A product of the Roma youth system, young midfielder Daniele De Rossi possesses fantastic technical ability and maturity beyond his age.
Still only 22, the midfield ace has made a huge impact upon the Italian national side since his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Norway in September 2004.
‚Ç£De Rossi took the right route and I am glad it was one of my players who made that step. Nobody had noticed, not even the referee, so he could easily have gotten away with it, but Daniele didn't even celebrate and knew immediately he wouldn't let it stand.‚Ç¥
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti after De Rossi owned up to using his hand to 'score' against Messina.
De Rossi has currently made over 100 appearances for his beloved Roma and was involved in their Uefa Cup tie against Middlesbrough this season.
The young starlet has won plaudits from all over Italy, and has even been touted as the player to take on the unenviable task of filling Francesco Totti's boots once the great Italian retires from international football.
Before his full international debut in late 2004, De Rossi had played a vital role in securing the European Under-21 Championship with Italy that summer, playing in a convincing 3-0 final win over Serbia & Montenegro.
However, De Rossi's summer had not finished as he again was instrumental as Italy took a bronze medal at the Athens Olympic Games.
As if these two huge honours were not enough, De Rossi then went on to announce himself on the full international stage with a goal only four minutes into his debut against Norway.
A lot can be expected of the 22-year-old ace at this summer's finals as Marcello Lippi relies on a mix of youth and experience to progress in the tournament, with De Rossi being one of his main players.
