Somebody call Malcolm Gladwell, because we have a veritable trend on our hands here. After months of speculation on Alessandro Nesta's potential future in Major League Soccer, the former AC Milan defender and Italy international has signed with the Montreal Impact, MLS's newest team.
Nesta has been a beast for club and country, but at age 36 his European career has slowed to a halt, making a move to MLS an easy decision in spite of offers from other European clubs. In addition to his former teammate at Lazio, Marco Di Vaio, Montreal apparently boasts a strong Italian ex-pat community. Who knew? So I guess that's a good thing for Nesta.
As for Montreal, they're getting a Champions League winner and World Cup champion (though he was injured for the majority of Italy's 2006 campaign) and don't have to waste a designated player spot on Nesta. That means he'll be making a relatively modest salary in comparison to, say, David Beckham, the original designated player.
Nesta is just the latest in a string of talented European players who will continue to bolster MLS's reputation internationally, and a strong domestic league helps create a strong national team. What I'm trying to say is that we should go ahead and thank Alessandro Nesta now for helping the United States win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Even though he's playing in Canada.
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[Canada.com]
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