
, Lilian Thuram
, Jonathan Zebina
, Nicola Legrottaglie
, Alessandro Birindelli
, Fabio Cannavaro
, and Giorgio Chiellini
.
On 4 August 2006, after his holiday following the World Cup, Zambrotta reported to his new club for the first time in Los Angeles
, United States
where FC Barcelona
stayed for their pre-season tour in U.S.
He trained with his new teammates and made his debut in the final match of the tour, on 12 August against the New York Red Bulls. Zambrotta's official debut in Barça shirt was on 17 August against local rivals Espanyol
in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
On 17 March 2007, he scored his first goal in the league game against Recreativo
. He also netted goals in matches against Atlético Madrid at Vicente Calderón Stadium
(Atlético record home loss — 0–6) and Tarragona
. By his own admission, his performance at Barcelona had been below-par. He is well remembered by his performance against Manchester United in the semifinal return clash: he marked perfectly the future Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo
all along the game, but made a poor clearance in midfield that ultimately led to Paul Scholes
long range effort which decided the match and the clash itself. In two seasons with the club, Zambrotta made 58 league appearances, scoring three goals, before his return to Italy. He was heavily tipped to join Milan
, or return to former club, Juventus.
. The club paid €9 million to Barcelona
, with a potential €2million added on depending on Milan's performance in the Champions League, for his services. Zambrotta would reportedly be earning €4 million per year. His move forced Milan right back Massimo Oddo
to be loaned out to Bayern Munich for more chance to play regularly.
On 21 September 2008 he scored his first goal for Milan, from 31 metres in the league game against Lazio
. In the 2008 and 2009 season Zambrotta played more games than any other Milan player. In the 2009–10 season, Zambrotta mainly played at left back, competing with Luca Antonini
for a starting spot, while the emerged star Ignazio Abate
consolidated the right back position as his own.
For the 2010-11 season, Zambrotta was more versatile than before and often used as a utility. New coach Massimiliano Allegri also preferred Abate for the right back position while Zambrotta alternated between starting at left back and covering for Abate at right back. Nevertheless, he made 20 appearances in all competitions playing an important role in Milan's 18th Scudetto win. Later that year he won the Serie A
title with Milan
, and the Super Cup.
He renewed his expiring contract for another year, keeping him a Milan player until at least the summer of 2012.
, he got the attention of the national side
. He was selected to play for the Italy Under-21 national team
for the first time on March 25, 1998 against Malta
. In his second game for the U21 against Wales
on April 22, 1998, he scored the 2nd goal of Italy on the 43rd minute and helped Italy to win the game 2–1. In 1998, he played in all six games of the Italy U21 while they won 5 of them and drew the last one against Spain.
It was on tour with the under 21's that Luca earned the nickname 'the Mermaid' for his allegedly spending one hour every night in front of the mirror grooming at his now trademark goatee. After some impressive displays for the U21 and the amazing start of the season 1998–99
, Zambrotta earned his first cap on February 10, 1999, 9 days before his 22nd birthday, in an 0–0 friendly draw with Norway
.
that Italy won 1–0 and 3–1 respectively. Since Italy had already qualified for the quarter finals, the coach put Zambrotta on the bench for the last game against Nigeria
and substituted him on at the 80th minute. This would be the last time he played for the U21 national team, with a total of 13 U21-caps. Italy was defeated by Spain, who would go on to win the silver medal, by one goal in the quarter final in a game Zambrotta sat out.
from the national team and a successful switch to left-back with Juventus, Zambrotta became the first choice for this position in the national team. On 30 May 2004, Zambrotta scored his first ever international goal in the game against Tunisia. A Bernardo Corradi
header was flapped out for Zambrotta's fierce volley into the roof of the net in the 89th minute while Italy won the game by 4–0. In Euro 2004, although the performance of Italy was largely disappointing and the team was eliminated at the group stage, Zambrotta was one of the few Italian players to be praised for his performances.
