Simone Perrotta

Simone Perrotta, Italian orders of merit, (born September 17, 1977 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England) is an Italy FIFA World Cup-winning Football (soccer) midfielder, who currently plays for A.S. Roma in Serie A. He was member of the Italy national football team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Perrotta lived in England until the age of 6, attending school at St. Ann's primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne. His parents, Francesco and Anna Maria ran a pub in Ashton and lived on Fitzroy Street before moving back to Italy in 1982. Perrotta is of Calabrian origin though born in England.

Perrotta grew up in the youth system of Reggina Calcio and debuted in Serie B in 1995, becoming an important fixture in their line-up. In 1998 Juventus F.C] decided to pick him up, but with great midfielders like Antonio Conte, Didier Deschamps, and Zinedine Zidane ahead of him he only collected 5 appearances for the Turin club. In 1999 he was loaned to A.S. Bari, where he was a protagonist for 2 seasons. In 2001/2002 he was shipped to A.C. Chievo Verona. There, he was a mainstay in the midfield of the surprising Chievo squad that was 1st place at the winter break. He even gave the winning assist in their famous victory over Inter that season. In 2004 A.S. Roma signed him fron the Veneto club. Despite a disappointing first season marred by the problems at the club at the time, he has been one of their best players for the past two seasons. In merit of his fine performances for the capital club, he earned a call-up to Marcello Lippi's World Cup squad, starting all 7 games for the ultimate champions. He recently signed a contract extension with the capital club, keeping him in Rome until 2010.

Under Roma coach Luciano Spalletti's revolutionary 4-2-3-1 formation, he plays behind the first striker in between the left and right winger as an attacking central midfielder. He has an incredible stamina and his play allows him to help both defence and attack.

National Team

Perrotta has played at the U-21 level for Italy. At senior level, he debuted in 2002. He played for Italy at the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, scoring a goal against Bulgaria, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, winning on penalties against France national football team.

Despite his age, Perrotta states he can improve as a player. He is famous for comparing himself to wine: the older he becomes, the better he gets.

Unlike his position at Roma, Perrotta is often used as a left winger with the Italian national team.