On 19 February 1977, Gianluca Zambrotta was born in Como. After making his Serie A debut with Bari, he went on to wear the shirts of prestigious clubs such as Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan winning three Scudetto titles and four Super Cups across Italy and Spain. He began as a winger but his conversion to full-back (Marcello Lippi’s idea) allowed him to make the ultimate leap in quality, and it was Dino Zoff who handed him his Azzurri debut in the friendly game against Norway in Pisa in 1999. Zambrotta immediately became a key player at the following European Championships in Belgium and Holland until they lost the final against France, which he was forced to miss due to suspension. The loss in Rotterdam faded into obscurity as Zambrotta went one better six years later in Germany: he became a World Champion and was one of the best players in the competition, he even scored one of his two Azzurri goals in the quarter-final against Ukraine. Overall, he took part in three World Cups and three European Championships.

In 2010 against Serbia he played his 98th and last match for the National Team, only two games off the prestigious club with 100 Azzurri caps.