, who had just resigned as the Juventus coach to take over the Azzurri
. At the end of 2005, as Lippi brought on many new faces for the squad, he once again switched Zambrotta's position – to the right-back this time.
In the Lippi era, Zambrotta remains one of the core players in the team. He featured in eight of the ten FIFA World Cup European qualification matches to help Italy qualify as the group winner. On 15 May 2006, Zambrotta was chosen as one of the 23 players to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and he played well.
During the Azzurri's final preparations for the World Cup, Zambrotta injured his left thigh during a training match at the national team's training base at Coverciano on 28 May 2006. He picked up the injury in a training match against an amateur team San Giminiano. This brought certain fears for the Italian squad and Lippi decided to keep Daniele Bonera
on stand-by in case Zambrotta could not recover in time.
Scans on Zambrotta's thigh in the final days before Italy's first group match revealed that he would only miss the opening match.
on 12 June 2006. With the absence of Zambrotta, Italy won their opening game by 2–0. Zambrotta made his comeback in the second group match against USA on 17 June 2006 playing at the left-back position. This was his fifth appearance in the FIFA World Cup, in which his teammates Cristian Zaccardo
scored an own goal and Daniele De Rossi
got sent off for an elbowing offence. Italy's performance was disappointing as they just managed to draw 1–1 with the USA in spite of playing the entire second half with a one-man-advantage. Zambrotta played the whole match without ever excelling.
In their last group match against Czech Republic
on 22 June 2006, Italy needed only a draw to qualify from the group. After Zaccardo's poor performance in the previous match, Lippi decided to use Fabio Grosso
instead; therefore Zambrotta was put on the right-back. With a one-man-advantage again and two goals from the substitutes Marco Materazzi
and Filippo Inzaghi
, Italy won 2–0 and qualified as group winners.
on 26 June 2006. After playing two matches with a one-man-advantage, Italy were playing with 10 men this time in the second half as Materazzi was sent off at the 50th minute. They went on to win the game 1–0 courtesy of a 95th-minute penalty kick converted by Francesco Totti
. Zambrotta again played the entire match on the right back position. He got a yellow card at the 46th minute for bringing the ball away after committing a foul, which meant any booking in the remaining games would bring him a suspension.
In the quarter-final on 30 June 2006, Italy was drawn against Ukraine
. Zambrotta started the game at the right-back. He scored the opening goal after only 6 minutes with a left-footed long-range shot after a beautiful one-two with Francesco Totti
. This was his second goal for his country and the first one in a FIFA World Cup match. Zambrotta's outstanding performance continued as he saved his team by a goal-line clearance at the 58th minute. After Lippi made some substitutions, Zambrotta was pushed up to a left midfield position. He immediately showed the effect of this position switch. At the 69th minute, he dribbled down the left flank into the edge of the penalty area and passed the ball across to Luca Toni
to score his second goal in the match. Italy won the game 3–0. In the semi-final on 4 July 2006, Italy was facing the hosts Germany
at Dortmund
. Zambrotta started the match at right-back again. Neither of the teams were able to score in 90 minutes and the game went into extra time. In the 2nd minute of the extra time, right after teammate Gilardino
hit the post in his attempt, Zambrotta had a strong shot on goal from outside the box. Although beating the German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann
, it struck the crossbar. When the game looked going into a penalty shoot-out, Italy scored 2 very late goals at the 119th and 121st minutes and won the game 2–0.
was Italy's opponents on both occasions. Italy conceded a penalty kick in the 7th minute, but it took just 12 minutes for Italy to equalize. The scoreline remained the same for the rest of the match and it went into a penalty shoot-out. Zambrotta was not called upon to take a penalty as five of his Italian teammates made their attempts, while one of the players from France failed to convert their spot kicks (David Trezeguet
), resulting in Italy winning the shoot-out 5–3. This was the first World Cup victory for Zambrotta and the fourth for his country.
