Italy National Team

“The Azzuri” Italy has long been known as a master of defensive football, never lack of world-class defender from generation to generation, produced its first superstars a world-class defender in the 1910s likes Renzo De Vecchi and followed by Virginio Rosetta in 1920s. Adolfo Baloncieri was the first World-class Italian attackers spent his peak in the late 1920s. The arrival of golden era in the 1930s saw Giuseppe Meazza shined as the best player of World in the first half 1930s with the top-class defenders like Umberto Caligaris and Pietro Rava. In the second half 1940s was dominated by Valentino Mazzola who was the best player in Europe at that time as a leader of Le Grande Torino but got very limited opportunity in international football due to World War II. he only Italian World-Class player during the 1950s is Gianpiero Boniperti. 

Gianni Rivera became the first Italian player to win Ballon'Dor during the 1960s and Sandro Mazzola was a contemporary star who shared the role with Rivera. AT that era, the Catenaccio was being created led by the world-class defensive back-line most notably Giacinto Facchetti alongside world-class defenders like Tarcisio Bugnich and Roberto Rosato. The 1970s is represented by one of best keepers ever Dino Zoff who is regarded as the most iconic Italian player ever. Gaetano Scirea led to form the notable defensive line between late 1970s to early 1980s alongside Claudio Gentile and Antonio Cabrini. Paolo Rossi became the second Italian to win Ballon'Dor in 1982. The 1990 World Cup Italian team is regard as the toughest international defensive line under the best central defender ever consists of Franco Baresi. Paolo Maldini and Giuseppe Bergomi. Roberto Baggio appeared as the main players to impact on the biggest popularity on Azzuri identity during the first half 1990s. Italy was once again formed the classy defensive line during the 2000s thanks to Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro who is the only pure defender in history to win Ballon'Dor awards. Andrea Pirlo was arguably the last worlds-class Italian midfielder to 2020. 

  Italy

Location : Southern Europe
European Championship Participation : 10 Times (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
World Cup Participation : 18 Times (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
Achievement1934 Olympic Game Gold Medal
4 Times FIFA World Cup Winners (1934,1938,1982,2006)
2 Times FIFA World Cup Runner-Up (1970,1994)
1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1968 and 2020 European Championship Winner
2 Times European Championship Runner-Up (2000, 2012)
Most Caps : Gianluigi Buffon (176 Games)
Top Scorer : Luigi Riva (35 Goals)
The Greatest Player Ever :  Giuseppe Meazza






All-Time Italian Squad



1. Gianluigi Buffon

Date Of Birth  :  28 January 1978
Position : Goalkeeper, Caps : 176 Games 
Height   :  191 cm, Major Club :  Juventus
World Cup Participation  : 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 (14 Games)
Club Honours  :  11 Times Italian Series A
1999 UEFA Cup, 5 Times Coppa Italia
International Honours :  2006 FIFA World Cup Winner
Individual Achievement : 1999 Bravo Award
2003 UEFA Champion League Most Valuable Player
12 Times Series A Goalkeeper Of The Year, 2006 Yashin Award
3 Times European Goalkeeper Of The Year ( 2003, 2004, 2007)
5 Times IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017)
3 Times 2nd Place IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper (2005,2008,2012)            
2006 Silver Ball Ballon'Dor, Series A Goalkeeper of The Decade
2017 Bronze Ball UEFA Best Player in Europe, Best FIFA Goalkeeper
Class : King Silver  

2. Giuseppe Bergomi

Date Of Birth  :  22 December 1963
Position  :  Stopper/ Right-Back, Height : 180 cm
Major Club : Inter Milan, Caps : 81 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1982, 1986, 1990, 1998 (20 Games)
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A
1 Time Italian Cup, 3 Times UEFA Cup
International Honours  : 1982 FIFA World Cup Winner
1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Individual Achievement  :   1988 UEFA Euro Best XI
Class  :  Queen Gold



3. Giacinto Facchetti

Date Of Birth  : 18 July 1942
Height :  191 cm, Position : Left-Back
Major Club  :  Inter Milan, Caps : 94 Games
World Cup Participation : 1966, 1970, 1974 (12 Games)
Club Honours:  4 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
2 Times European Cup (1964, 1965), 2 Times Runner-Up (1967,1972)
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours : 1968 European Championship Winner
1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement : 1970 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
1965 Silver Ball Ballon'Dor, 1968 UEFA Euro Best XI
2 Times European Defender of The Year (1965, 1968)
Class  :  Queen Gold

4. Paolo Maldini 

Date Of Birth : 29 June 1968
Position : Left-Full-Back/ Center-Back, Height : 187 cm
Major Club : AC Milan, Caps : 126 Games
World Cup Participation : 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 (23 Games)
Club Honours : 7 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
5 Times UEFA Champion League (1989,1990,1994,2003,2007)
3 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (1993,1995,2005)
International Honours : 1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
2000 European Championship Runner-Up
Individual Achievement :1989 Bravo Award
2 Times UEFA Euro Best XI (1996, 2000)
2 Times FIFA World Cup All-Star (1990, 1994)
2 Times Bronze Ball Ballon'Dor (1994, 2003)
1994 World Soccer Player Of The Year, 1995 Silver Ball FIFA World Player Of The Year
2004 Series A Defender Of The Year, 2005 UEFA Champion League Best Defender
4 Times European Defender of The Year (1994, 1995, 2003, 2005) 
Class : King Silver

5. Franco Baresi

Date Of Birth  :  8 May 1960, Height  :  176 cm
Position :  Sweeper, Major Club : AC Milan, Caps  : 81 Games
World Cup Participation :  1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 (10 Games)
Club Honours : 6 Times Italian Series A
3 Times European Cup (1989, 1990, 1994), 1993 Runner-Up
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1989, 1990)
International Honours : 1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Individual Achievement : 1990 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
1989 Silver Medal European Footballer Of The Year
1990 Guerin Italian Series A Footballer Of The Year
2 Times European Defender of The Year (1989, 1993)
AC Milan Player Of Century
                                                    Class   :   King Bronze


6. Gaetano Scirea

Date Of Birth  :  25 May 1953
Position  :  Sweeperม Height : 178 cm
Major Club  :  Juventus
Caps  :  78 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1978, 1982, 1986 (18 Games)
Club Honours : 7 Times Italian Series A, 2 Times Copa Italia
1977 UEFA Cup, 1984 UEFA Cup Winners’s Cup
1985 European Cup, 1983 Runner-Up
1985 Intercontinental Cup
International Honours  : 1982 FIFA World Cup Winners
Individual Achievement : 1988 UEFA Euro Best XI
Class  :   King Bronze

7. Sandro Mazzola

Date Of Birth : 8 November 1942
Position : Playmaking-Attacking Midfielder
Height  :  179 cm, Major Club : Inter Milan
Caps  : 70 Games (22 Goals)
World Cup Participation  : 1966, 1970, 1974 (12 Games)
Club Honours : 4 Times Italian Series A
2 Times European Cup (1964, 1965), Runner-Up (1967,1972)
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours : 1968 European Championship Winner
1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement : 1964 European Cup Top Scorer
1965 Italian Series A Top Scorer
                                                    1968 UEFA Euro Best XI, 1971 Silver Ball Ballon'Dor
                                                       Class   :   Queen Gold

8. Valentino Mazzola

Date Of Birth  :   26 January 1919
Position : Playmaking-Attacking Midfielder
Height : 177 cm, Major Club : Torino
Caps  : 12 Games
World Cup Participation/International Honours  :  None 
Club Honours : 5 Times Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia
Individual Achievement  : 1947 Italian Series A Top Scorer
Torino Greatest Player Ever
Class  :  Queen Gold



9. Giuseppe Meazza

Date Of Birth  :  23 August 1910
Position :  Second Striker, Height : 176 cm
Major Club :  Inter Milan, Caps : 53 Games (33 Goals)
Professional Score Record  : 305 Goals/ 477 Games
World Cup Participation : 1934, 1938 (9 Games with 3 goals)
Club Honours  :  3 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours : 2 Times FIFA World Cup (1934,1938)
Individual Achievement  : 3 Times Italian Series A Top Scorer
3 Times Mitropa Cup Top Scorer
1934 FIFA World Cup Best Player
Inter Milan All-Time Top Scorer - Greatest Player Ever          
2008 FIGC Greatest Italian Player of All-Time
Class   :   King Bronze

10. Gianni Rivera

Date Of Birth : 18 August 1943, Height :  175 m          
Position :  Playmaker, Major Club : AC Milan
Caps  :  60 Games (14 Goals)
World Cup Participation : 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974 (9 Games)
Club Honours  : 3 Italian Series A, 4 Times Copa Italia
2 Times European Cup (1969,1969), 1969 Intercontinental Cup
2 Times European Cup Winners’ Cup (1968, 1973)
International Honours  :  1968 UEFA Euro Winner
1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  : 1969 Ballon'Dor, 1963 Silver Ball 
1973 Italian Series A Top Scorer
1999 IFFHS Italy Player of The Century
                                                          Class   :   Queen Gold

11. Roberto Baggio

Date Of Birth : 18 February 1967, Height : 174 cm
Position :  Forward, Caps : 56 Games (27 Goals)
Major Club :  Fiorentina, Juventus
Professional Score Record  :  292 Goals/ 637 Games
World Cup Participation : 1990, 1994, 1998 (16 Games / 9 Goal)
Club Honours  : 2 Times Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia, 1993 UEFA Cup
International Honours  : 1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement : 1994 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball
1990 Bravo Award, 1993 Golden Ball Ballon'Dor, 1994 Silver Ball
1991 Cup Winners Cup Top Scorer
1993 FIFA World Player of The Year, 1994 Bronze Ball
                                                     1993 World Soccer Player of The Year, 1994 Silver Ball 
                                                     2001 Guerin Italian Footballer of The Year
                                                     Class  :  Queen Gold
___________________________________________________


