International Career
Gattuso has been capped seventy three times for his country and played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008, the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.
He was one of the key players in Italy's World Cup-winning team, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match against Ukraine. He and Pirlo formed a formidable partnership in the heart of midfield. Gattuso achieved a measure of notoriety for his post-match celebrations after Italy won the World Cup, during which he removed his shorts and ran around the pitch in his underwear, until FIFA officials forced him to cover up.
In the Euro 2008, when both of them had to miss the quarterfinal match against Spain due to accumulated yellow cards, coach Donadoni had a hard time finding replacements as none of the reserve players could match the lung-bursting contribution of the Milan duo. Italy went on to lose 4–2 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. On June 2010, he announced that he would retire from international duty after the 2010 World Cup.
Read more about this topic: Gennaro Gattuso
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“John Brown’s career for the last six weeks of his life was meteor-like, flashing through the darkness in which we live. I know of nothing so miraculous in our history.”
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