Zambrotta's ability to play in multiple positions on either flank contributes great flexibility to the Italian squad, and earned him a place in the 23 man 2006 World Cup All-Star squad.
but was unable to help the team progress to the second round. Although Italy in 2010 has a poor performance he remained the only bright spot for the team.
|1994/95||rowspan="3"|Como||Serie B
||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Serie C1||14||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||15||2
|-
|1996/97||33||4||1||0||colspan="2"|-||34||4
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="2"|Bari||rowspan="2"|Serie A
||27||2||2||2||colspan="2"|-||29||4
|-
|1998/99||32||4||4||0||colspan="2"|-||36||4
|-
|1999/00||rowspan="7"|Juventus||rowspan="7"|Serie A
||32||1||2||0||12||2||45||4
|-
|2000/01||29||3||0||0||colspan="2"|-||29||3
|-
|2001/02||32||1||6||1||9||0||47||2
|-
|2002/03||26||1||3||0||13||0||42||1
|-
|2003/04||30||1||6||0||5||0||41||1
|-
|2004/05||36||0||0||0||12||0||48||0
|-
|2005/06||32||0||2||0||8||0||42||0
|-
|2006/07||rowspan="2"|Barcelona
||rowspan="2"|La Liga
||29||3||5||0||6||0||40||3
|-
|2007/08||29||0||5||0||6||0||40||0
|-
|2008/09||rowspan="4"|Milan||rowspan="4"|Serie A
||34||1||1||0||6||0||41||1
|-
|2009/10||24||0||1||0||5||0||30||0
|-
|2010/11||15||0||1||0||5||0||20||0
|-
|2011/12||4||0||1||0||1||0||6||0
400||20||31||3||76||2||506||25
58||3||10||0||12||0||80||3
459||23||41||3||88||2||587||28
|}
|-
|1999||3||0
|-
|2000||8||0
|-
|2001||8||0
|-
|2002||8||0
|-
|2003||8||0
|-
|2004||10||1
|-
|2005||7||0
|-
|2006||10||1
|-
|2007||6||0
|-
|2008||12||0
|-
|2009||12||0
|-
|2010||6||0
|-
!Total||98||2
|}
captain of the year
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
footballer who currently plays as a full back for Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
club Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
.
Zambrotta was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(Cavaliere O.M.R.I.) in 2000 and he was made an Officer of the same order (Ufficiale O.M.R.I.) in 2006.
Como
Zambrotta began his professional career with his hometown club, Como Calcio at the age of 17 in 1994. In his first season, he played only one match. In 1995, however, Como were promoted to Serie B and Zambrotta started to play more regularly for the first team. In the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons, he made 47 appearances and scored 6 goals.Bari
In 1997, Zambrotta's Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
career began when his great potential was spotted by Bari
A.S. Bari
Associazione Sportiva Bari is an Italian football club founded in 1908, they are based in Bari, Apulia and plays in Serie B. The club have spent many seasons bouncing between the top two divisions in Italian football, Serie A and Serie B....
boss, Eugenio Fascetti. Zambrotta was snapped up by Fascetti after Bari had won promotion to Serie A. In his first year in the top flight, Zambrotta played on the left wing and scored two goals in 27 appearances. In the 1998–99 season, following the departure of Nicola Ventola
Nicola Ventola
Nicola Ventola is an Italian footballer playing as a striker. He was a member of the Italian squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and represented Italy in the under-21s team.He plays for Novara....
, Zambrotta exploded on to the scene. In week 1, he scored the only goal of the game against Venezia after just 9 minutes into the first half. Zambrotta continued to shine and was the key figure for Bari's surprise start to the campaign. In week 7, he scored the opening goal at San Siro and helped Bari
A.S. Bari
Associazione Sportiva Bari is an Italian football club founded in 1908, they are based in Bari, Apulia and plays in Serie B. The club have spent many seasons bouncing between the top two divisions in Italian football, Serie A and Serie B....
to win the game 3–2 against Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
. In February 1999, the Italian Under-21 International was rewarded by the coach of Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
, Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the...