Substitution 


    12. Dino Zoff

Date Of Birth  :  28 February 1942
Position : Goalkeeper, Caps  : 112 Games
Height:  183 cm, Major Club  :  Juventus
World Cup Participation  : 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982 ( 17 Games )
Club Honours   : 6 Times Italian Series A, 2 Times Coppa Italia
1977 UEFA Cup, 2 Times European Cup Runner-Up (1973, 1983)
International Honours  : 1968 UEFA Euro, 1982 FIFA World Cup 
Individual Achievement : 1982 FIFA World Cup’s Best Goalkeeper
1973 Silver Ball Ballon'Dor, UEFA Jubilee Award 
1999 IFFHS Bronze World -  Italian Goalkeeper of The Century
Italian Series A All-Time Most Clean Sheets
2000 FIFA World Goalkeeper Of Century
                                                      2 Times European Goalkeeper Of The Year (1980, 1981)
                                                      2 Times UEFA Euro Best Goalkeeper (1968, 1980)        
                                                      Class : King Silver                         

13. Claudio Gentile

Date Of Birth  : 27 September 1953
Position :  Stopper/ Right-Back, Height : 178 cm
Major Club  :  Juventus, Caps  : 71 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1978, 1982 (13 Games)
Club Honours :  5 Times Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia, 1977 UEFA Cup
1983 European Cup Runner-Up
1984 European Cup Winners Cup
International Honours  : 1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement : 1982 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
1980 European Championship Team Of Tournament
Class  :  Queen Silver

14. Antonio Cabrini

Date Of Birth  : 8 October 1957
Position : Left-Back, Height : 178 cm
Major Club  : Juventus, Caps : 73 Games
World Cup Participation  :  1978, 1982, 1986 (18 Games)
Club Honours : 6 Times Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia, 1977 UEFA Cup
1983 European Cup Runner-Up
1984 European Cup Winners Cup
1985 Intercontinental Cup
International Honours : 1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement :  None
Class  :   Queen Silver

15. Alessandro Nesta

Date Of Birth  :  19 March 1976
Position  :  Center-Back, Height  : 187 cm
Major Club   :  Lazio, AC Milan, Caps   :  78 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1998, 2002, 2006 (9 Games)
Club Honours :  2 Times Italian Series A, 3 Times Copa Italia
1 Time UEFA Cup Winners’s Cup, 2007 FIFA Club World Cup
2 Times UEFA Champion League (2003, 2007), 2005 Runner-Up
International Honours    :   2006 FIFA World Cup Winners
Individual Achievement  :   2000 UEFA Euro Best Defender
5 Times Series A Defender Of The Year (2000,2001,2002,2003,2005)
2000 European Defender of The Year
Class   :  Queen Gold

16. Fabio Cannavaro

Date Of Birth  :  13 September 1973
Height : 176 cm, Position :  Center-Back
Major Club :  Parma, Caps : 136 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1998, 2002, 2006 (15 Games)
Club Honours   :   2 Times Spanish La Liga
2 Times Copa Italia, 1 Time UEFA Cup
International Honours  :  2006 FIFA World Cup Winners
2000 European Championship Runner-Up
Individual Achievement : Parma Greatest Player Ever
2006 AIC Oscar De Calcio Footballer Of The Year
2006 Italian Series A Footballer Of The Year
2006 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball, 2000 UEFA Euro Best XI
2006 Ballon'Dor, FIFA and World Soccer Player of The Year
                                                     Class   :  Queen Silver

17. Marco Tardelli

Date Of Birth :  24 September 1954
Position :  Defensive Holding Midfielder
Height : 178 cm, Caps :  81 Games
Major Club :  Juventus 
World Cup Participation :1978, 1982, 1986 (13 Games)
Club Honours  : 5 Times Italian Series A, 2 Times Copa Italia
1977 UEFA Cup, 1984 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
1985 European Cup, 1983 Runner-Up
International Honors :1982 FIFA World Cup Winners                         
Individual Achievement : 1980 UEFA Euro Best XI
Class  :  Queen Silver

18. Andrea Pirlo

Date Of Birth : 19 May 1979, Height : 177 cm
Position :  Playmaking-Holding Midfielder
Major Club  :  AC Milan, Caps : 112 Games 
World Cup Participation  :   2006, 2010, 2014 (13 Games)
Club Honours  :  4 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
2 Times UEFA Champion League Winners (2003, 2007)
2005 UEFA Champion League Runner-Up
International Honours : 2006 FIFA World Cup Winner
2012 European Championship Runner-Up
Individual Achievement :  2006 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball
2012 Italian Series A Footballer of Year
2012 UEFA Euro Team of The Tournament
Class   :   Queen Bronze

19. Bruno Conti

Date Of Birth  :  13 March 1955
Position :   Right and Left-Winger, Height :   176 cm
Major Club  :   AS Roma, Caps :  46 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1982, 1986 (11 Games)
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A
4 Times Copa Italia, 1984 European Cup Runner-Up
International Honours    :   1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :    None          
Class   :  Queen Silver



20. Francesco Totti

Date Of Birth  :  27 September 1976
Position  :  Second Striker, Height : 180 cm
Major Club :  AS Roma, Caps :  58 Games (9 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :   2002, 2006 (11 Games with 1 Goals)
Professional Score Record  :  290 Goals/ 707 Games
Club Honours  :  1 Time Italian Series A, 2 Times Copa Italia
International Honours : 2000 UEFA Euro Runner-Up
2006 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement : 2000 UEFA Euro Best XI
1999 Series A Young Footballer of The Year
5 Times Italian Footballer of The Year (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007)
2 Times Guerin Italian Series A Footballer of The Year (1998, 2004)
2007 Italian Series A Top Scorer, European Golden Shoe
AS Roma All-Time Top Scorer  - Greatest Player Ever
                                                    Class   :   Queen Silver

21. Luigi Riva

Date Of Birth  :   7 November 1944
Height :  180 cm, Position  :   Fast Striker
Major Club   :   Cagliari, Caps :  42 Games (35 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :  1970, 1974 (8 Games / 3 goals)
Professional Score Record  :  170 Goals/ 338 Games
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A
International Honours  : 1968 UEFA Euro Champion
1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement   :  1968 UEFA Euro Best XI
3 Time Italian Series A Top Scorer
1969 Silver Ball Ballon'Dor, 1970 Bronze Ball 
Italy All-Time Top Scorer           
Class  :  Queen Silver

22. Silvio Piola

Date Of Birth  :  29 September 1913
Position  :  Target Striker, Height :  180 cm
Major Club : Lazio, Caps :   34 Games (30 Goals)
World Cup Participation  : 1938 (4 Games with 5 Goals)
Professional Score Record  :  317 Goals/ 589 Games
Club Honours :  None
International Honours  :  1938 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :  2 Times Italian Series A Top Scorer
Lazio All-Time Top Scorer - Greatest Player Ever
Italian Series A All-Time Top Scorer
1938 FIFA World Cup All Stars Team     
Italian Series A All-Time Most Goal In One Match   
Class  : Queen Silver



Manager

Marcelo Lippi 



Year Of Birth :  12 April 1948
Major Team :  Juventus, Italy
Major Achievement : 5 Times Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia, 1996 UEFA Champion League
3 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (1997,1998, 2003)
1996 Intercontinental Cup, 2006 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement :  
3 Times Italian Serie A Coach of the Year (1997, 1998, 2003 )
2 Times IFFHS The World's best Club Coach (1996, 1998)
2006 IFFHS The World's best National Coach
2006 World Soccer Manager of The Year
2007 Onze d'Or Coach of the Year
Style :  Equivalent
Class  :  King Gold


Conclusion of Squad

GK :  Gianluigi Buffon, Dino Zoff 
DF : Giacinto Facchetti, Antonio Cabrini, Paolo Maldini, Giuseppe Bergomi, Claudio Gentile, Gaetano Scirea,Franco Baresi (Captain), Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro
MF : Marco Tardelli, Sandro Mazzola, Gianni Rivera, Valentino Mazzola, Andrea Pirlo, Bruno Conti
FW : Giuseppe Meazza, Roberto Baggio, Giampiero Boniperti, Luigi Riva, Silvio Piola

Manager : Marcelo Lippi


Formation XI (5-3-2)




Explanation of Formation

The team strategy is Catenaccio. Buffon have beaten Zoff as a first choice keeper. Scirea has a role of offensive sweeper and would support midfield line when the three attackers in midfield-line need to be back-up. Maldini is a semi-left back would move to the left-back position when Facchetti go advanced on the left-flank. Baresi is always aware in the central defense area. Bergomi would base on right-back position and would seldom move to midfield line. Rivera and S.Mazzola act as a semi-side midfielder with a main support by V.Mazzola who is set as box-to-box midfielder. Baggio and Meazza would perform coordinately as deep-lying forward so there is no target man in the system.


San Siro Stadium




Start Year :  1925 
(Newest Renovated in 1989)
City  : Milan
Capacity : 80,074 Seats
Field Dimension :
105x68 m








Statistics

     By Decade
   By Class
       By Club
1930s : 1
1940s : 1
1950s : -
1960s : 2
1970s : 5
1980s : 6
1990s : 3
2000s : 4

King : 5
Queen : 16
Prince : 1

Juventus : 7
Inter Milan : 4
AC Milan : 4
AS Roma : 2
Lazio : 1
Fiorentina : 1
Torino : 1
Parma : 1
Cagliari : 1



Positional Ranking of Substitution 

Goalkeeper


1. Walter Zenga

Date Of Birth  :  28 April 1960
Height :  188 cm, Major Club  :  Inter Milan
Caps : 58 Games, World Cup Participation : 1986, 1990 (7 Games)
Club Honours  :  1 Time Italian Series A, 2 Times UEFA Cup
International Honours  : 1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Individual Achievement  : 1987 Guerin Series A Footballer Of The Year
1990 UEFA Club Goalkeeper Of The Year
1990 European Goalkeeper Of The Year
3 Times IFFHS World Best Goalkeeper (1989, 1990, 1991)
2 Times 3rd  Place IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper (1987, 1988)
Class  :   Queen Silver


2. Giampiero Combi

Date Of Birth  :  20 November 1902
Height   :  174 cm
Major Club   :   Juventus
Caps   :   47 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1934 (5 Games)
Club Honours  :  5 Times Italian Series A
International Honours   :   1934 FIFA World Cup Champion
2 Times Central European International Cup
Individual Achievement  :   None
Class  :   Queen Silver

3. Enrico Albertosi

Date Of Birth  :  2 November 1939
Height  : 182 cm, Caps :  34 Games
Major Club :  Fiorentina, Cagliari, AC Milan
World Cup Participation : 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974(9 Games)
Club Honours  :  2 Times Italian Series A
3 Times Copa Italia
1961 European Cup Winners' Cup
International Honours    :  1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class :  Queen Silver



