Marco Materazzi profile

Agressive, with a good free kick, and a goalscoring record breaker, the 32-year-old is not your typical Italian defender.

Materazzi started his career in the lower leagues, picking up experience before getting a chance to shine when joining Serie B side Perugia in 1996.

"It's not easy to find players like this, but we have Materazzi, who definitely has great spirit."
Roberto Mancini

After being loaned out to Capri in Serie C for part of the season, he made a dramatic move to Everton for £2.8 million and played 33 times for Walter Smith's side.

Always involved, he scored twice and was sent off three times for The Toffees before making a return to Perugia the following year to hand Everton a small profit on the deal.

In the 2000/2001 season, Materazzi broke Daniel Passarella's 11-goal Italian record for a defender (scoring 12 times) and earned a £9 million switch to Internazionale.

A regular feature for Inter, he signed a new contract last year and has also been used frequently by Italy, picking up over a quarter of a century of caps and a place in the Euro 2004 squad under Giovanni Trapattoni.

Reliable, good in the air and a threat from set-pieces - Materazzi will hope to represent the Azzurri with pride this summer.