Despite not being blessed with notable technical skills, Gattuso's pace, strength and work-rate complemented and supported Pirlo's composed, creative playing style.

[6][7][8][9] In addition to his ball-winning abilities, Gattuso was renowned for his competitive nature and leadership qualities throughout his career, often wearing the captain's armband for Milan following Paolo Maldini's retirement.

[10][11] Gattuso's managerial career began as player-coach of his final club, Sion of the Swiss Super League, and he also had short spells in charge of Palermo and OFI Crete.

[16] He scored his first goal for the club against Strasbourg in the first round of the UEFA Cup, as Rangers failed to overcome the deficit, losing 4–2 on aggregate.

[17] Gattuso received a red card for the first time in his professional career over a second bookable offence, in a 5–2 win against Hearts on 20 December 1997.

[19] This led him to being described as an "unsung heroes" by the club’s chairman David Murray, who he felt "has surpassed expectations by playing so many games aged 19".

[28] He made his debut with the club on 15 September 1999, in a 0–0 away draw with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League;[29] he soon broke into the starting line-up that season, also playing his first Milan-derby match on 24 October 1999, in which he stood out and immediately endeared himself with the Milan fans for the maturity and tenacity he demonstrated when facing Inter striker Ronaldo, who was widely regarded as the best player in the world at the time.

[33] During this period, Gattuso also reached the 2005 UEFA Champions League final with Milan, only to be defeated by Liverpool on penalties, after initially leading 3–0 at half-time.

[34][35] Gattuso played his 300th game for the club in a goalless Champions League draw against Lille on 26 September 2006, and he extended his current deal with Milan until 2011 on 1 February 2007.

[citation needed] The following December, Gattuso suffered a torn Anterior cruciate ligament early on in the 1–0 league win against Catania.

On 22 August 2009, he made his 400th appearance with Milan in the opening match of the 2009–10 Serie A season against Siena, wearing the captain's armband.

[42] On 9 September 2011, Gattuso crashed into teammate Alessandro Nesta whilst playing against Lazio in Milan's opening Serie A game of the 2011–12 season.

He was substituted off directly afterward in the 20th minute and diagnosed with a left sixth cranial nerve palsy, resulting in double vision,[43] an injury that could have ended his football career.

He later revealed that he had seen teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović in four different positions during the opening stages of the match, and was unable to see Nesta, resulting in the pair's clash.

[42] On 11 May 2012, Gattuso confirmed that he would not renew his contract with the club which was due to expire on 30 June and that he would be leaving Milan at the end of the season.

[48] After the game, after Gattuso had shaken hands with the Tottenham players, video footage showed him confronting Jordan and head-butting him after another exchange of words, before being restrained by both teammates and opponents.

[59][60] Gattuso made two substitute appearances at the 2002 World Cup, first in his nation's 2–0 opening group win against Ecuador,[61] and secondly in Italy's controversial 2–1 extra-time defeat to co-hosts South Korea in the round of 16 of the competition.

[70] Gattuso achieved a measure of notoriety for his post-match celebrations after Italy won the World Cup final on penalties against France on 9 July,[71] during which he removed his shorts and ran around the pitch in his underpants, until FIFA officials forced him to cover up.

[75][76][77] On 19 November 2008, he made his first appearance as Italy's captain, taking the armband following Fabio Cannavaro's substitution in the 61st minute of a friendly against Greece.

[78] Despite having only recently recovered from a serious knee injury, Lippi included Gattuso in Italy's squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup,[79] where they suffered a first round elimination.

[80] At the tournament, Gattuso gained notoriety against Egypt when he got tripped up by Mohamed Aboutrika, and his shorts fell down, revealing his underpants.

[5] Despite not being particularly skilful from a technical standpoint (although he was able to improve in this area with time under the tutelage of Mauro Tassotti),[25][6] or particularly tall, Gattuso was a physically strong, consistent, aggressive, and hard-tackling midfielder, with an extremely high work rate;[8][9][85] he also possessed a powerful shot, and quick reactions, as well as an excellent positional sense and good anticipation, which enabled him to excel in this position; in his prime, he was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

[6][7] His energetic and combative box-to-box style of play, as well as his pace, tactical awareness and abilities as a ball-winner, allowed him to form a successful midfield partnership with playmaker Andrea Pirlo throughout his career, both at club and international level.

On 3 June 2013, Maurizio Zamparini confirmed he had a verbal agreement with Gattuso, subjected to a contract release with then manager Giuseppe Sannino.

[89] His experience as rosanero head coach was however short-lived, as he was sacked 25 September 2013 after achieving only two wins and a draw in the first six games of the league season.

[92] While managing OFI Crete, in the first few months there were rumours that the players and coaching staff were not getting paid due to the poor financial situation of the club.

[93][94] On 26 October 2014 Gattuso tended his resignation as head coach of OFI Crete, following a 2–3 home loss to Asteras Tripolis, citing the club's financial difficulties as one of the main reasons behind his decision.

[116] The club's chairman, Aurelio De Laurentiis, put an end to Gattuso's tenure as the head coach of Napoli after one year and a half.

[135] Gattuso is a Catholic, and when he played for Rangers, a club with a Protestant identity in the 1997–98 season, he alleged that his teammates ordered him to take off his crucifix necklace.

[138] In December 2003, Gattuso participated on the Italian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Chi vuol essere milionario?, alongside Christian Vieri during an episode organised for charity.