4. Gianluca Pagliuca

     Date Of Birth : 18 December 1966, Height  : 190 cm
Major Club   : Sampdoria, Bologna, Inter Milan, Caps.: 39 Games
World Cup Participation : 1990, 1994, 1998 (10 Games)
Club Honours     : 1 Time Italian Series A
3 Times Copa Italia, 1990 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
1992 European Cup Runner-Up, 1998 UEFA Cup
International Honours   : 1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  :
2 Times Guerin Series A Footballer of The Year  (1997, 2005)
Class  : Queen Bronze


5. Giuliano Sarti

Date Of Birth  :  2 October 1933
Height   :  178 cm, Caps :  8 Games
Major Club  :  Fiorentina
World Cup Participation : None
Club Honours  :   3 Times Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia
2 Times European Cup (1964, 1965), 1967 Runner-Up
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Gold

6. Angelo Peruzzi

Date Of Birth  :  16 Fabruary 1970
Height  :  181 cm, Caps  :  31 Games
Major Club :  Lazio, JUventus
World Cup Participation  :    1962 (2 Games)
Club Honours  :   3 Times Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia, 1993 UEFA Cup
1996 UEFA Champion League, 2 Times Runner-Up (1997,1998)
International Honours  :   None
Individual Achievement  :  1997 Gueroldin Series A Footballer of The Year
3 Times Series A Goalkeeper of The Year
Class : Prince Gold


7. Francesco Toldo

Date Of Birth  :  2 December 1971
Height :  196 cm
Major Club :  Fiorentina, Inter Milan
Caps  :  28 Games
World Cup Participation  :  None
Club Honours :  3 Times Copa Italia
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours   :   None
Individual Achievement : 1 Time Series A Goalkeeper of The Year
2000 IFFHS World Best Goalkeeper
Class : Prince Gold




8. Stefano Tacconi

Date Of Birth  :  13 May 1957
Height :  188 cm, Caps  :  7 Games
Major Club :  Juventus
World Cup Participation  :  1990
Club Honours :  2 Times Series A
1 Time Copa Italia
1985 European Cup, Intercontinental Cup 
1984 Cup Winners Cup, 1990 UEFA Cup
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours   :   None
Individual Achievement : None
Class : Prince Gold
9. Lucaino Castellini

Date Of Birth  : 12 December 1945  
Height :  188 cm, Caps  :  1 Game
Major Club :  Torino, Napoli
World Cup Participation  :  1974
Club Honours :  1 Time Series A
1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours   :   None
Individual Achievement : None
Class : Prince Gold



10. Franco Tacredi

Date Of Birth  : 10 January 1955
Height  :  176 cm
Major Club :  AS Roma
Caps  :  12 Games
World Cup Participation  : 1986 
Club Honours  :   1 Time Italian Series A
1984 European Cup Runner-Up
4 Times Coppa Italia
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Silver


11. Lorenzo Buffon

Date Of Birth  :  19 December 1929
Height  :  181 cm
Major Club :  AC Milan
Caps  :  16 Games
World Cup Participation  : 1962 (2 Games)
Club Honours  :   5 Times Italian Series A
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :  None

Class : Prince Silver



12. Fabio Cudicini

Date Of Birth  : 20 October 1935
Height   :  191 cm
Major Club  :  AS Roma, AC Milan
Caps  :  None
World Cup Participation  :  none
Club Honours   :  1 Time Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia
1961 Inter Cities Fair Cup
1968 European Cup Winners Cup
1969 European Cup
International Honours    : None
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Silver


Defensive Lateral




1. Umberto Caligaris

Date Of Birth  : 26 June 1901
Position :  Left-Defender
Height  : 171 cm
Major Club :  Juventus
Caps   :  59 Games
World Cup Participation : 1934 (No Game)
Club Honours :   5 Times Italian Series A
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class  : Queen Bronze


2. Tarcisio Burgnich

Date Of Birth  : 25 April 1939
Position  :  Right-Back/Sweeper
Height  : 175 cm, Major Club  : Inter Milan
Caps   : 66 Games
World Cup Participation : 1966, 1970, 1974 (11 Games)
Club Honours   :   5 Times Italian Series A
2 Times European Cup (1964, 1965), Runner-Up (1967,1972)
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours    :   1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
1968 European Championship Winners
Individual Achievement  :    None
Class    :   Prince Gold



3. Pietro Rava

Date Of Birth  :  21 January 1916           
Position  : Left-Defender
Height  :  175 cm, Caps :  30 Games
Major Club  :  Juventus
World Cup Participation : 1938 (4 Games)
Club Honours :  2 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours : 1936 Olympic Game Gold Medal
1938 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  : 1938 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
Class :  Prince Gold



4. Virginio Rosetta

Date Of Birth  :  25 February 1902         
Position  : Left-Defender
Height  :  172 cm
Major Club :  Juventus
Caps :  52 Games
Olympic Games Participation  : 1920, 1924, 1928
Club Honours : 8 Times Italian Series A
International Honours : 1934 FIFA World Cup Winner
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class :  Prince Gold
5. Renzo De Vecchi

Date Of Birth  : 3 February 1894
Position  :  Left-Defender
Height  :  162 cm
Major Club  : Genoa
Caps : 43 Games
Olympic Games Participation  : 1912, 1920, 1924
Club Honours  :   3 Times Italian Series A
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :   None
Class  :  Prince Gold
6. Alfredo Foni 

Date Of Birth  :  20 January 1911
Position  :  Right-Defender
Height :  172 cm, Caps :  23 Games
Major Club  :  Juventus
World Cup Participation  : 1938 (3 Games)
Club Honours : 2 Times Italian Series A
International Honours    :  1936 Olympic Game Gold Medal
1938 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  : 1938 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
Class : Prince Gold



7. Sergio Cervato

Date Of Birth  :  22 October 1929
Position  :  Left-Back, Height  :  173 cm
Major Club  :  Fiorentina
Caps  :  28 Games
World Cup Participation  : 1954 (No Game)
Club Honours  :  3 Times Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia
1957 European Cup Runner-Up
International Honours    :     None
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Gold




8. Cristian Panucci

Date Of Birth  : 12 April 1973
Position :    Right-Back, Height   : 184 cm
Major Club   :  AS Roma, Caps   : 57 Games
World Cup Participation  :   2002 (4 Games)
Club Honours  :  2 Times Italian Series A, 2 Times Copa Italia
2 Times UEFA Champion League (1995,1998)
2 Times UCL Runner-Up (1993,1995)
1998 Intercontinental Cup
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :  1994 Bravo Award
Class   :   Prince Silver




9. Eraldo Monzlegio

Date Of Birth  :  5 June 1906
Position :  Right-Defender
Height   :  173 cm
Major Club :  Bologna
Caps  :  35 Games
World Cup Participation  :  1934, 1938
Club Honours  :   1 Time Northern Italian Championship
International Honours  :  1938 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class :  Prince Gold
10. Gianluca Zambrotta

Date Of Birth  : 19 February 1977
Position   :   Righ/Left-Wing-Back
Height   : 181 cm, Caps  : 92 Games
Major Club  : Juventus
World Cup Participation  :  2002, 2006 (10 Games)
Club Honours  : 2 Times Italian Series A
International Honours  : 2006 FIFA World Cup Champion
2000 European Championship Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  :  
2004 UEFA EUro Best XI
2006 FIFA World Cup All Star Team
Class  :  Prince Gold


11. Luigi Allemandi

Date Of Birth  : 18 November 1903
Position :  Left-Defender
Height   : 183 cm
Major Club :  Inter Milan
Caps : 24 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1934 (5 Games)
Club Honours   :   2 Time Italian Series A
International Honours  :  1934 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Silver








Central Defender


1. Ciro Ferrara

Date Of Birth  : 11 February 1967 
Position : Sweeper, Height : 180 cm
Major Club   : Napoli, Juventus
Caps   : 49 Games
World Cup Participation  :  1990 (No Game)
Club Honours :  6 Times Italian Series A, 2 Times Copa Italia
1989 UEFA Cup, 1996 UEFA Champion League
2 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (1997, 1998)
1996 Intercontinental Cup
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :   None
Class   :  Queen Bronze

2. Pietro Vierchowod

Date Of Birth  :  6 April 1959
Position  :  Center-Back, Height : 179 cm
Major Club  :  Sampdoria, Cap :  45 Games
World Cup Participation  : 1982, 1986, 1990 (7 Games)
Club Honours  : 2 Times Italian Series A
4 Times Copa Italia
1990 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
1996 UEFA Champion League
International Honours  : 1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Individual Achievement :1983 Guerin Italian Series A Footballer of The Year
Class : Queen Bronze


3. Alessandro Costacurta

Date Of Birth  : 24 April 1966
Position :   Stopper
Height : 183 cm
Major Club  :  AC Milan
Caps :  59 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1994, 1998 (11 Games)
Club Honours :   7 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
5 Times UEFA Champion League (1989,1990,1994,2003,2007)
3 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (1993,1995,2005)
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1989, 1990)
International Honours : 1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class   :  Queen Bronze

4. Roberto Rosato

Date Of Birth  :  20 August 1963
Position :  Center-Back
Height :  181 cm
Major Club : Torino, AC Milan
Caps :  37 Games
World Cup Participation : 1966, 1970 
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A
3 Times Coppa Italia
1969 European Cup Winner
2 Times Cup Winners Cup (1968, 1973)
International Honours : 1968 UEFA Euro Champion
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Gold

5. Giorgio Chiellini

Date Of Birth  : 14 August 1984
Position  :  Stopper, Height  :  187 cm
Major Club :  Juventus
Caps :  112 Games
World Cup Participation : 2010, 2014 
Club Honours  :  8 Times Italian Series A
4 Times Coppa Italia
2 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (2015, 2017)
International Honours  : 2012 UEFA Euro Runner-Up
2020 UEFA Euro Winner
Individual Achievement : 3 Times Series A Defender of the Year
Class  : Prince Gold

6. Leonardo Bonucci

Date Of Birth  : 1 May 1987
Position  :  Sweeper, Height  :  190 cm
Major Club :  Juventus
Caps :  109 Games
World Cup Participation : 2010, 2014 
Club Honours  :  8 Times Italian Series A
3 Times Coppa Italia
2 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (2015, 2017)
International Honours  : 2012 UEFA Euro Runner-Up
2020 UEFA Euro Winner
Individual Achievement :  2016 Series A Footballer of the Year
Class  : Prince Silver



