Giorgio Chiellini

Who is Giorgio Chiellini?

Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He began his career as a left-back, but made his name as a hard-tackling centre back – Walter Mazzarri once labeled him "a force of nature, from another planet" – with a penchant for scoring headers from set-pieces. A popular figure with fans, he is the club's vice-captain, behind Gianluigi Buffon.

He made his debut for Italy in 2004, and has since earned over 70 caps. He was selected in the nation's squads for the 2004 Olympics, two UEFA European Championships, two FIFA Confederations Cups and two FIFA World Cups, helping the Azzurri to the final of UEFA Euro 2012.

In 2013, Chiellini was ranked as the seventh-best footballer playing in Europe by Bloomberg.