Sports
Star Exhibit
Todays
Profile
Alessandro Nesta
By
Quazi Zulquarnain Islam
Alessandro
Nesta:
Regarded as one of the best defenders in Europe, if not the whole
world, Alessandro Nesta is powerful yet extremely mobile. His elegance
conceals his toughness and he possesses an impeccable positional sense.
National
team
He first starred for Cesare Maldini's UEFA European Under-21 Championship-winning
Azzurini in 1996, and he was called into the senior squad for EURO
96™ following the withdrawal of Ciro Ferrara but did not play. Nesta
made his debut later that year and subsequently helped Italy to reach
the final of UEFA EURO 2000™, where he was named in the UEFA Team
of the Tournament, and played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Like Gianluigi
Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro, Nesta played in all of Italy's eight UEFA
EURO 2004™ qualifying matches. He also played all three finals games,
as Italy departed unbeaten having conceded just two goals.
Club
Born in the Italian capital, the defender was first given a trial
at Lazio as a ten-year-old, and until his move north to AC Milan had
spent his entire senior career at the Stadio Olimpico, where he was
a hero to the supporters. A first-team regular from the 1995/96 season,
Nesta became the first player in the club's history to lift a European
trophy when they claimed the last UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999, and
the following season led the team to the Serie A title.
2002:
When Lazio fans heard of Nesta's €
30.2m transfer deadline day move to Milan in August 2002, they demonstrated
on the streets of Rome. He was superb in the UEFA Champions League
for his new club, making 14 appearances including a fine performance
in the final defeat to Juventus FC. He also helped the Rossoneri lift
the Coppa Italia.
2003/04: A key
figure in Milan's record-breaking season, Nesta played 26 league games
and formed a formidable partnership with Paolo Maldini. The pair had
one off night, however, when Milan crashed out of the Champions League
against a rampant RC Deportivo La Coruña.
Alessandro
Nesta- a brief history.
* had a happy childhood in his quarter of Cinecittà , in the
suburbs of Rome. He attended the primary school at "Margherita
Bosco"
* chose to play football because his doctor recommended him to practice
a sport since he has some problems with his back
* when he was a child, he always played football in a little field
near home with his brother and some friends. When he was 8, he started
to play in a real football team.
* has been playing with Lazio since he was 9, a Lazio devotee!
* became internationally known when he accidentally broke Paul Gascoigne's
leg during a training session. Some people said that 'Sandro' cried,
but 'Gazza' didn't blaim him, because it was an unfortunate accident.
* he and Fabio
Cannavaro have known each other the longest in the national teams
(under 15 through to seniors) . He is also a good friend of (Damiano)Tomassi
(AS Roma) and (Gianluca) Zambrotta. He has shared rooms with Cannavaro
and (Marco) Del Vecchio. Has forged friendships lately with (Andriy)
Shevchenko and (Gennaro) Gattuso.
* loves chocolate!
He admitted he once ate 3 kilo's of Dolce in a couple of days during
the summer holidays (1999). He knows it is bad for his condition,
but he cannot resist them.
* has a Labrador
called "Pino" (Italian for Goofy, his favorite Disney character)and
a cat called Fernando
* played a cameo
role in a movie called "Papparazzi".
* when asked what kind of girls he likes, although he claims he is
not attracted to other girls, because his heart belongs to Gabriella(his
fiancée), he says: tall, latin , gentle and intelligent (he
doesn't like ignorant girls)
*
feels very strongly against invasion of his privacy. He refuses to
answer questions about his private life, because he believes his life
off the pitch belongs to him. He also stays far away from 'tabloid
press' infested parties and prefers to live a calm life at home.
* admits that
his worst personal habit is waking up very late. When he's not in
training he gets up at one o'clock.
*
loves to wind down in the countryside. He retreats to the old house
of his grandmother(mother's side), because when he shuts the front
door there, he leaves the world outside and can truly relax.
*
wears a golden ring, what looks like a wedding ring, on his left ring
finger, since September 2000. When asked about it, he claims it is
a present ... He believes he is too young still for marriage, but
when he is ready to have children (and he wants many!), you will find
him at the altar.
Lamborghini
has recently had a rebirth and has been churning out amazing concepts
that come out looking just as amazing in production form. This is
based on the Gallardo, Lamborghini's 'baby supercar', and turned into
a into a roadster which would be reminiscent 
of
classic single-seater racing cars. Named the Concept S, it is the
work of Luc Donckerwolke, Head of Lamborghini Design, who wanted to
create a new approach to open sports cars. For the front windows it
uses twin twin wrap around units like the Plexiglas units from the
fifties.
The aerodynamic
elements of Concept S include front and rear spoilers and a large
rear diffuser. Lamborghini has also equipped the new concept with
an electronically controlled, retractable, central rearview mirror.
More info coming soon to a Rising Stars near you.
