Born in Pesaro on 29 May 1977, Massimo Ambrosini turns 44 today. After coming through Cesena’s youth ranks, he moved to AC Milan, going on to win twelve trophies with the Rossoneri between 1995 and 2013: two Champions Leagues, one Club World Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, four Scudetto titles, one Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana triumphs. In his last four seasons at the club, he was the team captain. He then joined Fiorentina, where his career came to an end in 2014. As for his international career, this began under Dino Zoff, who handed him his debut in Croatia vs. Italy on 28 April 1999 (0-0). The same Head Coach included him in the Azzurri’s 2000 European Championship squad, a tournament where Ambrosini played three matches, including the golden goal loss in the final to France. He was also involved in the 2008 Euros, where he made his final appearance in the penalty shootout defeat to Spain in the quarter-finals. In total, he played 35 times for Italy over the course of his career.

Born in Schaffhausen (Switzerland) on 29 May 1970, Roberto Di Matteo turns 51 today. After winning the Swiss Nationalliga A in 1993 with Aarau, he joined Lazio, where he remained for three seasons. In 1996, he moved to England to play Premier League football with Chelsea, where he remained until 2002. During his spell at Stamford Bridge, he won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the FA Cup (x2), the League Cup and the Charity Shield. His coaching career began in 2008, a path which saw him return to Chelsea and win the Champions League with The Blues in 2012 following a penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich. As regards Italy, Di Matteo was given his debut by Sacchi against Croatia in a Euro qualifying match in Palermo on 16 November 1994. He then made two appearances at Euro '96, the first international tournament he was involved in. His first Azzurri goal came on 30 April 1997, when he broke the deadlock in Italy’s 3-0 success against Poland in World Cup qualifying. The following year, he found the net again, this time in a 3-0 friendly win over Slovakia in Catania. He took part in the 1998 World Cup, where he played against Chile and Cameroon during the group stage. In total, he won 34 Azzurri caps.