Alessandro Nesta (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian footballer. He plays at center back for A.C. Milan in Serie A. He has previously played for S.S. Lazio. With amazing tackling skill, game reading ability he is widely considered one of the best defenders in the world. Sandro had a happy childhood in his quarter of Cinecittà, in Rome. He attended the primary school at "Margherita Bosco", where he first started playing football. Fernando, Alessandro's older brother, was advised to play a sport because of his back problem, and enrolled at the local football club. Young Alessandro threw a tantrum till his father gave in and he was enrolled as well, and so his career began. In 1985, he joined the youth academy of Lazio, where he rose through the ranks playing in various positions, including striker and midfielder. His international career first showed signs of growth when he played for the Italian national Under-15 and Under-16 sides. In 1993, he managed to join Lazio's first-team squad. In 1996, Nesta was a member of the Italian Under-21 team that defeated Spain to win the European Under-21 Championship, picking up the award for best defender in the tournament along the way. He made his full international debut for Italy against Moldova on October 5, 1996. In 1997, he was given the captaincy of Lazio. It was in the 1997-'98 season that Lazio won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup), beating A.C. Milan in the final, with Nesta amongst the goal-scorers. Just before the 2002-'03 season, Nesta joined A.C. Milan. With Milan he has won the Scudetto Serie A (Italian Championship), Coppa Italia, Champions League and the European Super Cup. Nesta has appeared over 60 times for the Italian national team and has been a mainstay in it since the late 1990s. He played for his country in Euro 96, the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Nesta is engaged to Nadia Baratta (daughter of Raffaelle Pagnozzi, General Secretary of CONI). She is a specialist in economics and was working for "Casa Italia", the headquarters of the Azzurri, during the 1998 World Cup at France. He was injured after the World Cup game against Austria, Gabriela took care of him, and this is how this love story began. "I can say, I got the injury and her in France then. And the injury has gone, she has stayed with me." The two of them live together in Milan.