, for his displays. He earned his first cap
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
in a friendly against Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
. He became the first player of Bari to play for the national side in 50 years. Throughout the 1998–99 season, he made 32 appearances and scored four goals. Halfway through this season, he was brought to the most successful club in Italy, Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, by Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and...
for 30 billion Italian lire (€15 million, but €1.25M paid via Simone Perrotta
Simone Perrotta
Simone Perrotta, Ufficiale OMRI is an English-born Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma...
's 50% rights) and would play in the black-and-white jersey starting the season after.
Juventus
After the transfer to Juventus on 1 July 1999, Zambrotta continued his upward momentum. He made 32 league appearances with one goal in the first season he played for Juventus. On 14 May 2000, the last match day of the season, Juventus missed out on the Scudetto as they were defeated 1–0 away at PerugiaPerugia Calcio
Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....
in the heavy rain while Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
got the three points at home by beating Reggina
Reggina Calcio
Reggina Calcio are an Italian association football club, the main club of the city of Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in the Italian Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo...
3–0 and overcame Juventus with one point. Zambrotta was brought on in the second half in that game and was later given a red card by the referee, Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina is a former Italian football referee. He is still involved in football as non-paid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association , and is a member of the UEFA Referees Committee...
. In his second season for Juventus, 2000–01, Zambrotta made 29 league appearances and scored three goals. But Juventus finished once again in second place. Zambrotta won his first Scudetto in the season 2001–02, while he made 32 league appearances and scored one goal during the season. After Zambrotta suffered an injury in the game against South Korea during the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, he missed the beginning of the 2002–03 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
camaign. During his absence, the new signing of Juventus Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Camoranesi, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian Argentine World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Lanús in the Argentine Primera División. He is a midfielder, usually on the right wing...
took his place on the right wing and was in superb form. This prompted then coach, Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
, to switch Zambrotta to the left-back when he returned to action. Zambrotta adapted to his new position very quickly and performed particularly well. He remained a regular first team player as Juventus won the second consecutive scudetto and reached the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
final, in which they were defeated by Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
in the penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw. Zambrotta won four Scudetti with Juventus, making a total of 217 league appearances and scoring seven goals in six seasons. In 2005–06, following the injury of Jonathan Zebina
Jonathan Zebina
Jonathan Zebina is a French footballer playing for Stade Brestois 29. He plays as a right back and occasionally as a centre back, though he started out as a striker....
, as well as the arrival of Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. He is a centre back, who started his career playing as a left back.-Livorno:...
and his successful switch with the national team, Zambrotta was again switched to the right-back. Since then, Zambrotta switched between right and left-back frequently throughout the season. In 2005, Zambrotta extended his contract to 2010 but, following Juventus' relegation to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
due to Calciopoli, he decided to leave the club in summer 2006 with Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
and Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
widely tipped to sign him. He was eventually transferred to Barcelona for €14 million. He signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, where he joined fellow Juventus defender Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...
, who also left the club. During his 7 year tenure with Juve, Zambrotta formed one of the best teams in the world at the time, as well as one of the world's most feared defenses. He formed defensive partnerships with the likes of Mark Iuliano
Mark Iuliano
Mark Iuliano is a former Italian football defender, who spent the bulk of his career with Italian powerhouse, Juventus FC, in the Italian Serie A.-Salernitana Calcio 1919:...
, Paolo Montero
Paolo Montero
Paolo Rónald Montero Iglesias is a former Uruguayan footballer who played as a central defender or left back. He has been described as "skillful on the ball and calm under pressure", and a "wonderfully talented and intelligent footballer"...
, Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara is a former Italian footballer and current head coach of the Italy U-21 team. He spent his playing career as a defender initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus. He is also a former manager of Juventus.-Napoli:...
, Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...
, Jonathan Zebina
Jonathan Zebina
Jonathan Zebina is a French footballer playing for Stade Brestois 29. He plays as a right back and occasionally as a centre back, though he started out as a striker....
, Nicola Legrottaglie
Nicola Legrottaglie
Nicola Legrottaglie is an Italian footballer who plays for Calcio Catania in Serie A, as a central defender.-Early years:...