7. Armando Picchi

Date Of Birth  :  20 June 1935
Position     :  Sweeper
Height       :  171 cm
Major Club :  Inter Milan
Caps         :  12 Games
World Cup Participation :  None
Club Honours : 3 Times Italian Series A
2 Times European Cup (1964, 1965)
1 Time European Cup Runner-Up (1967)
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Silver

8. Fulvio Collovati

Date Of Birth  : 9 May 1957
Position  :  Stopper, Height  :  182 cm
Major Club :  AC Milan, Inter Milan
Caps :  50 Games
World Cup Participation : 1982, 1986 (8 Games)
Club Honours  :  1 Time Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia, 1982 Mitropa Cup
International Honours  : 1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement : 1982 FIFA World Cup All Stars Team
Class  : Prince Silver





9. Cesare Maldini

Date Of Birth  : 5 February 1932
Position  : Center-Back, Height  :  182 cm
Major Club :  AC Milan
Caps :  14 Games
World Cup Participation : 1962 
Club Honours  :  4 Times Italian Series A
1956 Latin Cup, 1963 European Cup
International Honours  : None
Individual Achievement : 1962 FIFA World Cup All Stars Team
Class  : Prince Silver





10. Carlo Parola


Date Of Birth  : 20 September 1921
Position  : Center-Back, Height  :  176 cm
Major Club :  Juventus
Caps :  10 Games
World Cup Participation : 1950
Club Honours  :  2 Times Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours  : None
Individual Achievement : None
Class  : Prince Silver






Defensive Midfielder



1. Giacomo Bulgarelli 

Date Of Birth  :  24 October 1940
Position : Central Holding Midfielder
Height   :  176 cm
Major Club  :  Bologna
Caps   :  29 Games (7 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :  1962, 1966  (6 Games)
Club Honours   :   1 Time Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia
International Honours   :  1968 European Championship Winner
Individual Achievement :   None
Class   :  Prince Gold


2. Romeo Benetti

Date Of Birth  :  20 October 1945
Position :  Destroyer, Height :  182 cm
Major Club :  AC Milan, Juventus
Caps :  55 Games
World Cup Participation  :   1974, 1978 (9 Games)
Club Honours :   2 Times Italian Series A
6 Times Copa Italia, 1977 UEFA Cup    
1973 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup        
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :   None
Class :   Prince Gold



3. Michele Andreolo

Date Of Birth : 6 September 1912
Position : Defensive Holding Midfielder
Height : 169 cm
Major Club : Bologna, Napoli
Caps : 26 Games
World Cup Participation : 1938 (4 Games)
Club Honours : 4 Times Italian Series A
International Honours : 1938 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement :
Class : Prince Gold

4. Salvatore Bagni

Date Of Birth  :  25 September 1956
Height   :  178 cm, Cap :  41 Games
Position  :  Defensive Holding Midfielder
Major Club  : Inter Milan, Napoli
World Cup Participation  :   1986
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A, 2 Times Coppa Italia
International Honours :  1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Individual Achievement : None
Class : Prince Silver





5. Daniele De Rossi

Date Of Birth  : 24 July 1983
Position :  Destroyer, Height : 185 cm
Major Club :  Inter Milan, Caps  :   112 Games
World Cup Participation  : 1982 (5 Games)
Club Honours  : 1 Time Coppa Italia
International Honours  :  2006 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :  2009 Series A Footballer of the Year
2010 Italian Athlete of the Year
2012 UEFA Euro Best XI
Class : Prince Silver




5. Demetrio Albertini

Date Of Birth  : 23 August 1971
Position : Central Holding Midfielder
Height : 180 cm, Caps  :  79 Games
Major Club :  AC Milan
World Cup Participation  :   1994, 1998 (11 Games)
Club Honours :   5 Times Italian Series A
1994 UEFA Champion League Winner
2 Times UEFA Champion League Runner-Up (1993, 1995)
International Honours  : 1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
2000 UEFA Euro Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class :  Prince Silver


6. Ivan Genaro Gattuso

Date Of Birth  : 9 January 1978
Position : Destroyer, Height : 178 cm
Major Club  : AC Milan, Caps : 70 Games
World Cup Participation : 2002, 2006 (8 Games)
Club Honours :  1 Time Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia
2 Times UEFA Champion League Winners (2003, 2007)
2005 UEFA Champion League Runner-Up
2007 FIFA Club World Cup
International Honours : 2006 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement : 2006 FIFA World Cup All Star Team
Class :  Prince Silver






Offensive Lateral



1. Franco Causio

Date Of Birth  :  1 February 1949
Position  : Right-Side Midfielder, Height  :  170 cm
Major Club :  Juventusม Caps  :  63 Games
World Cup Participation  :    1974, 1978, 1982 (11 Games)
Club Honours     :   6 Times Italian Series A
1 Time Copa Italia, 1977 UEFA Cup
1983 European Cup Runner-Up
International Honours  : 1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  : 1982 Guerin Italian Series A Footballer of The Year
Class : Queen Bronze


2. Giampiero Boniperti 

Date Of Birth  :  4 July 1928
Position :  Attacking Midfielder/Right-Winger
Height : 175 cm, 
Major Club  : Juventus
Caps : 38 Games, 
World Cup Participation : 1950, 1954
Club Honours :  5 Times Italian Series A
2 Times Copa Italia
International Honours  :  None
Individual Achievement  : 1948 Series A Top Scorer
Class  :  Queen Bronze


3. Roberto Donadoni

Date Of Birth  :  9 September 1963
Position  :  Right-Winger
Height :  173 cm
Major Club  :  AC Milan
Caps  :  63 Games
World Cup Participation :  1990, 1994 (6 Games)
Club Honours : 5 Times Italian Series A
3 Times European Cup Champions (1989, 1990, 1994)
2 Times Europan Cup Runner-Up (1993, 1995)
International Honours  : 1994 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Gold

4. Mario Corso

Date Of Birth  :  25 August 1941
Position   : Left-Side Midfielder, Height  :  182 cm
Major Club  :  Inter Milan, Caps  :  23 Games
World Cup Participation  :    None
Club Honours   :   4 Times Italian Series A
2 Times European Cup (1964, 1965)
2 Times European Cup Runner-Up (1967, 1972)
2 Times Intercontinental Cup (1964, 1965)
International Honours    :   None
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Prince Gold
5. Mauro Camoranesi

Date Of Birth  :  4 October 1976
Position   :  Right Side-Midfielder
Height  : 174 cm
Major Club   :  Juventus
Caps   : 55 Games
World Cup Participation : 1934 (5 Games)
Club Honours  : 1 Time Italian Series A
2003 UEFA Champion League Runner-Up
International Honours  : 1934 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :   None
Class  :  Prince Silver



6. Amadeo Biavati 

Date Of Birth  :  4 April 1915
Position   :  Right Winger
Height  :  172 cm
Major Club   :  Bologna
Caps   : 18 Games
World Cup Participation : 1934 (5 Games)
Club Honours  : 3 Times Italian Series A
International Honours  : 1938 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :   None
Class  :  Prince Silver











Offensive Midfielder


1. Adolfo Baloncieri

Date Of Birth  :  27 July 1897
Position  :  Attacking Midfielder
Height   :  171 cm
Major Club  :  Alessandria, Torino
Caps   :  47 Games (25 Goals)
Olympic Games Participation  :   1924, 1928
Club Honourห  :  1 Time Italian Series A
International Honours  :  1928 Olympic Games Bronze Medal
1930 Central European International Cup
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class : Queen Bronze


2. Giovanni Ferrari

Date Of Birth  :  6 December 1907
Position :   Playmaking-Attacking Midfielder
Height  : 172 cm, Major Club :  Juventus
Caps  : 44 Games (14 Goals)
World Cup Participation  : 1934, 1938 (8 Games)
Club Honours : 8 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours : 1935 Central European Cup
2 Times FIFA World Cup Champions (1934,1938)
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class  : Prince Gold

3. Giancarlo Antognoni

Date Of Birth  :  1 April 1954
Position  :   Central Holding Midfielder
Height  :  179  cm, Caps: 73 Games
Major Club  :  Fiorentina
World Cup Participation : 1978, 1982 (11 Games)
Club Honours  : 1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours  : 1982 FIFA World Cup Winners
Individual Achievement  :  None
Class   :  Queen Bronze





4. Giancarlo De Sisti

Date Of Birth  : 13 March 1943
Position :  Playmaker
Height : 176 cmCaps : 29 Games
Major Club : Fiorentina, Roma
World Cup Participation : 1970
Club Honours : 1 Time Coppa Italia
International Honours  : 
Individual Achievement :  Fiorentina Hall of Fame
AS Roma Hall of Fame
Class   :  Prince Gold



5. Fulvio Bernadini

Date Of Birth  :  28 December 1905
Position :  Playmaker
Height : 177 cmCaps : 26 Games
Major Club : AS Roma
Olympique Games Participation : 1928
Club Honours :  None
International Honours  : None
Individual Achievement :  AS Roma Hall of Fame
Class   :   Prince Silver


6. Giuseppe Giannini

Date Of Birth  :  20 August 1964
Position : Central Holding Midfielder
Height : 177 cmCaps : 47 Games
Major Club : AS Roma
World Cup Participation : 1990 (7 Games)
Club Honours :  1 Time Italian Series A
3 Times Copa Italia, 1984 European Cup Runner-Up
International Honours  : 1990 FIFA World Third Place
Individual Achievement :  1988 UEFA Euro Best XI
Class   :   Prince Silver





7. Antonio Juliano

Date Of Birth  : 1 January 1943
Position :  Box-to-Box Midfielder
Height : 176 cmCaps : 18 Games
Major Club : Napoli
World Cup Participation : 1966, 1970, 1974
Club Honours : 1 Time Coppa Italia
International Honours  : 
Individual Achievement :  None
Class   :   Prince Silver





