Massimo Ambrosini

Massimo Ambrosini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmassimo ambroˈziːni]; born 29 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder. At club level, he is mostly known for his successful time at Italian team AC Milan, where he spent eighteen years of his career, winning several titles, and captained the side from 2009 to 2013 following the retirement of Paolo Maldini. Ambrosini retired from professional football in 2014, after a season with Fiorentina.

At international level, he represented Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and in two UEFA European Championships, winning a runners-up medal at UEFA Euro 2000.

He currently works as a pundit and football commentator for Sky Sport Italia.

Ambrosini began his career with Cesena and graduated to their first team at the age of 17 during the 1994–95 season. AC Milan coach Fabio Capello then won the race to sign him the following year, and despite facing tough competition to break into the all-star Milan side, Ambrosini was given a handful of games as the team romped to the Serie A championship. Used in the 1996–97 season only sporadically, Ambrosini was sent on loan to Vicenza, where he was given a spot in the team's starting line-up almost immediately, and helped his team avoid relegation at the end of the season. He also reached the semi-final of UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Vicenza. Recalled to the San Siro, Ambrosini at last made a first-team place his own as Milan won back the Serie A championship in 1999. A regular the following term, he then saw his chances limited by a troublesome knee injury before returning to full fitness to help Milan win the Coppa Italia (scoring in a 4–1 win in the first leg of the final over Roma) and the UEFA Champions League during the 2002–03 season, where he replaced Rui Costa in the 87th minute of the final against Juventus, held at Old Trafford.

In 2003–04, although unable to establish himself as a first-team starter due to a series of niggling injuries and a loss of form, Ambrosini made 20 Serie A appearances – predominantly as a substitute – and scored one goal as Milan captured their 17th Serie A championship. In March 2005, he renewed his contract to June 2008.

In 2004–05, he struggled to break into Milan first team, making only made 22 Serie A appearances and scoring one goal. It is his late goal, however, that took Milan to the UEFA Champions League final. With Milan losing 2–0, a scoreline which would have sent the match to extra time as Milan defeated PSV with the same score in the San Siro, Ambrosini scored a header in second half injury time to bring the score to 2–1 and give Milan the 3–2 aggregate lead. PSV immediately responded with a goal of their own to tie the aggregate score at 3–3, but Milan advanced to the final on the away goals rule. Ambrosini, however, missed the final in Istanbul with yet another injury as Milan were defeated on penalties by Liverpool.

In 2005–06, he again suffered a series of injuries which limited him to just 13 Serie A appearances and one goal, thus making him out of contention for the Italian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Unlike the previous seasons, 2006–07 became Ambrosini's late breakthrough as he had fully recovered from his recurring injuries. Although not an immediate starter at the beginning, following a series of stunning performances, he eventually made his way into the team's starting 11, prompting Carlo Ancelotti to change his preferred formation from 4–3–1–2 to 4–3–2–1 (alternatively, 4–4–1–1), in which he would play a left-sided defensive midfielder, in a role similar to that of Gennaro Gattuso responsible for winning back possession and passing the ball to either a deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo or other attacking players. He scored two decisive goals in Serie A against Sampdoria and Atalanta, both with his head. He was also a key member to Milan's victory over Bayern Munich and Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League, balancing the game for Milan through his vision and leadership skills; his long pass from his team's half of the pitch to an unmarked striker Alberto Gilardino helped ensure Milan's eventual 3–0 victory as Gilardino scored a goal that drastically reduced Manchester United's chances of a comeback. This game also prompted Ambrosini to change his mind about leaving Milan due to lack of playing time and extend his contract until June 2010.

On 4 July 2013 Fiorentina confirmed on their official website that they had won the race to sign Ambrosini on a one-year deal, beating West Ham United who were also looking to sign him. He made 30 appearances for Fiorentina in his first season with La Viola, helping the club to fourth place in Serie A. Massimo Ambrosini would announce on 21 May 2014 that he would be leaving Fiorentina after one season.

Ambrosini made his senior international debut on 28 April 1999 against Croatia, under manager Dino Zoff, and was part of the Italian squad at UEFA Euro 2000, which ended with an appearance as a substitute in the final loss to reigning World champions France following David Trezeguet's golden goal; he also represented Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics under Marco Tardelli later that year, where Italy were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual finalists Spain. Ambrosini was unavailable for selection for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals under Giovanni Trapattoni due to injury, and then failed to break into the squad for the UEFA Euro 2004 finals. Under subsequent manager Marcello Lippi, he was also excluded from the national side and was not called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which Italy went on to win.

On 16 August 2006, Ambrosini earned his 23rd cap for Italy after almost two years of absence from the squad in a 2–0 friendly home defeat to Croatia; for this match, he was given the captain's armband by coach Roberto Donadoni in the absence of regular contenders for the armband. He was then called up by the national side's manager to Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, appearing in all four of his nation's matches throughout the tournament, as Italy were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the tournament by eventual champions Spain, following a penalty shootout. After Donadoni's dismissal, however, Lippi was put back in charge, and Ambrosini was no longer called up for Italy, despite putting in battling displays for Milan. In total he made 35 appearances for Italy.

A physically strong, tenacious, energetic, and hardworking box-to-box, central, or defensive midfielder, with a wide range of skills, Ambrosini was well regarded for his ability in the air, and was capable of being a goal-threat, in particular from set-pieces, due to his height, elevation, ability to make attacking runs into the area, and his heading accuracy, as well as his powerful striking ability from distance, which even led manager Carlo Ancelotti to deploy him as a centre forward on occasion. Throughout his career, he stood out for his leadership, as well as his stamina, versatility, tactical intelligence, and aggressive tackling, which led him to pick up a significant quantity of red and yellow cards throughout his career. Although Ambrosini primarily served as a ball winner, he was also known for his ability to start attacking plays after winning back possession, courtesy of his vision and passing range, despite his lack of notable technical skills. Despite his ability as a midfielder, he often struggled with injuries throughout his career.

Massimo Ambrosini is married to an Italian woman, Paola Ambrosini. Ambrosini has two children with his wife, his son Federico Ambrosini was born on 11 May 2009, and his daughter Angelica Ambrosini was born on 21 November 2011.

Serie A: 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2010–11

UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2000

5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000