Pessotto :: Gianluca Pessotto

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Gianluca Pessotto (Italian pronunciation: ; born 11 August 1970) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. A former Italy international, he spent the majority of his club career with Juventus, where he won several domestic and international trophies, and is now head of its youth system. He represented his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and at UEFA Euro 2000, reaching the final of the latter tournament. After his retirement in 2006, Pessotto remained at Juventus as a member of the coaching staff. He is currently the Sporting Director (Direttore Sportivo) of the club's youth academy. Pessotto was given the nickname Il Professorino ("The Little Professor") by the fans, due to his glasses, his interest in philosophy and literature, and as he was able to obtain a law degree during his career. His stamina and ability to run very quickly – indeed he was often described as almost "flying" on field in the media – also earned him the nickname "Passerotto" ("Little Sparrow"). Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License - Full article