5 world class players who first impressed at the U-21 European Championship

4) Alessandro Nesta – Italy

Alessandro Nesta won the U-21 Euros in 1996 with Italy

The 1996 edition saw eight teams qualify but there was no group stage. After a qualification process that saw eight different groups with five to six teams each, the top eight teams directly entered the quarter-finals where they played two legs.

Italy did not have the best of starts as they trailed 1-0 to Portugal after the first leg. But manager Cesare Maldini got the best out of the side in the second leg and they beat Portugal 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.

Back then Nesta wasn’t a central defender but a right-back. But his athleticism and versatility allowed coaches to play him as a centre-back, where he would go on to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats.

Italy beat France 1-0 in the semi-finals before beating Spain in the final in a penalty shootout after the game was tied at 1-1 (after extra time). Nesta even took one of the penalties and scored as the Azzurri won 4-2 to win the title for a third consecutive time.