, Alessandro Birindelli
Alessandro Birindelli
Alessandro Birindelli is a retired Italian footballer. Equally at ease as right or left defender, he is best known for his 11-year spell with Juventus, winning several accolades and appearing in nearly 300 official games.-Early years:...
, Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI is a former Italian footballer considered one of the greatest defenders of all time and was given the name "Muro di Berlino" which means The Berlin wall by Italian supporters. He spent the majority of his career in Italy...
, and Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. He is a centre back, who started his career playing as a left back.-Livorno:...
.
Barcelona
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
stayed for their pre-season tour in U.S.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
He trained with his new teammates and made his debut in the final match of the tour, on 12 August against the New York Red Bulls. Zambrotta's official debut in Barça shirt was on 17 August against local rivals Espanyol
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. It is best known for its football team. Espanyol currently play in the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with seats for 40,500 spectators. It was inaugurated on 2 August 2009...
in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
On 17 March 2007, he scored his first goal in the league game against Recreativo
Recreativo de Huelva
Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, it is the oldest football team in Spain, and currently plays in the second division, holding home games at Estadio Nuevo Colombino, which has a...
. He also netted goals in matches against Atlético Madrid at Vicente Calderón Stadium
Vicente Calderón Stadium
The Vicente Calderón Stadium is the home stadium of La Liga football club Atlético Madrid and is located in the Arganzuela district of Spanish capital Madrid. The stadium was originally called the Manzanares Stadium, but this was later changed to the Vicente Calderón Stadium, after the famous...
(Atlético record home loss — 0–6) and Tarragona
Gimnàstic de Tarragona
Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, usually referred to as Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team currently plays in Segunda División....
. By his own admission, his performance at Barcelona had been below-par. He is well remembered by his performance against Manchester United in the semifinal return clash: he marked perfectly the future Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
all along the game, but made a poor clearance in midfield that ultimately led to Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
long range effort which decided the match and the clash itself. In two seasons with the club, Zambrotta made 58 league appearances, scoring three goals, before his return to Italy. He was heavily tipped to join Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, or return to former club, Juventus.
Milan
On 31 May 2008, Zambrotta signed a 3-year contract with MilanA.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
. The club paid €9 million to Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, with a potential €2million added on depending on Milan's performance in the Champions League, for his services. Zambrotta would reportedly be earning €4 million per year. His move forced Milan right back Massimo Oddo
Massimo Oddo
Massimo Oddo, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Lecce, on loan from Milan. He was part of the Italian squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.-Club career:...
to be loaned out to Bayern Munich for more chance to play regularly.
On 21 September 2008 he scored his first goal for Milan, from 31 metres in the league game against Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
. In the 2008 and 2009 season Zambrotta played more games than any other Milan player. In the 2009–10 season, Zambrotta mainly played at left back, competing with Luca Antonini
Luca Antonini
Luca Antonini is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan.- Early career :Antonini started his career at Milan, originally as a winger, playing for 11 years in their youth teams...
for a starting spot, while the emerged star Ignazio Abate
Ignazio Abate
Ignazio Abate is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a fullback for Serie A club Milan. He is renowned for his quick sprints down the right wing and accurate crosses.- Early years :...
consolidated the right back position as his own.
For the 2010-11 season, Zambrotta was more versatile than before and often used as a utility. New coach Massimiliano Allegri also preferred Abate for the right back position while Zambrotta alternated between starting at left back and covering for Abate at right back. Nevertheless, he made 20 appearances in all competitions playing an important role in Milan's 18th Scudetto win. Later that year he won the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
title with Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, and the Super Cup.
He renewed his expiring contract for another year, keeping him a Milan player until at least the summer of 2012.
Under-21
Soon after Zambrotta was brought to Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
, he got the attention of the national side
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
. He was selected to play for the Italy Under-21 national team
Italy national under-21 football team
The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
for the first time on March 25, 1998 against Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...
