MILAN – Giorgio Chiellini brought the curtain down on a trophy-packed “beautiful” football career on Dec 12 after the Italian great announced his retirement from the sport.
The former Italy and Juventus defender revealed he would be hanging up his boots at the age of 39 in a short post on social media, accompanied by a video showing the highlights of his 23 years in the professional game.
“You (football) have been the most beautiful and intense journey of my life. You have been my everything,” he wrote.
“With you, I have travelled a unique and unforgettable path. But now it is time to start new chapters, face new challenges and write further important and exciting pages of life.”
The 1.87m Chiellini ended his career at Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer – his final match was the MLS Cup final loss to Columbus Crew on Dec 9 – but he is best known for his exploits with Juventus and his country.
He began his career with Livorno in 2000. After joining Juve in 2005, he eventually became a cornerstone of the so-called “BBC” defence alongside Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci.
That defensive trio were key to propelling Juve back to domestic dominance after years in the doldrums following the “Calciopoli” match-fixing scandal which exploded in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup.
Chiellini won nine consecutive Italian Serie A titles between 2012 and 2020 and reached two Champions League finals with the Turin giants, who honoured him on social media with the message “Warrior, captain, champion. Thanks for everything big Giorgio!”
Juve also posted a video depicting helicopters lifting a giant Juve jersey, emblazoned with “Chiellini” and his squad No. 3, from the pitch at the club’s Allianz Stadium.
For Italy, he became a national hero after captaining the Azzurri to triumph at Euro 2020, where under Roberto Mancini they roared back from apparent footballing oblivion following their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
A series of gutsy defensive displays in the latter stages of the tournament culminated in a thrilling penalty shoot-out win over England in the final at Wembley.
However, Chiellini quit international football in 2022 after 117 international caps, scoring eight times, and his country failing to reach a second straight World Cup.
In truth, he had a mixed Italy career, reaching the Euro 2012 final – where Italy were outclassed by Spain, losing 4-0 – but having a difficult time at World Cup Finals.
Italy exited in the group stage both in 2010 – when they were the defending champions – and 2014 before slumping to a historic play-off defeat to Sweden in 2017, which cost them a place in the 2018 tournament.
He was not selected for Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team.
Chiellini’s final Italy appearance came in the 2022 ‘Finalissima’ match with Copa America champions Argentina, a few weeks after ending 17 years at Juve.
He played the final two seasons of his career in the United States with LAFC, where he won the 2022 MLS Cup before relinquishing the title at the weekend. AFP, REUTERS
