GEEL, Belgium, June 30 (Reuters) - Italy's Alessandro Nesta is the 'Mr Reliable' who stands at the heart of arguably the best defence at Euro 2000 now all set to take on France in Sunday's final.

At 1.87 metres and 79 kg, Nesta has the build and all the attributes of a classic centreback.

But he boasts much more besides.

His ball control is as good as that of many of the forwards he thwarts on a regular basis in Serie A and his vision when he is moving out of defence with the ball at his feet is exemplary.

'Alessandro has won a lot over the last few years and has picked up a lot of experience very quickly,' says Fabio Cannavaro, who plays to Nesta's right in a defensive 'Holy Trinity' which also includes captain Paolo Maldini.

'He makes very few mistakes, he's always there to help out and he's used to winning under pressure.'

Nesta is very much a one-club man.

He was born in Rome, signed for Lazio as a schoolboy and made his debut for the current Italian champions in March 1994, six days before his 18th birthday.

He has pledged his future to the club until 2004 and is the one player who Lazio's big spending president Sergio Cragnotti insists is not for sale.

Nesta's rise to the peak of his sport has coincided with Lazio's ascent to the top of Italian football.

In his formative years in the mid-1990s Lazio always finished in the top six places in the championship but never won a trophy either in league or cup.

Only when Nesta truly emerged as a world class player in the run-up to the 1998 World Cup did Lazio start to challenge for silverware.

He scored a rare winner against AC Milan in the 1998 Italian Cup final to give Lazio the trophy for the first time in 40 years and captained the side to the 1999 Cup Winners' Cup and the league and cup double this year.

Nothing better illustrates Nesta's curious telepathy with Lazio than the 1998-99 season, the first half of which he missed after tearing knee ligaments at the French World Cup.

When he returned to action in December 1998, Lazio were 10th in the league. They immediately strung together a 16- match unbeaten run and lost out to Milan in the title race only on the final day of the season.

At international level, Nesta has been just as good.

He made his debut as a 20-year-old in Italy's first round match against Russia at Euro 96 and cemented his place alongside Cannavaro at the Tournoi de France the following summer.

After two oustanding perfomances in Italy's opening matches of France 98 he tore ligaments in their first round tie against Austria and came home on crutches.

But he was back before Christmas and, having imposed himself since then, seems certain to inherit the Italian captain's armband once Maldini retires.