{"id":299978,"date":"2023-12-12T18:30:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T18:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=299978"},"modified":"2023-12-12T18:30:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T18:30:09","slug":"italy-legend-giorgio-chiellini-confirms-his-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/soccer\/italy-legend-giorgio-chiellini-confirms-his-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini CONFIRMS his retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini &#8211; who captained his country to Euro 2020 glory and won a host of honours with Juventus &#8211; CONFIRMS his retirement from playing football as he hails &#8216;the most beautiful and intense journey of my life&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>39-year-old confirmed he would be hanging up his boots in emotional video\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It came after his side, Los Angeles FC, lost in the MLS Cup final on Saturday\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>On a packed train, how DO you ask a celebrity to move from a seat you have reserved? It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Italian football legend Giorgio Chiellini has confirmed his retirement from playing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 39-year-old defender, who captained Italy to Euro 2020 glory and helped Juventus win a host of domestic silverware, has been playing for Los Angeles FC in MLS for the past two years.<\/p>\n<p>Chiellini played as LAFC lost the MLS Cup final 2-1\u00a0to Columbus Crew\u00a0on Saturday night in what will be his final match.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In an emotional video posted on his social media accounts featuring great moments from his career, Chiellini said: &#8216;You have been the most beautiful and intense journey of my life. You have been my everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0&#8216;With you I have travelled a unique and unforgettable path. But now it is time to start new chapters, face new challenges and write further important and exciting pages of life.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/13\/78782195-12854709-Giorgio_Chiellini_may_have_played_his_final_game_of_professional-a-76_1702386006217.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Giorgio Chiellini has confirmed his retirement from playing football at the age of 39<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/13\/78866363-12854709-The_legendary_defender_captained_Italy_to_Euro_2020_glory_after_-a-2_1702387569150.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The legendary defender captained Italy to Euro 2020 glory after they beat England\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/13\/78866365-12854709-Chiellini_won_a_host_of_domestic_honours_in_Italy_with_Juventus_-a-1_1702387569149.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chiellini won a host of domestic honours in Italy with Juventus and helped the club reach two Champions League finals\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/15\/78872475-12855327-The_defender_told_the_story_of_his_career_through_trading_cards_-a-2_1702395580871.jpg\" height=\"587\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The defender told the story of his career through trading cards in his retirement video<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>It came after Chiellini hinted he would retire following Saturday&#8217;s game and reports in Italy\u00a0said an announcement was imminent.<\/p>\n<p>The video featured Chiellini looking through collector&#8217;s cards and stickers of his illustrious career.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The highlight came when he led the Azzurri to victory over England at Wembley to win the last\u00a0European Championship.<\/p>\n<p>In all, he played 117 times for the Italian national team, stepping down from international duty after they lost the 2022 Finalissima to Argentina.<\/p>\n<p>At club level, Chiellini made 561 appearances for Juventus between 2004 and 2022, playing a major part as they won nine consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2020.<\/p>\n<p>He also helped them reach two Champions League finals &#8211; in 2015, Chiellini missed the 3-1 defeat by Barcelona with a calf injury, but he featured in the 2017 defeat to Real Madrid.<\/p>\n<p>The centre-back&#8217;s trophy collection also includes five Italian Cup and five Italian Super Cup successes with Juventus.<\/p>\n<p>Chiellini was twice named in the Champions League squad of the season by UEFA and five times in the Serie A team of the year. He was Serie A defender of the year three times.<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles had triumphed in the MLS Cup final, beating Philadelphia Union on penalties after a 3-3 draw, but Chiellini didn&#8217;t get off the bench.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/15\/78872477-12855327-image-a-4_1702395630583.jpg\" height=\"594\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chiellini gave nothing away concerning his next move but looked forward to new challenges<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/13\/78866799-12854709-Chiellini_holds_the_European_Championship_trophy_aloft_after_Ita-a-3_1702387569156.jpg\" height=\"636\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chiellini holds the European Championship trophy aloft after Italy&#8217;s shoot-out win over England at Wembley two years ago<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/12\/13\/78782191-12854709-Chiellini_consoles_forward_Carlos_Vela_10_after_they_lost_the_20-a-4_1702387569159.jpg\" height=\"427\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chiellini consoles forward Carlos Vela (10) after they lost the 2023 MLS Cup in Columbus<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>He could return to Juventus in a coaching or administrative capacity. His twin brother Claudio is already technical director of the club&#8217;s Next Gen department.<\/p>\n<p>Chiellini recently told The Athletic:\u00a0&#8216;I see Juventus in my future. I don&#8217;t know in what role, but it&#8217;s a place where I&#8217;ve spent almost half my life.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, Chiellini could be employed by the MLS to further develop the league.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12855327\/Italy-legend-Giorgio-Chiellini-captained-country-Euro-2020-glory-won-host-honours-Juventus-CONFIRMS-retirement-playing-football-hails-beautiful-intense-journey-life.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini &#8211; who captained his country to Euro 2020 glory and won a host of honours with Juventus &#8211; CONFIRMS his retirement from playing football as he hails &#8216;the most beautiful and intense journey of my life&#8217; 39-year-old confirmed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini CONFIRMS his retirement - Sports-Life-News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/soccer\/italy-legend-giorgio-chiellini-confirms-his-retirement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini CONFIRMS his retirement - Sports-Life-News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini &#8211; 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