Alessandro Pistone (born 27 July 1975) is an Italian former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and manager.
As a player he was
full-back who notably played for
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
side
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
and
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
sides
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
and
Everton. He also played for
Solbiatese,
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
,
Venezia
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
R.A.E.C. Mons. He earned 11 caps for the
Italy Under-21 national team, whom he represented in the
1996 Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
.
Playing career
Early career
Pistone was born in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, Italy. He started his career at
Solbiatese and , two small Italian teams who in recent years have slid to the lowest tier of professional Italian football, before moving to
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
for the duration of the 1995–96 season. Whilst at Vicenza, Pistone caught the eye of
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player.
He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...
, who was manager of
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
at that time.
Internazionale
Pistone transferred to
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
for the 1996–97 season, fulfilling a childhood ambition by signing for his home town club. By now an Under-21 international, Pistone made 45 appearances for Inter. Pistone also featured in the
1997 UEFA Cup Final, which Inter lost to
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...
.
Newcastle United
After an impressive single season at Internazionale,
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
manager
Kenny Dalglish
Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
signed Pistone for a fee of £4.5 million in July 1997. Despite primarily being a full-back, Pistone made his debut against Sheffield Wednesday as a central defender (a position which he appeared in on a number of occasions in his first season with the Magpies). Pistone played in the
1998 FA Cup Final against
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, which Newcastle United lost.
After only two games into his second season with the club, Pistone was injured whilst playing away at
Chelsea. This game proved to be Dalglish's last for Newcastle United, and he was subsequently sacked, Pistone was subsequently frozen out of the team by Dalglish's replacement,
Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a former Dutch Association football, footballer and subsequent manager. Regarded among the greatest footballers of all time, he was also noted for his Utility player#Association football, abili ...
. Pistone was not allocated a squad number and was forced to train with the reserve team, along with former club captain
Rob Lee
Robert Martin Lee (born 1 February 1966) is an English former professional footballer and sports co-commentator.
As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and West Ham United. His time at S ...
. During this time, Pistone was sent out on loan to
Venezia
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
for four months, where he made 10 appearances. However, after Gullit was sacked, Pistone was restored to the first team by new manager
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town. ...
, and once again became a first team regular.
In his time at Newcastle he scored one league goal, against Middlesbrough in May 2000, in what proved to be his penultimate appearance for the club.
Everton
In July 2000, Pistone was transferred to
Everton for a fee in the region of £3 million. He appeared in the first match of the 2000–01 season before being beset by a succession of injuries (including a six-month layoff for a knee injury). As a result, Pistone only managed to make 8 appearances for the Toffees during his first season.
Throughout the 2001–02 season, Pistone again suffered a major injury, which resulted in him missing most of the campaign. However, during the 2001–02 season Pistone did score his first goal for the club against
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
.
Pistone overcame a succession of injuries, and he featured in the vast majority of Everton's games throughout the 2004–05 season. However, his contract was due to expire at the end of this season, and with manager
David Moyes
David William Moyes (born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player, who currently manages Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton. He was the 2003, 200 ...
having doubts about Pistone's ability to remain injury-free, he was only offered a one-year contract. Pistone refused to sign, and looked to be heading out of Goodison Park at the end of the 2004–05 season. However, with Everton qualifying for the
Champions League for the 2005–06 season, the club were short of defensive cover. As such, he was subsequently offered a new two-year contract, to which he agreed.
Pistone returned to Everton's first-team line up for the 2005–06 season. However, he only managed to feature in 3 games before suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury, ending his season prematurely. Following this, Pistone failed to make a further first-team appearance for Everton, and did not feature at all during the
2006–07 season.
After making 103 appearances for Everton in 7 years, Pistone was eventually released by the club on 14 May 2007.
Free agent
After being released by Everton, on 31 August 2007 it was confirmed by
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
manager
Gareth Southgate
Sir Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional Association football, football manager and player, who played as a Defender (association football), defender and midfielder.
A Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace Crystal ...
that Pistone was having a trial at the Premier League club and, as Pistone was a free agent, he could be signed after the transfer deadline, giving Southgate more time to decide. It was reported on 9 September 2007 that Southgate had decided against offering Pistone a contract.
Pistone also went on trial with Championship side
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
but he could not convince
Aidy Boothroyd
Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who was most recently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he ...
to offer him a contract.
RAEC Mons
After failing to secure a contract with a club in England, Pistone spent a week on trial with Belgian club
RAEC Mons. After impressing manager
Geo Van Pyperzeele, Pistone signed for the club on 6 December 2007 until the end of the season, and was given the number 4 jersey. After signing for the club, Pistone was quoted as saying ''"I signed here because I felt that the club immediately believed in me. R.A.E.C. Mons gives me the opportunity to play at a certain level and, very importantly, I felt the confidence of the club and the direction towards me"''. However, after only making four appearances, Pistone left the club at the end of the 2007–08 season.
International career
As part of the
Italian Under-21 national team, Pistone won the
European Under-21 Championships in 1996, taking and scoring Italy's second penalty in an eventual 4–2 shoot-out victory in the final against
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, following a 1–1 draw. Pistone also played for
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
at the
1996 Olympic Game
s in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
.
Coaching career
Since retiring, Pistone has coached youth players at Aldini Bariviera and Varese Calcio. In September 2015, he managed the first team of Oggiono in Italy's fifth tier, the
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football.Official ...
. He departed Oggiono in November 2016 due to the club's financial position.
The club merged with local rivals Nibiono to become A.S.D. NibionnOggiono.
After football
Since retiring from football, Pistone has made a number of appearances on the Italian Poker Circuit, and participated in the eight Annual Night of Aces event in 2010. Pistone also owns and runs a restaurant in
Milano near Central Station, Italy, which specialises in Saveloy Dip.
Notes
External links
*
FIGC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pistone, Alessandro
1975 births
Living people
Footballers from Milan
Italian men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Italy men's under-21 international footballers
Serie A players
Serie C players
Premier League players
Belgian Pro League players
ASD Solbiatese Calcio 1911 players
LR Vicenza players
Inter Milan players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
R.A.E.C. Mons (1910) players
Olympic footballers for Italy
Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Italian expatriate men's footballers
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Italian expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate men's footballers in England
20th-century Italian sportsmen