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| Birth Name(s) : Gianluca Zambrotta |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Athlete |
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Full Gianluca Zambrotta Biography
1 Senior club appearances and goalscounted for the domestic league only andcorrect as of 26 September 2007.2 National team caps and goals correctas of 12 September 2007.* Appearances (Goals)
Zambrotta has won two scudetti with Juventus (it was originally four, but the scudetti for 2004-05 and 2005-06 were stripped from the club due to the match-fixing scandal), making a total of 185 league appearances and scoring seven goals in six seasons. In 2005-06, following the injury of Zebina, arrival of 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 the 2006 Serie A scandal, he decided to leave the club in summer 2006 with AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid or Barcelona widely tipped to sign him. He was eventually transferred to Barcelona for €14 millions. He signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, where he will be joining fellow Juventus defender Lilian Thuram.
After some impressive displays for the U21 and the amazing start of the season 1998-99, Zambrotta earned his first cap on 10 February 1999, 9 days before his 22nd birthday. Despite a 0-0 draw in this friendly against Norway, Zambrotta played well throughout the game.
In the semi-final, Italy were facing the other co-hosts the Netherlands. After some tough encounters between Zambrotta and Boudewijn Zenden, they both picked up a yellow card very early in the game at the 15th and 28th minute respectively. Just 34 minutes into the first half, Zambrotta received a second booking for a foul on Zenden again and was sent off by the referee Markus Merk. With 10 players left on the field, Italy managed to bring the game into a penalty shoot-out with their magnificent defence. With Francesco Toldo saving a total of 4 penalties, including two in the regular time, Italy won the shoot-out by 3-1 and were in the final.
In 2003, after the retirement of Paolo Maldini from the national team and a successful switch to the 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.
After two consecutive disappointing major tournaments, Trapattoni resigned as the coach of the Azzurri. The new coach for Italy is Marcello Lippi, who just resigned as the Juventus coach by that time. 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.
Scans on Zambrotta's thigh in the final days before Italy's first group match revealed that he would only miss the opening match. This was a big boost for the Azzurri as he is the most versatile player in the team.
Italy began its World Cup journey against Ghana 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 played the entire second half with an one-man-advantage and just managed to drew 1-1 with the USA. Zambrotta played the whole match without ever excelling.
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. 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 goal at the 119th and 121st minutes and won the game 2-0. |
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