Forward


1. Alessandro Del Piero

Date Of Birth  :  9 November 1974
Height  :  173 cm, Caps  :  91 Games (27 Goals)
Position : Creative Forward, Major Club   :  Juventus
World Cup Participation  :  1998, 2002, 2006 (12 Games/ 2 Goals)
Professional Score Record  : 285 Goals/ 686 Games
Club Honours  : 5 Times Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia        
1996 UEFA Champion League, Runner-Up (1997,1998,2005)
1996 Intercontinental Cup                                     
International Honours  :  2000 UEFA Euro Runner-Up
2006 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  : 1996 Bravo Award
2 Times Italian Footballer of The Year (1998, 2008)
2 Times UEFA Champion League Top Scorer (1997, 1998)
                                                    1 Time Italian Series A Top Scorer , Juventus All-Time Top Scorer
                                                    Class   :   Prince Gold


2. Roberto Bettega

Date Of Birth  : 27 December1950
Position :  Forward, Height : 184 cm
Major Club : Juventus, Caps : 42 Games (19 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :   1978 (7 Games with 2 Goals)
Professional Score Record  :  178 Goals/ 481 Games
Club Honours :   7 Times Italian Series A
2 Time Copa Italia, 1977 UEFA Cup Winner
International Honours :    None
Individual Achievement  :   1 Time Italian Series A Top Scorer
1978 FIFA World CupQualification Top Scorer
1978 FIFA World Cup All Star Team

Class  :  Prince Gold


3. Gianluca Vialli

Date Of Birth  : 9 July 1964
Position : Forward, Height  : 180 cm
Major Club :  Sampdoria, Juventus
Caps : 59 Games (16 Goals)
World Cup Participation : 1986, 1990 (3 Games/No Goal)
Professional Score Record : 236 Goals/544 Games
Club Honours : 2 Times Italian Series A, 4 Times Copa Italia
1 Time FA Cup, 1993 UEFA Cup, 1996 UEFA Champion League
2 Times UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1990, 1998)
International Honours : 1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Individual Achievement  :  1988 UEFA Euro Best XI
1990 Cup Winners Cup Top Scorer
1991 Italian Series A Top Scorer
                                                    1995 World Soccer Player of The Year
                                                     Coppa Italia All-Time Top Scorer
                                                     Class  :  Prince Gold


4. Roberto Mancini

Date Of Birth  :  27 November 1964
Position :  Deep-Lying Forward, Height :  183 cm
Major Club :  Sampdoria, Caps :  36 Games
World Cup Participation  : 1990 (No Game)
Club Honours :  2 Times Italian Series A, 6 Times Copa Italia
2 Times UEFA Cup Winners’Cup (1990, 1999)
1992 European Cup Runner-Up 
International Honours  : None
Individual Achievement :  Sampdoria Greatest Player Ever
2 Times Guerin Italian Series A Footballer of The Year (1988,1991)
Class : Prince Silver



5. Gianfranco Zola

Date Of Birth  :  5 July 1966
Position  : Deep-Lying Forward
Height :  169 cm, Major Club  :  Parma, Chelsea
Caps  :  35 Games (10 Goals)
World Cup Participation : 1994 (1 Game and No Goal)
Professional Score Record  :  221 Goals/ 667 Games
Club Honours : 2 Times FA Cup
1995 UEFA Cup, 1998 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
International Honours  : None
Individual Achievement  : 1997 FWA Footballer of The Year
2003 Chelsea Greatest Player Ever   
2004 Order of The British Empire           
Class : Prince Silver

6. Antonio Di Natale

Date Of Birth  :  13 October 1977
Position :  Forward, Height : 170 cm
Major Club :  Udinese
Caps  :  42 Games (11 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :  2010
Professional Scores Record : 300 Goals/686 Games
Club Honours   :   None
International Honours :   None
Individual Achievement  :  2010 Italian Footballer of the Year
2 Times Italian Series A Top Scorer

Class : Prince Silver

7. Giuseppe Signori

Date Of Birth  :  17 February 1967
Position :  Left-Side Forward, Height : 171 cm
Major Club :  Lazio, Bologna
Caps  :  28 Games (7 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :    1994 (6 Games and No Goal)
Professional Scores Record : 222 Goals/424 Games
Club Honours   :   None
International Honours :   None
Individual Achievement  :  3 Times Italian Series A Top Scorer
Class : Prince Silver









Striker



1. Christian Vieri

Date Of Birth  : 12 July 1973
Position : Target Striker, Height : 186 cm
Major Club  : Inter Milanม Caps  :  49 Games (23 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :  1998, 2002 (9 Games / 9 goal)
Professional Score Record  :  215 Goals/ 395 Games
Club Honours  : 1 Time Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
1996 Intercontinental Cup, 1999 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
1997 UEFA Champion league Runner-Up
International Honours :  1977 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Individual Achievement :  1999 ISeries A Footballer of The Year
1 Time Spanish La Liga and Italian Series A Top Scorer
2 Times Italian Footballer of The Year (1999, 2002)
1998 FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe
                                                     Class  :  Queen Bronze


2. Paolo Rossi

Date Of Birth  :  23 September 1956
Height  :  174 cm, Position : Target Striker
Major Club : Vicenza, Juventus, Caps :  48 Games (20 Goals)
World Cup Participation  : 1978, 1982, 1986 (14 Games / 9 Goals)
Professional Score Record  : 116 Goals/ 279 Games
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A, 1 Time Copa Italia
International Honours : 1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement : 1 Time Italian Series A Top Scorer
FIFA World Cup : 1982 Golden Shoe- Golden Ball, 1978  Silver Ball
1982 Ballon'Dor. World Soccer, L'Equippe Sports Personality of The Year
1983 European Cup Top Scorer
Class    :   Prince Gold

3. Phillipo Inzaghi

Date Of Birth  :  9 August 1973
Position  :  Target Striker, Height :  181 cm
Major Club :  Juventus, AC Milan
Caps :  56 Games (24 Goals)
World Cup Participation  : 1998, 2002, 2006  (5 Games With 1 Goal)
Professional Scores Record : 301 Goals/ 574 Games
Club Honours :   2 Times Italian Series , 1 Time Copa Italia
2 Times UEFA Champion League Winners (2003, 2007)
2005 UEFA Champion League Runner-Up
International Honours  : 2000 European Championship Runner-Up
Individual Achievement  : 1 Time Italian Series A Top Scorer
Class : Prince Silver
4. Alessandro Altobelli

Date Of Birth  : 28 November 1955
Position  :  Target Striker, Height  : 178 cm
Major Club : Inter Milan
Caps : 61 Games (25 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :   1982, 1986 (7 Games with 5 Goals)
Professional Score Record  :  209 Goals/ 466 Games
Club Honours : 1 Time Italian Series A, 2 Times Copa Italia
International Honours : 1982 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement  :  1979 Cup Winners Cup Top Scorer
1988 UEFA Euro Qualification Top Scorer
Class  :  Prince Silver


5. Luca Toni

Date Of Birth  : 26 May 1977
Position : Target Striker, Height  : 192 cm
Major Club :  Fiorentina, Bayern Munich
Caps : 47 Games (16 Goals)
World Cup Participation : 2006 (7 Games/2 Goals)
Professional Score Record : 273 Goals/500 Games
Club Honours : 1 Time Bundesliga, 1 Time DFB-Pokal
International Honours : 2006 FIFA World Cup
Individual Achievement  : 2008 Bundesliga Top Scorer
2 Times Series A Top Scorer (2006, 2015)
2006 Guerin Series A Player of the Year
2006 European Golden Shoe
2008 UEFA Cup Top Scorer
                                                     Class  :  Prince Silver

6. Angelo Schiavio

Date Of Birth  :  15 October 1905
Position :  Target Striker, Height :  178 cm
Major Club :  Bologna
Caps  :  21 Games (15 Goals)
World Cup Participation  :    1934
Professional Scores Record : 109 Goals/ 179 Games
Club Honours  :   1 Times Italian Championship
International Honours :  1934 FIFA World Cup Champion
Individual Achievement : 1 Time Italian Series A Top Scorer

Class : Prince Silver


7. Roberto Boninsegna

Date Of Birth  :  13 November 1943
Position : Fast Striker, Height :  178 cm
Major Club   :  Inter  Milan
Caps  :  22 Games (9 Goals)
World Cup Participation : 1970, 1974
Professional Scores Record : 173 Goals/ 375 Games
Club Honours  : 3 Times Italian Series 1 Time Copa Italia
1972 European Cup Runner-Up, 1977 UEFA Cup
International Honours  : 1968 European Championship Winner
1970 FIFA World Cup Runner-Up 
Individual Achievement  : 2 Times Italian Series A Top Scorer
Class : Prince Silver





Table of Positional Ranking


Goalkeeper
Defensive Lateral
Central Defender
1. Gianluigi Buffon
2. Dino Zoff
3. Walter Zenga
4. Giampiero Combi
5. Enrico Albertosi
6. Gianluca Pagliuca
7. Giuliano Sarti
8. Angelo Peruzzi
9. Francesco Toldo
10. Stefano Tacconi
11. Luciano Castellini
12. Franco Tacredi
13. Lorenzo Buffon
14. Fabio Cudicini
15. Aldo Oliveri
16. Gianluigi Donnarumma
17. Giovanni De Pra
18. Ivano Bordon
19. Giovanni Galli
20. Luca Marchegiani
21. Cristian Abbiati


1. Paolo Maldini
2. Giacinto Facchetti
3. Antonio Cabrini
4. Claudio Gentile
5. Umberto Caligaris
6. Tarcisio Burgnich
7. Pietro Rava
8. Virginio Rosetta
9. Renzo De Vecchi
10. Alfredo Foni
11. Sergio Cervato
12. Cristian Panucci
13. Eraldo Monzeglio
14. Gianluca Zambrotta
15. Luigi Allemendi
16. Giacomo Losi
17. Virgilio Maroso
18. Antonello Cuccureddu
19. Mauro Tassotti
20. Sebastian Nela
21. Felice Gasperi
22. Ardico Magnini   
23. Giuseppe Bruscolotti
24. Luigi De Agostini
25. Carlos Annovazzi
26. Aldo Maldera
27. Giovanni Francini   
28. Amedeo Carboni
29. Antonio Benarrivo

1. Franco Baresi
2. Gaetano Scirea
3. Alessandro Nesta
4. Giuseppe Bergomi
5. Fabio Cannavaro
6. Ciro Ferrara
7. Alessandro Costacurta
8. Pietro Vierchowood 
9. Armando Picchi
10. Roberto Rosato
11. Georgio Chiellini
12. Leonardo Bonucci
13. Fulvio Collovati
14. Cesare Maldini
15. Carlo Parola 
16. Aristide Guarneri 
17. Riccardo Ferri
18. Andrea Barzagli
19. Giuseppe Baresi
20. Aldo Ballarin
21. Mario Rigamonti
22. Lorenzo Minotti
23. Giuseppe Wilson
24. Roberto Cravero
25. Sandor Salvatore


