The current Azzurri captain, Giorgio Chiellini, is the seventh, and most recent, player in Italian history to have crossed the threshold of 100 appearances for the National Team. And his journey with the Azzurri is now more than 15 years long.

After being a part of Livorno’s journey from C1 to Serie A, Giorgio was signed by Juventus, who then sent him on loan to Fiorentina. His performances on the left-hand side of defence attracted plenty of attention, so much so that he earned a call-up to the National Team.

Following the European campaign in Portugal 2004, a new coaching cycle had begun at Coverciano. And Coach Marcello Lippi decided to include the then 20-year-old Fiorentina defender in his new national team set-up, fresh from the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics, making his debut on November 17, 2004.

The player from Pisa came on for Parisi at the beginning of the second half in a friendly match in Messina against Finland, which ended with an Azzurri win thanks to Miccoli’s free kick. On that occasion, the Coach set out a team that was labelled ‘experimental’, and which hit the bar thanks to Montella as well as creating other goalscoring chances. Parisi to Chiellini was one of several ‘passing of the baton’ moments that characterised this friendly.

Lippi, when speaking to the Gazzetta dello Sport, was incredibly complimentary about the rookie Viola defender, who played with dynamism and character throughout the game: "I really think that Gentile (the U21 Head Coach at the time) can forget about Chiellini for a while. If a player is ready at the age of 20, you don’t have to wait until he’s 21 to pick him in the first team."
 
Chiellini candidly admitted how his debut was “a great feeling”, adding: "I hope to be called up again next time, but I’m not obsessed by it."

In spite of this, the future 'King Giorgio', played for the U21s in the European Championship and wasn’t included in the victorious 2006 trip to Germany, but he had taken his first steps in the National Team that were the foundation for him becoming an Azzurri stalwart for years to come, right up to the present day.

To date, Chiellini has made 103 appearances for the Azzurri, scoring eight goals across the European Championship, World Cup, Confederations Cup, Nations League, qualifying and friendly matches. A record that allowed him to succeed the legendary Gigi Buffon as Azzurri Captain.

ITALY’S LINE-UP ON CHIELLINI’S DEBUT
Pellizzoli - Zaccardo, Barzagli, Materazzi, Parisi (Chiellini 46) - Esposito (Diana 46), De Rossi (Barone 63), Blasi, Mauri - Miccoli (Montella 46), Toni (Caracciolo 46)