EVERTON PAST PLAYER PROFILES
Alessandro Pistone

Squad number | 23 |
Position | Left Back |
Joined | 30 June 2000 |
Joined from | Newcastle United |
Signed by | Walter Smith |
Transfer fee | £3M |
Full debut | v Leeds
United (a), 19 August 2000 |
Contract duration | 2 years |
Contract expires | June 2007 |
Finalé | v
Bolton
(A) 21 August 2005 |
Left Everton | Released 14 May 2007 |
Born | Milan, Italy |
Date of birth | 27 July 1975 |
Height | 5' 11" |
Nickname(s) | Sandro |
Honours | Italy U-21 international |
STRENGTHS |
Pacy |
Stronng |
Disciplined - few cards |
Can be good crosser |
Two-footed |
WEAKNESSES |
Highly injury-prone |
Lacking in fight? |
Tends to disappear |
Soccerbase Datafile
Alessandro Pistone completed his surprise transfer from Newcastle to
Everton in June 2000, almost unnoticed amidst the furore surrounding
Nick Barmby's requested defection to Liverpool. The 24-year-old
initially joined Everton on a five-year deal, to provide much-needed cover
at the left-back berth – where Michael Ball needed the competition in the
hope of waking him up.
Pistone started out as a youngster with Vicenza, then a 3rd
Division club in Italy, and rejoined them in 1995 after their promotion to
Serie A. He played only six times for Vicenza before returning to
his native city, Milan, when he was snapped up by Internationale on a
4½-year contract.
At Inter, he played alongside Gianluca Festa, Paul Ince, and Benito
Carbone. With 45 Serie A appearances for Inter over the next two
seasons, and one goal, Alessandro became a mainstay in defence and played
a major part in their run to the 1997 Uefa Cup Final, where they were
beaten on penalties by Schalke.
Alessandro joined Newcastle from Inter Milan for £4.3M in July
1997. Principally a left-back, his versatility also allows him to
play in other positions. A former Italian Under-21 international
playing for the Italians in the 1996 Olympics, he was strongly tipped for
a full cap. But Pistone fell out of favour at St James' Park when
Ruud Gullit took over, and he didn't start a Newcastle game for 14 months,
spending much of the 1998-99 season on loan with Venezia.
He came back into favour when Bobby Robson became the Newcastle manager
but was injured pre-season in game at Hartlepool in August 1999. He
appeared as a substitute in Newcastle's Worthington Cup defeat at
Birmingham, and started a league game for the first time in 14 months when
playing at home to Derby in October 1999, after which he managed to hold
down a position on the left side of the defence. However, he missed
a large chunk of the 1999-2000 season after breaking his leg in a
northeast derby match at Sunderland in February 2000, returning for the
last three matches in May 2000.
Walter Smith said of his new signing: "I think Alessandro will be a
tremendous addition to our squad. He is a player I first saw when
watching other players in Italy a few years ago. He impressed me
then. He's a left back who likes to take part in the game and move
up and down the pitch. He's aggressive and I think will add to our
game in that department."
But with the 2000-01 season hardly begun, Pistone was in trouble with
injuries. Then, against Bristol
Rovers in September, he managed to injure his knee during the warm-up,
was subbed after just 8 minutes, and needed an op that kept him out until
the Southampton game in
March. His first start since Bristol then came against Manchester
City in April where he was sent off for fighting with City’s Paul
Dickov.
He played 35 minutes of the Merseyside derby in April after coming on in
the second half before signing off in a 4-1 defeat at Highbury and sitting
out the end of the season with a 3-match ban.
Like many players, Pistone struggled for form during the latter part of Walter Smith's reign and while he enjoyed a new lease of life under David Moyes, his Everton career continued to be blighted by injury and, perhaps as a result, maddening inconsistency.
It wasn't until the 2004/05 season that the Italian put in something close to a season's worth of appearances when he turned out in 32 league games and helped the Blues to an unprecedented fourth-place finish in the Premiership.
Ironically, though, Pistone initially chose not to stay on at Goodison and rejected the one-year contract extension offered him by David Moyes in the summer of 2005. When a proposed move back to Italy with Lecce fell through, however, he found himself without a club. With Gary Naysmith out injured, Moyes eventually caved in to the Italian's demands for a two-year deal and Pistone re-signed for Everton until 2007.
Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly, he was back in the treatment room just two games into the following season after he tore his cruciate knee ligament in an clumsy challenge on Henrik Pedersen at Bolton Wanderers. He eventually recovered but played no further part in the campaign.
Pistone's career in England has been blighted by the assumption that he lacks the heart to succeed in the Premiership. Indeed, there is a story from his days at Newcastle when he attended the annual Christmas party, where the tradition was to present each player with a gift that was meant to be symbolic of their character.... Pistone was presented with a sheep's heart! Apparently, he was chuffed at first thinking it represented bravery, until someone had a word in his ear and told him it was to replace the non-existent one the players felt he showed whenever he played for the Toon!
His style sometimes makes him appear lazy when this is just his relaxed Italian approach. He's had some great games, but if you're not consistent at the highest level you will get slated by both fans and media alike.
Pistone's other main problem is he is very much a confidence player and the fans getting on his back — whether it's about his performances or his Latin temperament — does not help his cause at all.
And of course his third main problem is being injury-prone. Stretched off against Bolton in August 2005, he struggled for almost two seasons to regain his fitness, and didn't play a single game for Everton in 2006-07 before being released st the end of his contract.
By
Last updated May 2007
Everton Career | |||||||
Season |
Squad Number |
League Apps (sub) |
League Goals |
Cup Apps (sub) |
Cup Goals |
Total Apps (sub) |
Total Goals |
2000-01 | 3 |
5 (2) |
0 |
1 (0) |
0 |
6 (2) |
0 |
2001-02 | 3 |
25 (0) |
1 |
1 (0) |
0 |
26 (0) |
1 |
2002-03 | 3 |
10 (5) |
0 |
2 (0) |
0 |
12 (5) |
0 |
2003-04 | 3 |
20 (1) |
0 |
3 (0) |
0 |
23 (1) |
0 |
2004-05 | 3 |
32 (1) |
0 |
4 (2) |
0 |
36 (3) |
0 |
2005-06 | 23 |
2 (0) |
0 |
1 (0) |
0 |
3 (0) |
0 |
2006-07 | 23 |
0 (0) |
0 |
0 (0) |
0 |
0 (0) |
0 |
Totals | 94 (9) |
1 |
12 (2) |
0 |
106 (11) |
1 |
Prior Club Record | |||||||
Season | Team | Appearances (sub) | Goals | ||||
1992-1995 | Vicenza (Ita) | 6 | 0 | ||||
1993-1994 | Solbiatese (Ita) *loan | ? | ? | ||||
1994-1995 | Crevalcora (Ita) *loan | ? | ? | ||||
1995-1997 | Inter Milan (Ita) | 45 | 1 | ||||
1997-2000 | Newcastle Utd | 45 (1) + 16 (1) | 1 + 0 |