Italy

Goal.com Profile: Gianluca Zambrotta

Thirty-one years ago, Gianluca Zambrotta was born in Como, which lies in the Lombardy region in northern Italy, where the capital is Milan. Therefore, it is appropriate that he should finally make his way to AC Milan to play his club football.

Jun 18, 2008 12:11:53 PM

zambrota of barcelona interview(minji)

Particulars

Name: Gianluca Zambrotta
Date of Birth: February 19, 1977
Height: 1.81m Weight: 79kg
Position: Fullback (left or right)

Background

Young Gianluca made his professional debut at the age of 17 with hometown club Como Calcio in 1994 (in Serie B), but only made one appearance that year.

The next season, however, he became a regular fixture in the team with the opportunity for more football being afforded to him, partly because of the club’s demotion to Serie C1. In all, he played 48 times for Como over the course of three seasons.

His impressive displays in Como grabbed the attention of A.S. Bari, who purchased Zambrotta in 1997 in preparation for Serie A football, as they had recently been promoted. He was an instant hit for Bari, and showed his attacking prowess on the left wing by chipping in two goals while making twenty-seven appearances. He spent one more season with Bari for the 1998-99 term and doubled his goal tally to four in 32 matches. He also made his full Italian national team debut during this season against Norway.

Juventus then dipped into their transfer kitty and coach Carlo Ancelotti spent nearly €16M on the young player. Now playing with a truly big side after having done so well with smaller clubs, Zambrotta picked up right where he had left off with Bari, and played a large part in Juve’s near title triumph in the 1999-00 season, with the club falling on the final day of the season and being leapfrogged by Lazio for the Scudetto. Although, after such a good year in his maiden voyage with Juventus, Zambrotta was partly to blame for this capitulation, as he was sent off with a straight red card in the second half of the 1-0 loss to Perugia.
The next season, Zambrotta showed more of his attacking skills on the right wing, and scored four goals, having had just one to his name in his first year with Juve. However, Juventus again finished in second place.

Zambrotta won his first Scudetto in the 2001-02 season. This success was followed by his involvement in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, in which he was a key member of the squad that lost to Korea in the round of 16.

After suffering an injury in that loss, he had to miss the beginning of the 2002-03 season, and upon his return he was switched to left fullback by Marcello Lippi, the man who succeeded Carlo Ancelotti in the Juventus hot seat. This switch was a major turning point in Zambrotta’s career. Shortly after he began to develop into one of the top fullbacks in Europe.

His runs from the back were instrumental in the repeat Scudetto title campaign of 2002-03. Not only did his side succeed domestically, but they lost out only on penalty kicks to Milan in the Champions League final that season.

Further Scudetto wins were achieved in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, although these were later stripped from the club due to their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal.

His Greatest Success

His time with the Azzurri was rather forgettable prior to Calciopoli, especially given their poor showing and first round elimination at Euro 2004. However, his time with La Nazionale directly following the scandal was his greatest professional success to date.

Going into the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the turmoil surrounding the Italian squad must have been enough to break the team apart.

Thanks to the confidence instilled in the team by Marcello Lippi (now the Italian national team coach), a man who had been so influential in Zambrotta’s career at Juventus, the side pulled together and focused on the task at hand. Tough battles in the group stage against Ghana, the United States of America and the Czech Republic saw Italy finish on top of their group, and they were primed to go further in the tournament.

The round of 16 victory over Australia was not without controversy, as Italy won by virtue of a Francesco Totti penalty kick deep in second half stoppage time. Nevertheless, Italy advanced, and were faced with a difficult quarterfinal match against the Ukraine. Zambrotta scored early on in this match, with a long distance strike that never rose more than a foot or two off the ground. He then assisted on another goal for a comprehensive Italy victory.

Zambrotta was also instrumental in the seminfinal win over Germany, and he hit the bar in a match that Italy won with two late goals in extra time. Moving on to the final, against France, Zambrotta’s attacking ability was not on display as much as in previous matches, but he was again needed to solidify the backline. As we all know, Italy triumphed in this match, beating France on penalties.

The luster of winning the World Cup then had to be placed aside, as Zambrotta had trouble at home to deal with. His club side Juventus were going to be relegated because of the findings of Calciopoli. Rather than remain with the club and play in Serie B, he opted to transfer to another club. Despite overtures from Milan for his signature, he decided to sign with Barcelona of Spain.
With the players Barcelona added to their squad in addition to Zambrotta, one could have reasonably thought that Barca were going to add some big silverware to their trophy cabinet. This was not to be, however. They disappointed in the Champions League during Zambrotta’s two years in Catalonia, and after surrendering the league title to Real Madrid in 2006-07, they finished a distant third place in 2007-08.

Moving On…

Zambrotta can put those two difficult years in Spain behind him, as he has now returned to Italy, the country he should never have left. His style of play is perfectly suited to Serie A football, and it is quite possible, if not probable, that he will pick up where he left off when leaving Juventus two summers ago. His marauding runs were never appreciated by Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard, himself a former Milan idol. The fullbacks in Spain usually advance and support, rather than making surging runs like Zambrotta does on a regular basis.

Now with Milan, his long runs will be appreciated and praised. Massimo Oddo struggled this year at right fullback for Milan, and his service was poor. Marek Jankulovski has also struggled to provide quality support to the attack. Therefore, Zambrotta should find a regular starting place pretty much from day one.

When he was recently questioned about his return to Italian football and playing for Milan, he said, “Now, after two years spent abroad, in Spain at Barcelona, returning back to Italy in a big team like Milan is an enormous pleasure for me.

“I’m happy to be returning to play in my league and for a great team.”

So, Zambrotta returns to his homeland on a three-year contract with Milan, after the Rossoneri gave Barcelona the €8.5M they required for his transfer. There was not really any other place that Zambrotta could have ended up, as Milan were always going to be the main suitors having missed out on his signature two summers ago.

Regarding his future at San Siro, Serie A will be the focus next season, given that Milan will not be playing in the Champions League after finishing in fifth place in the Serie A. This could be good for the Rossoneri, and especially for Zambrotta. Having been outside of Italy for two years, simply focusing on the Scudetto gives him the chance to reacquaint himself with the Campionato.

Did You Know? Gianluca Zambrotta posed for a calendar in 2005 that was sold in order to raise money for a maternity center to be built in Afghanistan.

Joel Whitehead

Italy

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