Pessotto Gianluca
Gianluca Pessotto is a retired football player. A former Italian international, he spent the majority of his club career with Juventus F.C., where he won several domestic and international trophies, and is now head of its youth system. He represented his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and at UEFA Euro 2000, reaching the final of the latter tournament. Despite not being the most technically gifted footballer, Pessotto was a correct, hard-working, tactically intelligent, and versatile utility player, who was able to play as a full-back or wing-back, or also as a central, defensive, or wide midfielder on either flank; despite being right-footed, he usually preferred to play on the left side of the pitch, where he was known for his ability to chase down opponents, win back the ball, and subsequently carry it up the flank. He was also used as a centre-back on occasion, due to his consistency, awareness, and man-marking ability.
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During the season 1998-1999 the team used two different kind of Champions League shirts. In the first part of the season the team played with shirts with no Kappa logos on sleeves. During the second part of the season the team played with shirts with Kappa logos on sleeves.
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This blue model with Kappa logos on sleeves was never used during the season.
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After joining Juventus in 1995, he instantly became a key part of the first team and help Juventus form what was considered as the best defence in the world at this time, and teams strongly regretted ever going down a goal to the club, as they knew how hard it would be to score one back for themselves. Pessotto formed impressive defensive partnerships with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Moreno Torricelli, Paolo Montero, Mark Iuliano, Lilian Thuram, Alessandro Birindelli, Igor Tudor, Gianluca Zambrotta, Nicola Legrottaglie, Fabio Cannavaro, Jonathan Zebina, and Giorgio Chiellini during his lengthy 12-year tenure with the club. He was one of many experienced players who had been at Juventus for a lengthy period of time. Injuries and other issues in the closing stages of his career limited his first-team opportunities to mainly being used a substitute to Jonathan Zebina or Lilian Thuram. Pessotto retired at the end of the 2005–2006 Serie A season, after back to back Scudetti. With Juventus he managed well over 250 total appearances scoring 2 league goals in the process. Among his achievements as a Juventus player, Pessotto won the UEFA Champions League in 1996, playing in 4 Champions League Finals, the UEFA Super Cup in 1996, the Intercontinental Cup in 1996, 1 UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000, 4 Scudetti (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003) 4 Supercoppa Italiana (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003), and 1 Coppa Italia in 1995.
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This style of shirt was made in two different versions. The beginning of the season was played with plastic ironed D+ sponsor. The rest of the season was played with D+ sponsor inside the shirt’s fabric.
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The UEFA Euro 2000 Final was a football match played on 2 July 2000 at Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to determine the winner of UEFA Euro 2000. France won the match, defeating Italy 2–1. Marco Delvecchio gave Italy the lead in the 55th minute and they held on until the final minute of injury time, when Sylvain Wiltord crashed a low drive past Italian keeper Francesco Toldo to take the game into extra time. France won the game just before half-time in extra-time when Robert Pirès cut the ball back for David Trezeguet to fire the golden goal and win the tournament for France.
Watch above the Euro 2000 Final highlights
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In total, Pessotto was capped 22 times for Italy between 1996 and 2002, under managers Arrigo Sacchi (1996), Cesare Maldini (1996–98), Dino Zoff (1998–2000), and Giovanni Trapattoni (2000–2002). He played for his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where Italy were eliminated by hosts and eventual champions France on penalties in the quarter finals, and at Euro 2000. At Euro 2000, Pessotto scored a penalty in the semi-final shootout win over co-hosts the Netherlands, which sent Italy into the final against France. In the final, Pessotto would set up Delvecchio’s goal; however, he only picked up a runners-up medal, as Italy lost to France for the second consecutive tournament, after conceding a last minute equaliser, and then subsequently conceding a David Trézéguet golden goal. Trezeguet ironically became his Juventus teammate the following season. He was unable to take part at the 2002 World Cup with Italy due to injury.
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Following his retirement, Pessotto was successively appointed as the new Juventus team manager. Weeks after his retirement as a footballer, he survived a 15-metre fall from a fourth storey window at the headquarters of Juventus, on 27 June 2006. Those were the days of the FIFA WORLD CUP “GERMANY 2006″and Italy Team was about to play the quarter-finals against Ukraine. Fellow former team mates Gianluca Zambrotta and Alessandro Del Piero flew home from Germany to be at the bedside of their stricken friend for one day. After the game against Ukraine, Cannavaro and Zambrotta paraded a banner reading “Pessottino siamo con te” – ‘Pessottino we are with you’.
On 17 July 2006, medical staff declared him out of danger and stated that he would not have long-term mental damage or physical paralysis. After recovering Pessotto resumed his managerial duties making him an absolute model of human strength.
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The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams: Juventus and Milan. The match made history as it was the first time two clubs from Italy had faced each other in the final. It was also the second intra-national final of the competition, following the all-Spanish 2000 UEFA Champions League Final three years earlier. Milan won the match via a penalty shoot-out after the game had finished 0–0 after extra time. Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, was selected to host the match in December 2001, following a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Nyon, Switzerland, at the same time as Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville was selected to host the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. It was selected ahead of the likes of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris, and the Amsterdam Arena.
Champions League 2003 Final Match Worn Shirts and Game Used Ball.
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In the semi-final against Real Madrid Pavel Nedved picked up a second yellow card which meant he was suspended for the final. During the Final instead both Juventus and Milan had injuries to defenders, Juventus’ Igor Tudor leaving early in the first half after pulling a muscle in his right thigh. In extra time, Roque Júnior limped out due to fatigue and injury; as they had made all three of their allowed substitutions, they had to play the rest of the game with 10 men. The penalty shoot-out has caused controversy among some fans as replays showed that Dida was in front of the goal line when saving penalties from David Trezeguet, Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero. Buffon was also off his line when saving penalties from Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze. Shevchenko put away the final penalty to win the European Cup for Milan for the sixth time. Shevchenko himself became the first Ukrainian footballer to win the European Cup.
Watch above the Champions League Final 2003 penalties set
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Pessotto was given the nickname “Il Professorino” (“The Professor”) by the fans, due to his glasses, his interest in literature, and as he was able to obtain a law degree during his career.