Gianluca Zambrotta

Gianluca Zambrotta was born on 19th February 1977 in Como (Italy). And it was in Como where he started his sporting career in 1994. With his home town team he competed in Serie B, putting in 48 performances and scoring 6 goals.

His opportunity to compete in Serie A came in 1997 with l?AS Bari. His debut coming on the 31st August 1997 at home against Parma. His performances over the course of 2 years were noticed by Juventus, who secured his services in 1999 in a deal worth 15.85 million Euros.

Having lost the Scudetto on the final day of his first season with Juventus, Zambrotta eventually won his first league title in 2002. It was with the then current coach, Marcello Lippi, who opted that Zambrotta changed to the position of full back.

Things didn´t change for Zambrotta with the arrival of Fabio Capello in 2004. With Juventus he played a total of 217 games, won the Scudetto twice and the Italian Supercup.

With the Italian national team, Zambrotta made his debut in 1999 which saw a 0-0 draw against Norway. Since then he has firmly established himself as first choice and has managed to take part in 2 European cups and 2 world cups. His greatest moment coming in Germany when they beat France on penalties to lift the World Cup.

Zambrotta arrived at Barça in the season of 2006-07 with his team mate Lilian Thuram with whom he had spent 5 seasons.

CHARACTERISTICS

Many adjectives can be used to describe the qualities possessed by Zambrotta; dynamic, creative, talented, eficient, etc. He can play on both sides at an equally high level and can also adapt to fill a midfield role if needed. By doing so, this has given him the ability to increase the options available when the team is on the attack. 

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2006-07 Spanish Supercup

Juventus 
2002-03 League
2002-03 Italian Supercup
2001-02 League

Italian national Team
2005-06 World Cup