Full Name :Nicola Legrottaglie Date Of Birth:October 20, 1976 (age 32) Place of Birth:Gioia del Colle, Italy Height:1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Position:Centre back Current Club:Juventus National Debut:2002 Caps:10 (1)
Nicola Legrottaglie (born 20 October 1976 in Gioia del Colle, Bari) is an Italian football central defender, currently with Serie A side Juventus F.C.. He is also an Italian international.
Club career
Legrottaglie began his career with A.S. Bari back in 1994 before moving to A.C. Pistoiese and A.C. Prato. In 1998, he joined A.C. ChievoVerona and, after loan spells with A.C. Reggiana 1919 and Modena FC, returned to Chievo upon the side's first ever experience in the top flight. He made his name there, and was rewarded with a move to Juventus F.C. in 2003.
Legrottaglie was a full member of the squad in the 2003-04 season, playing 21 games and scoring twice. However, new coach Fabio Capello did not provide him with any playing time the following year, and Legrottaglie had to move on loan to Bologna F.C. 1909 in the 2005 January transfer window (nine games plus relegation play-offs).
After that he returned to Juventus, only to be loaned out to A.C. Siena for 2005-06, together with Igor Tudor and youth products Matteo Paro, Daniele Gastaldello,
Antonio Mirante, Douglas Packer, Cristian Molinaro, Luca Cacciotto and Rey Volpato. He was expected to play a role in 2006-07's second division, as Juventus looked for experienced players to get them back up to the topflight, following the Calciopoli match fixing scandal. Legrottaglie ended up playing in only 10 games out of 42, with the addition of a red card.
In 2007-08, Legrottaglie started where he left off the previous season, in the subs bench. However, after the serious injury suffered by new signing Jorge Andrade, he was promoted to the starting eleven for the game against Reggina Calcio on September 26, scoring the opener in a 4-0 routing. Until the season's end, Legrottaglie paired with Giorgio Chiellini as starting centre-back, as Juve allowed only 9 goals in 14 games since Andrade's injury and finished in third place.
His contract ran originally run until summer 2008 but, in October 2007, due to his excellent form, was awarded a 2-year extension.
International career
On November 20, 2002, Legrottaglie made his international debut, in a friendly match with Turkey, in Pescara, and went on to appear in a further six matches in a one-year span, mostly friendlies.
Following his performances at Juventus, Legrottaglie received his first cap in four years, appearing in a friendly against Austria, filling in for injured teammate Chiellini in an August 18, 2008 contest held in Nice.
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