Massimo Oddo was born in Pescara on 14 June 1976. He developed at the Renato Curi youth system before moving to AC Milan, but his first professional appearances were made in Serie C1 for Fiorenzuola. After moving around the likes of Monza, Prato, Lecco and Napoli, he made his Serie A debut with Hellas Verona in 2000 before establishing himself as one of the best full-backs in the league. He then moved to Lazio, AC Milan and Bayern Munich, before his playing career came to a close at Lecce. For Italy, he made his debut at the age of 26 on 21 August 2002 in a friendly against Slovenia. He played at EURO 2004 under Trapattoni and was part of the squad that won the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The same year, he scored his first goal for the Azzurri on 7 October in a 2-0 win over Ukraine. On 6 February 2008, Oddo played his last game for Italy against Portugal – his 34th international cap.