Defensive Midfielder
Playmaker
Advanced Midfielder
1. Marco Tardelli
2. Fulvio Bernardini
3. Giacomo Bulgarelli
4. Romeo Benetti
5. Michelle Andreolko
6. Salvatore Bagni
7. Daniele De Rossi   
8. Demetrio Albertini 
9. Ivan Gennaro Gattuso
10. Fernando De Napoli
11. Renato Zaccarelli
12. Agostino Di Bartolomei
13. Giovanni Trapattoni
14. Giuseppe Aliberti 
15. Gabriel Oriali
16. Luciano Re Cecconi
17. Ugo Locatelli
18. Armando Segato
19. Luigi Bertolini
20. Attilio Ferraris
21. Pietro Serantoni
22. Giuseppe Furino
23. Roberto Di Matteo
24. Luigi Burlando
25. Omero Tognon

1. Gianni Rivera
2. Andrea Pirlo
3. Giancarlo Antognoni
4. Giancarlo De Sisti
5. Giuseppe Giannini
6. Antonio Juliano
7. Marco Verratti
8. Eusebio Castigliano
9. Evaristo Beccalossi
10. Stefano Fiore
11. Jorginho
12. Giuseppe Grazar
13. Antonio Janni
14. Gianfranco Matteoli


1. Valentino Mazzola
2. Sandro Mazzola
3. Francesco Totti
4. Adolfo Balonceri
5. Giovanni Ferrari
6. Roberto Mancini
7. Gianfranco Zola
8. Antonio Vojak
9. Gino Cappello


Offensive Lateral
Forward
Striker
1. Bruno Conti
2. Franco Causio
3. Giampiero Boniperti
4. Mario Corso
5. Roberto Donadoni
6. Mauro Camoranesi
7. Amedeo Biavati
8. Gino Colaussi
9. Gianluigi Meroni
10. Claudio Sala
11. Angelo Domenghini
12. Gianluigi Lentini
13. Romeo Menti
14. Paulo Di Canio
15. Ermes Muccinelli
16. Renzo Burini
17. Franco Ossola


1. Giuseppe Meazza
2. Roberto Baggio
3. Alessandro Del Piero
4. Roberto Bettega
5. Gianluca Vialli 
6. Giuseppe Signori
7. Antonio Di Natale
8. Gino Rossetti
9. Pietri Anastasi
10. Amadeo Amadei
11. Luigi Cavenini 
12. Paolo Pulici
13. Mario Magnozzi
14. Enrico Chiesa
15. Antonio Cassano
16. Bruno Giordano

Manager
1. Marcelo Lippi
2. Fabio Capello
3. Vittorio Pozzo
4. Giovanni Trapattoni
5. Carlo Ancelotti
6. Arrigo Sacchi
7. Nereo Rocco
8. Enzo Bearzot
9. Ferrucio Vaccareggi
10. Fulvio Bernardini

1. Luigi Riva
2. Silvio Piola
3. Cristian Vieri
4. Paolo Rossi     
5. Phillipo Inzaghi
6. Alessandro Altobelli
7. Luca Toni 
8. Angelo Schiavio
9. Roberto Boninsegna
10. Guglielmo Gabetto
11. Francesco Graziani
12. Roberto Pruzzo
13. Pierino Prati
14. Felice Borel
15. Giorgio Chinaglia
16. Aldo Boffi
17. Vincenzo Montella
18. Alberto Gilardino
19. Ciro Immobile
20. Luigi Cavennini
21. Salvatore Schillachi





The Greatest Italian Players of the Era


10s : Renzo De Vecchi (1st Half)
20s : Renzo De Vecchi (1st Half), Adolfo Baloncieri (2nd Half)
30s : Giuseppe Meazza
40s : Valentino Mazzola
50s : Giampiero Boniperti
60s : Gianni Rivera
70s : Sandro Mazzola (1st Half), Dino Zoff (2nd Half)
80s : Gaetano Scirea (1st Half), Franco Baresi (2nd Half)
90s : Roberto Baggio (1st Half), Paolo Maldini (2nd Half)
00s : Alessandro Nesta (1st Half), Andre Pirlo (2nd Half)
10s : Gianluigi Buffon (1st Half), Gianluigi Buffon (2nd Half)



The Greatest Italian Footballers of All-Time

1. Giuseppe Meazza
2. Gianni Rivera 
3. Paolo Maldini
4. Franco Baresi
5. Roberto Baggio
6. Gianluigi Buffon
7. Dino Zoff
8. Giacinto Facchetti
9. Sandro Mazzola
10. Gaetano Scirea
11. Alessandro Nesta
12. Francesco Totti
13. Marco Tardelli
14. Antonio Cabrini
15. Valentino Mazzola
16. Walter Zenga
17. Giuseppe Bergomi
18. Fabio Cannavaro
19. Silvio Piola
20. Luigi Riva


179 comments:

  1. He is rated seasonally very low by media rating. I think it is due to his style of play, so smooth without any advanced skill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As a player he was nine years as the absolute owner of the team, 60 caps, playing all the tournaments possible, not among the best?

      Have not played at Euro 2000 by punishment.

      Delete
    2. Yes, he is an efficient midfielder but as I said, he played football in very common and easy style and I'm sure there will be other players, who have not named here, have similar style and level of playing equal to him.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous5/10/14

    gigi riva's height should be 180cm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I see many source specified his height at 175 cm.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous9/1/15

    Gianluigi Buffon have most Caps (146)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous19/1/15

    where is Fernando de napoli?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He has a short career as a regular reserved player at Milan. As I check his rating in DBSCalcio, he passed international-class criteria around 4 seasons, slightly too few in standard of all-time selection.

      Delete
  5. I think Carlo Parola is very underrated here.he was selected for rest of europe team against Great Britain in 1947 and after that very impressive match for him chelsea tryied to take him but he refused.Boniperti talked about him as one of strongest italian players ever.he was a centromediano,a mix of center back and defensive midfielder

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I read article, he was one of the leading center-half in Europe during the beginning of the post-war era. However his consistency is just questionable when he was capped only 10 times. Although there were only 21 international matches played in the 1940s but his career also wholly covers the first half 1950s. I’m also interested on the issue that Parola was even a more frequent starter than Mario Rigamonti in the same position and the same era.

      Delete
  6. I also remember that italian magazine Guerin Sportivo put him in national best team ever in 1994 in center back position.this was the team: Zoff,gentile,parola,scirea,cabrini; Meazza,tardelli,Rivera; conti,rossi,riva

    ReplyDelete
  7. Also the fact that he has only 10 caps is not so important because in that period international matches were so few.you put di Bartolomei in 9 place among central midfielders even if he never played in national team

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was not updated for Di Bartolomei, Now I am OK to rank Parola higher than him.

      Delete
  8. Can you explain me why Maldini and Baresi are ranked lower than Meazza and Baggio even if they are King gold while Meazza is King bronze and Baggio queen gold? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Baresi and Maldini's class has not been updated according to the greatest defenders list in positional hall of fame whereas they are rated in King Silver. The class specified in profile is rated based on their own position but when all positions are combined in ranking, this class cannot be applied and need to re-classification. In example, In World's all-time greatest footballer, Maldini and Baresi are rated in queen class.

      Delete
    2. Anyway, I'm sorry to forget to update this list as I already made scorecard of world's all-time greatest footballer and Maldini and Baresi are ranked above Baggio. Note that this museum is applied different criteria with more weight in NT part. So Meazza is number one in this list although he was slightly ranked below Rivera in world's all-time greatest ever. In case of Baggio, he is also ranked below Maldini and Baresi in this museum.

      Delete
  9. The first great italian goalkeeper Giovanni De Prà is not mentioned here..i think he deserves a mention

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I read article, he was not described in any great status, so please tell me more information to confirm his outstanding level.

      Delete
  10. Bulgarelli22/4/15

    All-Time Azzurri (23)

    portiere - Gianluigi Buffon = Dino Zoff > Gianpiero Combi

    terzino destro/stopper - Giuseppe Bergomi > Claudio Gentile
    libero - Gaetano Scirea = Franco Baresi
    stopper - Alessandro Nesta > Pietro Vierchowod
    terzino sinistro fluidificante - Giacinto Facchetti > Antonio Cabrini

    ala destra/ala tornante - Bruno Conti > Giampiero Boniperti
    mediano di spinta/centrocampista - Marco Tardelli > Gabriele Oriali
    centrocampista/mezzala destra - Andrea Pirlo > Valentino Mazzola
    trequartista/fantasista - Gianni Rivera > Sandro Mazzola

    seconda punta - Roberto Baggio > Luigi Riva
    centravanti - Giuseppe Meazza > Silvio Piola

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bulgarelli23/4/15

    I would recommend Renato Zaccarelli [Torino] to your centrocampista (midfielder) list, an elegant mezzala with excellent passing skills and great reading of the game. Possessed the tactically intelligence to play libero later in his career too. For the Azzurri, Tardelli would later play as the #8, and Antognoni the preferred #10.

    Coppa Italia - Torino: 1970-1971
    Scudetto - Torino: 1975-1976

    Guerin d'oro - 1986


    Would undoubtedly make the All-Time Italian Top 20 centrocampista/mezzala

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Surely he is the best player I have overlooked. He did not only receive highest rating by Guerin in 1986 (very high point at 6.83 even higher than Antognoni) but Dbscalcio shows his stats in other seasons with incredible high rating for Zaccarelli. I will make his profile in the museum.

      Delete
  12. Bulgarelli27/4/15

    I would recommend Alessandro Salvadore.

    A top 10 Italian libero/stopper no doubt. A strong, versatile, classy leader, Sandro was Juve and Italy's captain in the late 60's. The great Azzurri libero between Picchi and Scirea. Unfortunately, 2 mistakes in February 1970 vs Spain prior to WC 1970, meant Cagliari's Cera was Valcareggi's new favoured #6. He was undoubtedly the best libero at that time though. Nicknamed himself, 'Billy', in adoration of England's great, complete defender Billy Wright. Sandro Salvadore and Riva proved the pivotal changes in the 2nd game of the UEFA Euro 1968 Final versus Yugoslavia. 453 appearances for the Bianconeri, and won only 36 caps with the Azzurri.

