Zambrotta came to the fore when he made his international debut for Italy at the age of 21 against Norway in February 1999 after a long, fruitful run with the Under-21 side. He was sent off in Italy's UEFA EURO 2000â„¢ semi-final victory against the Netherlands and missed the final loss to France. In 2002 he featured in his first FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan and became Italy's first-choice left-back during qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004â„¢, playing in all three of Italy's matches in Portugal. Remains a key figure under Marcello Lippi.
