Simone Perrotta

Early career: Reggina and Juventus

Perrotta was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, England, in the same hospital as England's 1966 World Cup winner Geoff Hurst. He grew up in the youth system of Reggina and debuted in Serie B in 1995, becoming an important fixture in their line-up. In 1998, Juventus decided to sign him; however, due to the presence of several more experienced and world-class midfielders ahead of him on the team, such as Antonio Conte, Didier Deschamps, Edgar Davids, Alessio Tacchinardi, and Zinedine Zidane, he struggled to gain playing time, and only made five league appearances for the Turin club, and 15 in total. Despite his limited space at the club, he was able to score a goal in the Coppa Italia, make his Champions League debut, and appeared in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, which Juventus went on to win, before being sent out on loan to Bari.

Bari

In 1999, Perrotta was farmed to Bari in a co-ownership deal for 3 billion Italian lire (or €1,549,371), as part of Gianluca Zambrotta's deal, where he played for two seasons, breaking into the first team. In June 2001, Bari acquired him outright for approximately €300,000, making Juventus booked a financial cost of €1.25 million for the discount.

Chievo

At the start of 2001–02 Serie A, following Bari's relegation from Serie A, he was shipped to Chievo, where he remained for three seasons, and made a name for himself as one of Italy's best midfielders. Alongside Eugenio Corini, he was a…

Perrotta was eligible to play for both Italy and England – the latter due to his birth in the country (in addition to being Italian, he is automatically a British citizen as the United Kingdom granted unconditional birthright citizenship until 1983). Perrotta made his debut for the Italy under-21 team under Marco Tardelli, making 6 appearances and scoring a goal. He won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, appearing in Italy's 2–1 victory over the Czech Republic in the final, but was later dropped from the 2000 Summer Olympics squad due to injury. He made his senior international debut under Giovanni Trapattoni, on 20 November 2002, in a 1–1 draw against Turkey. He subsequently played for Italy at UEFA Euro 2004, scoring a goal in a 2–1 win against Bulgaria, although the Italy national side were eliminated in the first round of the tournament on direct-encounters following a three-way five point tie with Denmark and Sweden. Perrotta also represented the Italy national team during the 2006 FIFA World Cup under coach Marcello Lippi, starting in all seven of the Azzurri's games, including the final, en route to their fourth World Cup title, setting up Filippo Inzaghi's goal in a 2–0 win over the Czech Republic in Italy's final group match of the tournament on 22 June. Unlike with Roma, Perrotta was often used as a left winger with the Italy national team under Lippi, or as a "front-lying" defensive midfielder, as he was in the 2006 World Cup. Under new manager…

A quick, physically strong, energetic, tenacious, and hard-working two-way player, Perrotta was known for his pace, versatility, and consistency, as well as his stamina, box-to-box play, and hard-running style. His wide range of skills allowed him to play anywhere in midfield. He was usually used in the centre, and often in a holding role in front of the defence, where he was adept at pressing opponents, breaking down plays, and subsequently distributing the ball to team-mates after winning back possession, or even linking up with other players through his passing to help start attacks. However, throughout his career, he was also deployed in other roles; for example, he was also used in a more offensive central midfield role, known as a mezzala in Italian football jargon, due to his movement. With the Italy national football team, under manager Marcello Lippi, he was used out wide as a defensive winger in a 4–4–1–1 formation during the 2006 World Cup, due to his work-rate and crossing ability; he was also later used in a similar role under his Roma manager Claudio Ranieri. Under his Roma manager Luciano Spalletti, he was even fielded in a more advanced role during the 2006–07 season, as a false attacking midfielder behind the team's lone striker Francesco Totti in a 4–2–3–1 formation, the latter of whom acted as a false nine; this change of position was effective, due to Perrotta's movement off the ball, eye for goal from midfield, and ability to make late attacking runs…

Perrotta is of Calabrian origins and was born in England. He lived in England until the age of five, attending the former St Ann's RC Primary School on Burlington Street in the electoral ward of St Peter's in Ashton-under-Lyne. His parents, Francesco and Anna Maria, ran a pub in Ashton and lived on Fitzroy Street and briefly at the Chiltern Chapel before moving back to Italy in 1982, to their hometown Cerisano, near Cosenza. He is married and he has a son called Peter. On 22 December 2010, a statue of Perrotta was unveiled in Ashton-under-Lyne, close to Curzon Ashton F.C.'s Tameside Stadium in the Roy Oldham Sports Village, Richmond Street. The triple sculpture by Andrew Edwards and Sculpture For Sport commemorates the three men from the borough of Tameside who hold World Cup winner's medals: Geoff Hurst, Jimmy Armfield, and Perrotta. He speaks English and Italian.