summer of 2012. Milan decided not to renew the contracts of several of their veteran players and Zambrotta was one of those along with Filippo Inzaghi, Mark van Bommel, Alessandro Nesta and Gennaro Gattuso. He played his final game for Milan against Novara on 13 May 2012. Chiasso After becoming a free agent, in December 2012 Zambrotta began training with his hometown club Como while he was waiting to receive offers from other clubs; Zambrotta had previously been named the club's honorary president in 2007. In 2013, he began to work on obtaining his UEFA Pro Coaching Licence in Coverciano, Florence. On 19 July 2013, Zambrotta signed with Swiss club Chiasso, with an option to become a player-assistant manager during his second season with the club, under Ernestino Ramella. He made his debut with the team on 11 August 2013, in a 0–0 draw against Lugano, in the 2013–14 Swiss Challenge League. On 27 November, following the dismissal of manager Ryszart Komornicki, with the club in last place, Zambrotta was named player-manager; at the end of the season, he helped Chiasso avoid relegation on 14 May 2014, also announcing the end of his playing career. He continued to manage Chiasso the following season, but was eventually sacked on 6 April 2015. International career Under-21 and early senior career Soon after Zambrotta was brought to Serie A, he gained the attention of the Italian national side. He was selected to play for the Italy under-21 national team for the first time on 25 March 1998 against Malta. In his second game for the U21, against Wales on 22 April 1998, he scored the second goal for Italy on the 43rd minute and helped Italy to win 2–1. In 1998, he played in all six games of the Italy U21 while they won five of them and drew the last one against Spain. It was on tour with the under-21 team that Zambrotta earned the nickname "the Mermaid" for his allegedly spending one hour every night in front of the mirror grooming at his now trademark goatee. After some impressive displays for the U21 and an excellent start to the 1998–99 season, Zambrotta earned his first senior cap on 10 February 1999, nine days before his 22nd birthday, in an 0–0 friendly draw with Norway. Due to his consistent performances, he featured in Italy's senior squad at UEFA Euro 2000 under manager