Christian Panucci (born 12 April 1973 in Savona) is an Italian football (soccer) player, who currently plays for AS Roma of Italian Serie A.
      Panucci is a renowned defender who usually plays on the right-hand side. He is a fierce tackler and can also do some good when going up field. He started playing with Genoa in 1992, and then moved to AC Milan. Panucci later moved to Real Madrid (becoming the first Italian to play for the Spanish powerhouse), Inter, Chelsea, AS Monaco before moving to Roma in 2001. He won the Champions League with both Milan and Real. In those two stops, as well as Roma, he has been coached by Fabio Capello.
      He has also been a regular in the Italian national team since September 1994 (against Slovenia and has had 48 caps and 2 goals, as of the end of 2004. He played for his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. In the 2002 World Cup, Panucci failed to clear a pass, which led to the equalising goal by Seol Ki-hyun in the dying minutes of the round of 16 match. In 1996, Panucci was incredibly lucky to avoid death. He was part of the Italy squad at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, but had to leave the team due to injury. Panucci was scheduled to leave the United States on TWA Flight 800 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. But a last-minute change of flight plans saved his life.
      He has a Spanish wife and their child was born in March 2001.