The born defender says goodbye: Giorgio Chiellini (39) hangs up his football boots

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After Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football loses another icon. Giorgio Chiellini (39) has announced his football retirement. The born defender played for Juventus for years and won the last European Championship with the Italian national team as captain. LAFC was his last club.

“You have been the most beautiful and intense journey of my life,” said ‘King Kong’ on his social media channels in a video. “You have been my everything. With you I have traveled a unique and unforgettable path. But now it’s time to start new chapters, take on new challenges and write even more important and exciting pages of life.”

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Chiellini rose from the youth of Livorno to the first team and made his debut as a professional at the beginning of this century in the Coppa Italia against Palermo (3-0 defeat). After an impressive season in Serie B, the wooden defender moved to Fiorentina. Juventus picked him up after just one year – in 2005 – for less than 8 million euros.

The rest is history. Chiellini played seventeen seasons for the Old Lady, winning nine titles and five cups. In 2015 and 2017 he lost the Champions League final alongside Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli. That foursome formed the most feared defense in European football for a long time. At the age of 35, Chiellini tore his cruciate ligaments, but a year later he won the European Championship with Italy, for which the defender played 117 times.

Last season, Chiellini moved to the MLS, where he immediately won the title with LAFC. Now the man who became infamous for celebrating successful tackles and a doctor of economics is opting for a job in club management. He is already mentioned at… Juventus.

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