The current high profile Gattuso now enjoys is due to his time at Milan and his participation as part of the Italian national squad. He has been capped over fifty times for his country and played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, the Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, being one of the key players for the Italian team, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match against Ukraine.