    Scudetto- Milan: 1958-1959, 1961-1962
    Juventus: 1966-1967, 1971-1972, 1972-1973
    Coppa Italia: Juventus: 1964-1965

    Italy: UEFA Campionato d'Europa: 1968

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bulgarelli27/4/15

    The Top 5 libero
    Franco Baresi = Gaetano Scirea > Armando Picchi > Sandro Salvadore > Cesare Maldini

    ReplyDelete
  14. OK, It is once again interesting. Please give me a time for responsiveness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I read articles, he is highly rated in skill possession but do you have any support info in great performance status of Salvadore ? As I check in dbscalcio, he was rated at only 6.18 in the 1970 – 1971 series A season at his 32 years old. There is no rating evidence in other seasons of his career aside from the 1974 – 1975 which he also obtain 6.18.

      Delete
  15. Bulgarelli29/4/15

    Note: In your profile of Renato Zaccarelli, you have him listed as a "Defensive Holding Midfielder" - Zaccarelli was a 'offensivi centrocampisti', a playmaking central midfielder (#8), or attacking midfielder (#10). Later a libero.

    In that famous Torino side of 1975-76, the midfield comprised of Patrizio Sala #4 (the mediano - defensive midfielder), Claudio Sala #7 (ala destra - right wing) and Eraldo Pecci #8 (regista).

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous18/11/15

    GIANLUIGI BUFFON IS ITALYS GREATEST GOALKEEPER.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous19/2/16

    Carlo Ancelotti could have a Profile

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I include only a manager and substitution is not included.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11/7/16

    How is here Meazza still in front of Rivera and Rivera is in front of Meazza on all time greatest players list? Unless of course if you only consider national team play here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Italian squad give more proportional weight of NT than all-time best player list and Meazza i evaluated higher than Rivera so he is better by this criteria.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11/7/16

      So, club performance is also considered but at a lower proportion?

      Delete
    3. Here is set to be equal between Club and NT but the Club is much more weighted in best every ranking.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous22/8/16

    Inzaghi is way too high. Irate him in slightly above Schilachi in the Italian echelon. Even above Gilardino is a bit far fetched since Alberto was far more talented as a player. Inzaghi is just the luckiest football player ever. If you watched him , the ball just hit him and it went in the goal countless time or he would just face the goal open or with the golie 1 on 1. Rarely did Pipo ever scored anything but tapins. Even his borther is widely regerded as the more talented between the 2.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure Inzaghi is deserved ahead of Schillachi who is much lower than average in club career when he was not even a starter of his club in many seasons. Gilardino is accepted to have more talented but he played below his standard level in most of seasons. Inzaghi's positional sense is also one of the best ever in this skill.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23/8/16

      Wouldn't you consider Toni as above him? Luca Toni a late bloomer , was already considered a Serie A sacred monster of modern times , but he made a great comeback in 2015 becoming Serie A top scorer at 37 years old.

      Delete
    3. Toni's peak is considered higher but he had too many below average seasons.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous4/11/16

      have you seen Inzaghis scoring record?For a predatory striker that offers nothing else to the game ebsides finishing his scoring record is not really great.His impact is subpar.Like Totti and Vieri his merits are lower than his reputation.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous4/11/16

      how is Nesta rated higher than Cannavaro?Totti higher than Del Piero and Pirlo?Are you serious?YOu have to explain beacause there is no objective criteria for that.

      Delete
    6. I'm not clear how did you want to say on Inzaghi as I only said he was great in movement ability.

      Nesta's defensive skill is in the similar level to Cannavaro but he was much better in technique not kick the ball by goalless. Also, Nesta won Italian defenders of the year much more often thanks Cannavaro. Totti is better than Del Piero in both club and NT by awards achievement and media rating. That is not quite related to criteria I create.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous22/8/16

    Foni and Cervato above Zola?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They all have limited opportunity in national team competition and I'm really not sure about the seasonal class of Foni and Cervato but both are one of the top defenders in the world in their time and I don't think Zola ever closed to the same status.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23/8/16

      Well Zola is considered one of the best players in Premiere League history and at the time of his departure , reagrded as Chelsea's best player ever. Not to mention that he is also an all time legend for Parma and started being world class from his Napoli days already managing 12 goals and top assist provider of the league(12 assists) in 1992–93. I'd even suggest in case you haven't watched much of him to search some clips if you have some free time because he was incredibely beautiful to watch. Easly one of the most technically gifted players of the 90s.

      Delete
    3. That is your comment on only Zola and isn't related to Foni and Cervato.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous24/8/16

      Well same as you , I can't pinpoint exactly how good Foni and Cervato were , but you said that Zola isn't on the same status , and I disagree , showing how good Zola was and in no way inferior as a football legend to those 2.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous23/8/16

    How can Totti be out of the 22 men squad when he is regarded by many as Italy's greatest player ever.
    http://video.sky.it/sport/calcio-italiano/totti_il_miglior_italiano_di_sempre_roma/v173907.vid
    http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Squadre/Roma/17-02-2013/rivera-totti-piu-un-numero-10-baggio-piero-mancini-scelgo-lui-9256802452.shtml

    And no Amedeo Biavati? "regarded as one of the greatest Italian players and wingers of all time"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totti is not included because he is rather unsuccessful at Italy national team. His candidate in the 22-men squad is Boniperti who has an outstanding individual NT performance even Italy in his time always disqualified early.

      Thanks you for Amedeo Biavati. I'm not even heard of him before and he is surely deserved at least in the minor positional list. I see the difficulty to rate him in profile setting since his career is rather short due to World War II interrupt. He is premised to achieve around great five domestic seasons in his prime and three of them are during the war-time when the standard of competition is relatively low.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23/8/16

      Is this only for NT performance? And how do you know Boniperti was outstanding for the NT? I see he scored only 7 goals and with Totti at least we know he was indeed one of the best players at various tournaments being included in the All Star XI of both EURO and World Cup

      Delete
    3. OK, It is a mistaken selection. Look at scorecard in Positional Hall of Fame, Boniperti is rated much below Totti in NT career when he had limited opportunity in World Cup and played juts once game. I agree to name Totti in the 22-men squad. Thanks for suggestion.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous4/11/16

      Totti was named to ALL STar Teams based more on reputation than real impact.If you base your selections on this criteria as you often seem to do than this might become a problem once you start ranking and classification.CUase journalists often have very very strange and subjective ideas and them being journalists and offering public opinions does not change that a bit,And Totti is nowhere really succesfull nor impactful as is also Vieri.

      Delete
    5. Sorry, I don't think your English is communicative enough and you explanation is too limited also.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous1/11/16

    you rate Totti and Vieri higher than Pirlo?
    Both are not even Del Pieros standart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not rate Vieri above Pirlo in the top 50 Italian players ever as showed.
      Totti is much superior to Pirlo in club career.
      Del Piero has never been acknowledged as one of the successful player in NT career.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4/11/16

      Totti and Vieri have never been succesfull either.On the contrary.They were largly the problem with the Italian Team.Both are nowehere near to Pirlo and Del Piero.Not based on club or national team success or on impact or even skillwise.So please explain because you seem very random in your classifications and it is a shame that your rankings and judgment are detrimental to this beautiful project.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous4/11/16

    in what world is Totti better than Del Piero?Neither based on club or national team success.He is not better statistically.Do you like him better?His impact on the teams is worse.And based on pure skills he is not close to Del Piero or Baggio.Please elaborate because your choices sometimes seem very random and witout real base eventhopugh you put lots of effort in tis great project.But your rankings and classifications seem often completely baseless.You dramatically overrate players from certain countries like Germany and England.
    Greetings

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think that Buffon now deserves to take place as better gk ever and to be first of Zoff.don't you think so?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi, my friend, what happened to your blog's photos?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Either the host link in Flickr has become expired or Flickr website has a problem. I have fixed Photo in Positional Hall of Fame but here need more time to reattach Photos.

      Delete
  26. Hi, Narathorn. I am looking at the DBS Calcio website, and I was wondering which DBS Calcio rating corresponds to your "International class" rating, since you say it takes up to 5 International Class seasons to be included in your rankings. I see for example Gattuso has only one season above 7 according to this rating, and his other seasons' ratings are comparable to mediocre players of smaller teams. I don't understand which is the criteria, since I believe Gattuso has to be in your ranking and other midfielders don't, but I see no great difference in DBS Calcio ratings.

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rating criteria in dbscalcio is categorized by position. The rating is noticeably given to destroyer in lower range than many others because this position likes a physical worker with limitation of offensive skills. I set around 6.1 at minimum for international class of destroyer. If any player achieved lower than 5 seasons, Gattuso has got many international class in international football so he is qualified.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for the explanation! Which should be the international class rating of a striker, then?

      Delete
  27. why you put meazza as greatest italy player ever?! meazza was a big legend and superstar, i know, but italian choose him more because his reputation and world cup winning. but in pure skills baresi and maldini are the greatest italian player ever. 1990 italy was the best defence line of all-time and probably was the best italy team ever. also baresi is the greatest player ever in his position behind beckenbauyer (and probably moore), but mezza is not at top 5 at his position. also baresi was the captain and superstar of the greatest club ever (or at least one of the greatest ever - ac milan 1988 till 94) . also baresi was playing at more competitive era rather than mezza....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Defensive skill is considered to be less difficult than the offensive skill. As a great defender, you're required to possess positional sense and interception. The attacking skill has a wider range, creativity, passing, dribbling scoring and movement. Anyway, Meazza is just ahead Maldini by 0.3 point according to my scorecard. I consider they're in the same level.

