One defender stands tall of all the players that have passed through the gates of the Stadio Olimpico. Nesta is a born and bred son of Rome with the ability, career, and legacy to support his claim as one of the greatest Italian players ever.
Nesta isn’t just one of the greatest Lazio players of all time. He became a talisman of Italian football. Unfortunately, his most extraordinary years came at AC Milan, where he was sold due to the money woes at Lazio. Nevertheless, he won Champions Leagues, domestic honours, and multiple individual awards for his majestic defensive capability.
You can unlock Nesta as a legacy player in massive sports games like FIFA. This inclusion has opened his legacy to a new generation of football fans too young to watch him dominate games in his prime. In addition, the growth of the gaming market has helped supplement football to a new, bigger, global audience through internet tournaments and the rise of eSports tournaments.
These tournaments, where teams of individuals will play each other on games like FIFA, Madden, and Fortnite, generate multi-million dollar revenues, and have substantial gambling markets underpinning them, the likes of which you can find on https://thunderpick.io/en/esports. It is an industry showing no signs of slowing down, and the gambling markets it fuels are likely to grow in popularity and stature.
The Start of The Legacy
As you probably know, Alessandro turned down Roma in his earlier years. Thankfully, he would never go on to play for them and chose Lazio because of his father’s support. Nevertheless, his performances in the youth system were dynamic and reminiscent of a player capable of playing much higher, even at such a young age.
Remarkably, he rose through the ranks at Lazio, becoming captain at 21 and the focal point of Sven Goran Eriksson’s legendary team. Alessandro cemented his place in Lazio history when he scored the only goal against AC Milan to bring the Coppa Italia back to Rome. In addition, he was named Serie A Defender of The Year for three consecutive years between 2000 and 2002.
This feat was even more impressive given that the Italian league was considered the strongest in Europe then. It wasn’t just the single-handed influence of Nesta that dragged the team into finals and won them trophies – but he was undoubtedly the spine of the team, continuing to lead them to finals even while battling massive injuries throughout the later stages of the 1990s.
AC Milan
Alessandro has been quoted as saying he would have stayed at Lazio for his entire career if he could. But, unfortunately, substantial monetary issues at the turn of the 21st Century resulted in a quickfire sale of the top talent, and Nesta was at the top of that list.
Alessandro Nesta conducted himself gracefully throughout this period, during which Lazio was lucky to survive. The big spending in the latter stages of the 1990s had caught up to them in a big way, and if they hadn’t sold all their stars, we might not even have a club to talk about.
Everybody knew how good Nesta was. His formidable partnership with Paolo Maldini is one of the finest defensive pairings for club and country that has ever graced a football pitch. Nesta performed wonders at Milan, winning multiple European Cups and domestic honours. He was part of a legendary setup spearheaded by the managerial exploits of Carlo Ancelotti and one of the finest-ever Italian teams.
Not only did the team contain the cream of Italian football, but it also had unbelievable talent from across the world, including Kaka, Clarence Seedorf, and Andriy Shevchenko – it isn’t a surprise they dominated Europe. At the same time, Nesta captained Italy to their generation’s defining moment – the 2006 World Cup win.
Conclusion
Alessandro spent a more extended period at Milan than Lazio, but given that his heart never left Rome, he has endeared himself to Lazio forever. You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody who gives Nesta a bad name in Rome, and his position as one of the greatest Italian footballers of all time is set in stone.
Given that he has tried his hand at management, admittedly not as gifted as he was when out on the pitch, he could return to the Olimpico in an advisory capacity someday. In addition, promising defenders bursting through the academy and into the first team could learn invaluable skills from the ex-Italian and Lazio captain, who has lifted every possible trophy at club and international levels.
Sadly, we will never know what could have happened if Lazio’s money troubles hadn’t bubbled over and they managed to keep hold of Alessandro. On the other hand, in a parallel universe, maybe he achieved everything at Lazio that he did with AC Milan. Either way, he’s done more than enough to be considered Lazio royalty, and hopefully, there are more chapters of his Lazio story to unfold.
