The Milan-born Alessandro Pistone made 149 Premier League appearances between 1997 and 2007, playing for both Newcastle United and Everton.
Now aged 44, Alessandro Pistone spent 15 years as a professional footballer. It began in his native Italy with a small local club called Solbiatese. Pistone spent a season there before another at Crevalcore (both clubs have since slipped into the lowest, non-professional tiers of Italian football), and finally a season with Vicenza.
Pistone was quickly rising up the Italian league pyramid and after his third season as a pro – the 1995-96 campaign – he was snapped up by Inter. Roy Hodgson was the manager at the time, and he steered Inter to a 3rd-place finish in Serie A that season, the semi-final of the Coppa Italia, as well as finishing runners-up in the UEFA Cup.
A sprightly young Pistone stood out for Inter. He played in almost every game that season and was subsequently signed by Newcastle United after just one year. It cost Kenny Dalglish a hefty £4 million at the time, but there were high expectations around Pistone. He played primarily as a full-back throughout his career, but would often fill in at center-back.
At 22-years-old, Pistone was brought in to one of the best teams in Europe at the time. In his first season at Newcastle, he played 28 times in the Premier League, alongside the likes of Alan Shearer, John Barnes, Ian Rush, Stuart Pearce, Gary Speed, Shay Given – all of whom were quality, experienced top-flight players by then.
But Pistone didn’t let it phase him, and after his first season with the club came to an end with Newcastle finishing a disappointing 13th – but reaching the Quarter-Finals of the League Cup and the Final of the FA Cup – fans were excited to see how he’d progress in his second.
However, shortly into that 1998-99 season, Dalglish was sacked as manager, and replaced by Ruud Gullit. The Dutchman had just left his post at Chelsea and was seen as the man to reinstate European football at Newcastle. Before his appointment though, Pistone would pick up an injury that would see him feature just once under Gullit throughout the entirety of his first season as manager.
As a manager, Gullit was infamously cold to certain players, and Pistone was forced into the reserves when he recovered from injury, even spending time out on-loan in 1999. However, Gullit resigned almost a year to the day that Dalglish was sacked, and Sir Bobby Robson would begin his courtship at Newcastle United. He brought Pistone right back into the side but the Italian was starting to struggle with some persistent injuries and featured just 15 times in the 1999-00 season.
Then came a surprise move to Everton. Pistone couldn’t hold down a regular spot at Newcastle because of his injury woes, but he was well in Robson’s plan for the future. But still, Everton came in with a £3 million bid and secured Pistone’s services.
Pistone’s time on Merseyside would prove to be his most defining as a footballer. He spent seven years with Everton, making over 100 Premier League appearances for the club. His first season there proved the same story as his dwindling time at Newcastle – plagued by injuries and only available for selection a few times throughout.
But his second with Everton – the 2001-02 season – would be much more fruitful, making 25 appearances in the league and asserting himself as one of David Moyes’ most consistent players. Pistone would be just that for the next four seasons, in which he played 94 times in the Premier League.
Come the end of the 2004/05 season, Pistone had just played in all but five of Everton’s Premier League fixtures but was facing release with his contract up in the summer. Moyes deliberated the decision to extend Pistone’s contract, largely due to his injury history, but with Everton qualifying for the Champions League, he was offered a new two-year deal.
What followed for Pistone was the slippery slope to the end of his career. Three games into the 2005-06 season he suffered a knee ligament injury – forcing him out for the remainder of the campaign, and bringing an abrupt end to his Everton career. Pistone wouldn’t feature a single time in the following season, and was released by the club in the summer of 2007.
In the following months, he’d go on trial with Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough who were a Premier League club at the time, and then with Watford in the Championship. But neither club could see past Pistone’s horrible record of injuries, and after a year without a club, he signed for RAEC Mons in Belgium.
Still, with some years ahead of him, Pistone was hoping and expecting his new life in Belgium to bring an end to some tormentous few years. But once again, it was a season where Pistone would only feature a handful of times, and he was released by the club after a single campaign. The Italian then hung up his boots aged just 32-years-old.
Nobody ever really talked about Pistone. As a full-back, the best compliment you can get is not getting any criticism. Very few pundits or managers will hail their full-backs because, especially at the time of his Newcastle signing, the full-back was regarded as the least important position on the pitch, and the players who played there were thought to be the “least talented” of all 11 players on the field.
Though this is untrue now, back then, football was a different game. Pistone would be very suited to modern-era football – he was quick, forward-thinking, and a generally reliable player. But like so many to have played professional football, injuries constantly hindered his career.
He showed in the seasons where he stayed fit just how good a player he was, and it’s almost certain that if he wasn’t so prone to the physio’s table then he could perhaps have moved up in the Premier League, or even play for Italy.
Another forgotten name that the Premier League chewed up and spat out, and another career that was woefully cut short.
Click below to read more stories of Italian players who tried their hand at the Premier League:
Gianfranco Zola’s Inspiring Love Affair with Chelsea
Roberto Di Matteo’s Managerial Greatness
Benito Carbone’s British Tribulations
The Turbulent Times of Paolo Di Canio
Alberto Aquilani’s Missed Chance at Liverpool