. In his second game for the U21 against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
on April 22, 1998, he scored the 2nd goal of Italy on the 43rd minute and helped Italy to win the game 2–1. In 1998, he played in all six games of the Italy U21 while they won 5 of them and drew the last one against Spain.
It was on tour with the under 21's that Luca earned the nickname 'the Mermaid' for his allegedly spending one hour every night in front of the mirror grooming at his now trademark goatee. After some impressive displays for the U21 and the amazing start of the season 1998–99
Serie A 1998-99
AC Milan won their 16th Scudetto, led by coach Alberto Zaccheroni. Lazio finished second, losing the title on the last day. Inter with an often Injured or rested Ronaldo had a disastrous season, finishing in 8th position, whereas Juventus impressive start was cut short by a bad injury to Alessandro...
, Zambrotta earned his first cap on February 10, 1999, 9 days before his 22nd birthday, in an 0–0 friendly draw with Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
.
2000 Summer Olympics
After the disappointing Euro 2000, Zambrotta was back with the U21 side for the Olympic Games in September. He started in games against Australia and HondurasHonduras national football team
The Honduran national football team, nicknamed Los Catrachos, La Bicolor or La H, is the national team of Honduras and is controlled by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras...
that Italy won 1–0 and 3–1 respectively. Since Italy had already qualified for the quarter finals, the coach put Zambrotta on the bench for the last game against Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
and substituted him on at the 80th minute. This would be the last time he played for the U21 national team, with a total of 13 U21-caps. Italy was defeated by Spain, who would go on to win the silver medal, by one goal in the quarter final in a game Zambrotta sat out.
Euro 2004
In 2003, after the retirement of Paolo MaldiniPaolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
from the national team and a successful switch to left-back with Juventus, Zambrotta became the first choice for this position in the national team. On 30 May 2004, Zambrotta scored his first ever international goal in the game against Tunisia. A Bernardo Corradi
Bernardo Corradi
Bernardo Corradi is an Italian footballer, who is currently a free agent. He was a former Italian international.-Early career:...
header was flapped out for Zambrotta's fierce volley into the roof of the net in the 89th minute while Italy won the game by 4–0. In Euro 2004, although the performance of Italy was largely disappointing and the team was eliminated at the group stage, Zambrotta was one of the few Italian players to be praised for his performances.
2006 World Cup
After two consecutive disappointing major tournaments, Trapattoni resigned as the coach of the Azzurri. The new coach for Italy was Marcello LippiMarcello Lippi
Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
, who had just resigned as the Juventus coach to take over the Azzurri
Azzurri
Azzurri is the Italian plural form of azzurro, light blue . Light blue was the official color of the Savoia family, Italy's monarchs until 1946. For this reason azure is the color usually worn by Italians in sport events....
. At the end of 2005, as Lippi brought on many new faces for the squad, he once again switched Zambrotta's position – to the right-back this time.
In the Lippi era, Zambrotta remains one of the core players in the team. He featured in eight of the ten FIFA World Cup European qualification matches to help Italy qualify as the group winner. On 15 May 2006, Zambrotta was chosen as one of the 23 players to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and he played well.
During the Azzurri's final preparations for the World Cup, Zambrotta injured his left thigh during a training match at the national team's training base at Coverciano on 28 May 2006. He picked up the injury in a training match against an amateur team San Giminiano. This brought certain fears for the Italian squad and Lippi decided to keep Daniele Bonera
Daniele Bonera
Daniele Bonera is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan.-Brescia:Bonera started his career for Brescia Calcio, making his first team debut in 1999–2000, in Serie B league...
on stand-by in case Zambrotta could not recover in time.
Scans on Zambrotta's thigh in the final days before Italy's first group match revealed that he would only miss the opening match.
