Simone Perrotta, (born September 17, 1977 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer midfielder, who currently plays for AS Roma in Serie A. He was member of the Italian national football team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
      Perrotta lived in England until the age of 6, attending school at St. Ann's primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne. His parents, Francesco and Anna Maria ran a pub in Ashton and lived on Fitzroy Street before moving back to Italy in 1982. Perrotta is of Calabrese origin even though he was born in England.
      Perrotta grew up in the youth system of Reggina Calcio, debuted in Serie B in 1995 and becoming an important fixture in their line-up. In 1998 Juventus F.C. decided to pick him up, but with great midfielders like Conte, Deschamps, and Zidane ahead of him he only collected 5 appearances. In 1999 he was loaned to A.S. Bari, where he was a protagonist for 2 seasons. In 2001/2002 he was shipped to A.C. Chievo Verona. There, he was a mainstay in the midfield of the surprising Chievo squad that was 1st place at the winter break. He even gave the winning assist in the win over Inter that season. In 2004 AS Roma picked him up and has been one of their best players in these past seasons. Last season he really shined, earning a call-up to the World Cup squad and starting all 7 games for the champions. He recently signed a contract extension with his club AS Roma, keeping him in Rome until 2010.
      With Roma, he plays behind Francesco Totti and between the left and right winger as an attacking center midfielder. He has incredible stamina and is great at defence and attack. Other than playing as an attacking centre midfielder he can play as winger, defensive midfielder or can assume the role of playmaker (if Totti plays up-front).