Group stage
Italy began its World Cup journey against GhanaGhana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
on 12 June 2006. With the absence of Zambrotta, Italy won their opening game by 2–0. Zambrotta made his comeback in the second group match against USA on 17 June 2006 playing at the left-back position. This was his fifth appearance in the FIFA World Cup, in which his teammates Cristian Zaccardo
Cristian Zaccardo
Cristian Zaccardo, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, who plays for Italian Serie A club Parma...
scored an own goal and Daniele De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma. He is the current Roma's vice-captain and nicknamed as Capitan Futuro due to his high probabality as heir-apparent to Francesco Totti's captain armband.With Roma he has won the Coppa Italia...
got sent off for an elbowing offence. Italy's performance was disappointing as they just managed to draw 1–1 with the USA in spite of playing the entire second half with a one-man-advantage. Zambrotta played the whole match without ever excelling.
In their last group match against Czech Republic
Czech Republic national football team
The Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...
on 22 June 2006, Italy needed only a draw to qualify from the group. After Zaccardo's poor performance in the previous match, Lippi decided to use Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. Grosso is primarily a left wingback, but can also play as left back. He is also a free kick, penalty kick and corner kick specialist...
instead; therefore Zambrotta was put on the right-back. With a one-man-advantage again and two goals from the substitutes Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi , is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender, and is currently a free agent.At the beginning of his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Premier League side Everton. He spent two periods with Perugia and signed for...
and Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....
, Italy won 2–0 and qualified as group winners.
Stage 2
In the round of 16, Italy was facing the Group F runners up AustraliaAustralia national football (soccer) team
The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
on 26 June 2006. After playing two matches with a one-man-advantage, Italy were playing with 10 men this time in the second half as Materazzi was sent off at the 50th minute. They went on to win the game 1–0 courtesy of a 95th-minute penalty kick converted by Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
. Zambrotta again played the entire match on the right back position. He got a yellow card at the 46th minute for bringing the ball away after committing a foul, which meant any booking in the remaining games would bring him a suspension.
In the quarter-final on 30 June 2006, Italy was drawn against Ukraine
Ukraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian Independence and breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992...
. Zambrotta started the game at the right-back. He scored the opening goal after only 6 minutes with a left-footed long-range shot after a beautiful one-two with Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
. This was his second goal for his country and the first one in a FIFA World Cup match. Zambrotta's outstanding performance continued as he saved his team by a goal-line clearance at the 58th minute. After Lippi made some substitutions, Zambrotta was pushed up to a left midfield position. He immediately showed the effect of this position switch. At the 69th minute, he dribbled down the left flank into the edge of the penalty area and passed the ball across to Luca Toni
Luca Toni
Luca Toni, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. He has had successful spells at top clubs such as Palermo, Fiorentina, Bayern Munich, and Roma...
to score his second goal in the match. Italy won the game 3–0. In the semi-final on 4 July 2006, Italy was facing the hosts Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
at Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. Zambrotta started the match at right-back again. Neither of the teams were able to score in 90 minutes and the game went into extra time. In the 2nd minute of the extra time, right after teammate Gilardino
Alberto Gilardino
Alberto Gilardino, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team....
hit the post in his attempt, Zambrotta had a strong shot on goal from outside the box. Although beating the German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann is a German former football goalkeeper. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and he has been selected for three World Cup squads. He was a member of Arsenal's Invincibles, playing every match of their famous unbeaten title winning...
, it struck the crossbar. When the game looked going into a penalty shoot-out, Italy scored 2 very late goals at the 119th and 121st minutes and won the game 2–0.
Final
On 9 July 2006, Zambrotta played his first major tournament final with the national team after he missed the Euro 2000 final. Coincidently, FranceFrance national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
was Italy's opponents on both occasions. Italy conceded a penalty kick in the 7th minute, but it took just 12 minutes for Italy to equalize. The scoreline remained the same for the rest of the match and it went into a penalty shoot-out. Zambrotta was not called upon to take a penalty as five of his Italian teammates made their attempts, while one of the players from France failed to convert their spot kicks (David Trezeguet
David Trézéguet
David Sergio Trezeguet is a World Cup winning French international footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Baniyas SC on 21 Nov 2011....
), resulting in Italy winning the shoot-out 5–3. This was the first World Cup victory for Zambrotta and the fourth for his country.
Zambrotta's ability to play in multiple positions on either flank contributes great flexibility to the Italian squad, and earned him a place in the 23 man 2006 World Cup All-Star squad.
2010
Zambrotta was also selected for the 2010 World Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
but was unable to help the team progress to the second round. Although Italy in 2010 has a poor performance he remained the only bright spot for the team.
Juventus
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
: 2002Serie A 2001-02In the 2001-02 season, the Serie A, the major football Italian professional league, was composed by 18 teams, for the 14th consecutive time from season 1988-89....
, 2003Serie A 2002-03In the 2002-03 season, the Serie A, the major football Italian professional league, was composed by 18 teams, for the 15th consecutive time from season 1988-89....
, 2005Serie A 2004-05In the 2004–05 season, the Serie A, the highest professional football league in Italy, was composed of 20 teams for the first time in several years....
(canceled), 2006Serie A 2005-06In the 2005–06 season, Serie A, the major professional football league in Italian, was contested for the second year in a row by 20 teams. The league commenced on August 28, 2005 and finished on May 14, 2006...
(canceled) - Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 20022002 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 2002 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the Serie A 2001-02 winner, and Parma, the Coppa Italia 2001-02 winner.It was the fifth appearance for Juventus and the fourth for Parma...
, 20032003 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 2003 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the Serie A 2002-03 winner, and Milan, the Coppa Italia 2002-03 winner.It was the sixth appearance for Juventus and the seventh for Milan .The match was played in New York, U.S.A..-Match details:-References:... - UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
: 1999
AC Milan
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
: 2011 - Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 20112011 Supercoppa Italiana- References :...
Individual
- UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament
- UEFA Team of the YearUEFA Team of the YearThe UEFA Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its . This award started in 2001 to allow users and visitors of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their overall performances in European club football and international...
: 2006 - FIFPro World XI: 2006
- 2006 FIFA World Cup2006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
All-Star Team
Career statistics
|-|1994/95||rowspan="3"|Como||Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Serie C1||14||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||15||2
|-
|1996/97||33||4||1||0||colspan="2"|-||34||4
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="2"|Bari||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||27||2||2||2||colspan="2"|-||29||4
|-
|1998/99||32||4||4||0||colspan="2"|-||36||4
|-
|1999/00||rowspan="7"|Juventus||rowspan="7"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||32||1||2||0||12||2||45||4
|-
|2000/01||29||3||0||0||colspan="2"|-||29||3
|-
|2001/02||32||1||6||1||9||0||47||2
|-
|2002/03||26||1||3||0||13||0||42||1
|-
|2003/04||30||1||6||0||5||0||41||1
|-
|2004/05||36||0||0||0||12||0||48||0
|-
|2005/06||32||0||2||0||8||0||42||0
|-
|2006/07||rowspan="2"|Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||rowspan="2"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||29||3||5||0||6||0||40||3
|-
|2007/08||29||0||5||0||6||0||40||0
|-
|2008/09||rowspan="4"|Milan||rowspan="4"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||34||1||1||0||6||0||41||1
|-
|2009/10||24||0||1||0||5||0||30||0
|-
|2010/11||15||0||1||0||5||0||20||0
|-
|2011/12||4||0||1||0||1||0||6||0
400||20||31||3||76||2||506||25
58||3||10||0||12||0||80||3
459||23||41||3||88||2||587||28
|}
|-
|1999||3||0
|-
|2000||8||0
|-
|2001||8||0
|-
|2002||8||0
|-
|2003||8||0
|-
|2004||10||1
|-
|2005||7||0
|-
|2006||10||1
|-
|2007||6||0
|-
|2008||12||0
|-
|2009||12||0
|-
|2010||6||0
|-
!Total||98||2
|}
External links
- FC Barcelona profile
- Gianluca Zambrotta's career timeline, photo gallery and detailed statistics
- Goal.com profile
captain of the year