      Delete
    2. it's exactly vice versa.but you'r right organizations usually care more about forwards rather than defenders,because of public view and more popularity on the players that scored goals, but in real, offensive position is so easier than defensive one.it's clear that the most difficult post of football is goalkeeper, and then full-backs (if you played just one time in real pitch you know what i talk about!) because they need so more stamina for their running on length of the field, in midfield positions,defensive midfielder is more difficult than the others because of the most running average and responsibility to create space for attacks and stop opponents in the middle. also center back is so sensitive and difficult position, because they are the main guardians of the team, but forward is the easiest position among all, because they just have responsibilty of the goal area, just catch the ball from the back line and score goal. not necessary to create chance for scoring goal, need not make assist, need not defend and etc. and even if they haven't high skills or haven't a good day, just with scoring goal, they will become the hero. think a striker lose the ball for several times in a game..what will happen? nothing, just maybe blamed because of his not gud performance, but think if center-backs make some mistakes on the ball or fail at stopping the opponents just for one time, team conceded goals and everything changes, and CB will known as guilty for the losing of the game. besides these, defenders had very more difficult path to make notice than offensive positions. peoples and orgs less care about them and it's so harder to recognition than the others. And how much look at the older times, this was so harder. about baresi he's also voted as the greatest milan player ever. as i said he was a special case (like bobby moore) he was the main element of the greatest clubs and national defense line, also he playing at the best italian era in terms of stars. scirea,bergomi,zoff,rossi,maldini,cabrini,baggio and the other big names that were at his time, but still he was the superstar of their teams. in the club level i think he is the most successful defender of all-time. after all even if two players be in same level and one be striker and the other be defender, usually is more logical to choose the defender above, because as i said of course defender need so moreeeee skills,excellence performance,records and individuals to become reputable as same as striker. but here it's not happen because baresi and maldini isn't the level of mezza to discussion about which is better by far? they are so greater than meazza,baggio and rivera. in fact their performances and playing in compare of their position competitors is unique and very higher than others, probably the best ever (alongside some other defenders), But mezza or rivera are not. baresi is the di stefano of defenders and maldini is the garrincha of full-backs. and at the last as i said again baresi was playing against a number of greatest strikers and footballers ever and the 90's was so much competitive than 30's, at the time of mezza defenders hadn't attitude and still was amateur in compare of later defenders that rise up at 60's and 70's.

      Delete
    3. I think you explain well and this topic is deserved to do research.

      Anyway Let see how difficulty to make mistakes as a defender compared to mistakes by attackers. As a defender, it is very often that you take advantage of your position, pursuing opponents and tackling the ball. As an attacker, you need to think quickly and always made a true decision. Moreover you need to have an accurate dribbling, passing or shooting to survive from losing the ball. Certainly attacker made some mistakes more often than defender during the game. In contrary, you don't need to elaborate much. Also, I think the Italian tough defensive strategy facilitate Baresi to play more conveniently.

      Defender with a remarkable offensive skill is rated in equal way to attacker and Maldini/Baresi;'s offensive skills are impressive but remain limited in comparison to many others.

      Delete
  28. Hello Dearman,

    I still love your ratings and your implementation of the 9x100 football list is stunning.
    Still, can you explain how come you rate Angelo Schiavio so low? He had 5 seasons in which he scored more than 20 goals in the league, 5 seasons more than 10. He won 4 Serie A titles, in 3 of them he was crucial, as well as 2 Mitropa Cup (You know well that in the 30s it was the closest thing to the contemporary Champions League). More than that, he won the Coppa Internazionale twice and in one of his less prolific seasons, in 1934, he still was the second best scorer in the World Cup and scored the decisive goal in the final. He is regarded as the best player to play for Bologna and one of the great italian legends of that Era. 15 goals in only 21 appereances for the National Team. 242 goals in the Italian First Division in a Bologna side who dominated domestic football before the great Juventus.
    I would rate him just below or even above Vieri... I sincerely don't understand why he isn't Queen Bronze and he is only 98 in your 9x100 Strikers ranking list.

    Thanks for the explanations!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi, Benforti

    It is good to have a chance to discuss with you again. I think Schiavio' scoring more than 20 goals is not as remarkable as Vieri when the pre-war era is more productive in goal average per game than the modern era. I have checked his scoring stats in Mitropa Cup but I don't found his name in top 7 - 10 scorer list in any related year. Anyway, my implementation omitted his performance in the 1934 world cup and I have re-implemented and he is just ascended a few higher ranks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I agree with you on the pre-war era, I just see you also rated other strikers of the 30th really high, so I thought it wasn't a main issue for you! I am curious to see his ranking between the Italian strikers.

      I am willing to make some suggestion about italian players at the end of the season, since I am clearly italian and interested above all in that part!

      I also wanted to compliment you for your inclusion of Henry Caicedo, Efraín Sánchez and Delio Gamboa in the Colombian squad. I've been studying Colombian football and they were missed in your ranking before. I would also suggest Luís Herrera, Mario Agudelo and Humberto "Turrón" Álvarez: among these, I think at least Herrera should be qualified to have a profile. Have a nice week!

      Delete
    2. That is a very good news for me to have a suggestion by Italian person since I have been looking for it through such an informative list. For now, I would like to know how would you rate Roberto Rosato. I see Guerin Sportivo rated him very low during the 1970s. I know his peak was performed during the second half 1960s. He debuted for Italy in 1965 so I implied his prime is rather short. Anyway, some articles described him as one of the greatest Italian defenders ever that sounds overrated for me.

      Colombian players were added since a Chilean guy suggested me to study them. Recently, I also add many profiles of new players likes. Max Abegglen (Switzerland) and Todor Diev (Bulgaria). I'll check if Luis Herrara should be great enough. Thanks for suggestion.

      Delete
  30. Until not long ago I would have rated Rosato exactly like you have. But as I check better, I think he should be at least Prince Gold and above Collovati. Even on par with Rosetta and Rava or just below them.
    (http://blog.guerinsportivo.it/calcio/2015/12/03/torino-i-100-piu-grandi-di-sempre) --> here in the Guerin Sportivo he's ranked as the 29th best player ever for Torino, and he left Torino at 23 years old. Not bad at all!
    As a starter he won many trophies with AC Milan: Two Cup Winner's Cups, one European Cup and one International Cup. He also won the Euros with Italy and got to the final of the World Cup in 1970 as a started even if he begun on the bench.
    A book I own, that was to be found online but unfortunately it's not anymore, called "The Dictionary of Italian Football" with profiles of tons of Serie A players until the year 2000, defines him as "one of the deadliest centerbacks in the history of football". Maybe it's too much, but the book doesn't say anything comparable about Collovati or Ferri, even if it praises them. I don't know why you suggest his prime is rather short since he made his NT debut with only 22 years! He was 27 in the World Cup final. His level got actually much worse after 1972. But until then this official thread about AC Milan (http://www.magliarossonera.it/protagonisti/Gioc-Rosato.html) says he was "an unbeatable stopper, part of one of the greatest Milan defenses of all time".

    So, in the end, I reckon he has achieved far more than Collovati and Ferri. I'd suggest at least Prince Gold, maybe even Queen Bronze. Something between Costacurta and Collovati. He actually achieved more than Picchi too, especially with the National Team, even if Picchi was more talented overall.

    Sorry if I always write too much, I like to provide explanations! Actually I'm pleased to see your implementation of the 9x100 Rankings include some better rating of past players I already thought deserved much better (Castellini and Bernardini above all). I reckon it takes time to evaluate the modern ones.

    Anyways, I apologize for the length of this, I hope it was useful. In a couple weeks I'll make some suggestions here about profiles and positional ranking of Italian players. Have a nice Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sincerely your suggestion is very impressive and I'll be always happy to read it. Thanks you very much.

      Delete
  31. Ah, Luis Herrera or Diego Osorio should definetly be in your Colombian team, since you have Pablo Armero. I mean, the guy was good for 3 years, then he declined so much it's not even funny!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I forgot: why did you change your mind about Sarti and put him that far above Toldo and Peruzzi, even if his contribute to the National team it's not comparable at least with Toldo's?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I think I need to get your help. I know his pure skill is not greater than that of Toldo and Peruzzi by a few of watches but the fact of matter that performance could be fluctuated. Sarti played 4 European Cup that his club reached final and also a cup winners cup. So he is really advantage in this part. However, I'm really not sure how many seasons he should have reached world-class in domestic season but states of goals conceding with analysis of his defending teammates tends to be two.

      Delete
    2. In this case it depends on how much do you rate consistence over player's peak. Sarti was known as a non-spectacular keeper who never was capable of miracle saves, but didn't make mistakes either - except one against Mantova, who costed Inter the 1967 scudetto. He had excellent positioning and concentration qualities. The same can be said about Peruzzi, who had maybe even better reflexes. Toldo was the more spectacular of the three, but also the less consistent.

      It is clear to be that in terms of club career and achievements Sarti comes first, Peruzzi second, Toldo far below. In the National team Toldo is the only one to have truly shined even for a short period (but he got Buffon over him in the late years), and achieved the greatest peak among the three, even far greater I would say. Still, the other two were more consistent throughout their carreer.

      It also can be said that Sarti could have taken advantage from Herrera's Catenaccio System, but the defense of the 90s Juve in which Peruzzi played in was rock solid too.

      In conclusion, even if I like Toldo better among the three, I think your ranking is probably right, since Sarti and Peruzzi achieved more. I only think it's really strange, if you consider player's peak in your ranking, to see him 25 spots below Sarti in the 9x100 list, 15 spots below Tacconi and even below Castellini, who was a wonderful keeper but never did anything with the National Team nor win an international trophy. And in terms of pure skill, I don't think Toldo is inferior even. I think it's strange because I consider Sarti, Peruzzi and Toldo to be more or less in the same level.

      I hope this was helpful!

      Delete
  33. Anonymous14/7/17

    Ezio Loik?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Albertosi has to be above Combi, Causio above Boniperti and Corso above Donadoni.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ranking in positional hall of fame is not always matched with all-time national squad as the slight different criteria. You can see Combi, Boniperti and Donadoni are better than Albertosi, Causio and Corso, respectively in national team career that led them to have different status of place.

      Delete
  35. I would highly recommend Attilio Ferraris IV, Roma captain during the 1930s.
    Extremely tough and tenacious right half, he made a great couple with Bernardini and was chosen instead him for the 1934 World Cup (where he was excellent).
    He was the leader of the Italy team called "The lions of Highbury". He managed to be one of the best right halfs of the early 1930s even if he smoked and went out at night a lot!

    http://www.enciclopediadelcalcio.it/Ferraris%20IV.html

    (You can also read the article about him in the "Enciclopedia of the World Cup" book preview on Google Books

    ReplyDelete
  36. His name is very accustomed but never acknowledged how great was he. As I read article combined with his status of 1934 world cup all stars team and AS Roma Hall of Fame, I agree to name him in positional list at first sight.

    ReplyDelete
  37. It's a good job, but a few things that have bothered me, either Orsi, Monti, Andreolo and Sivori are not Italian, but they did more for the Italy team than Argentina or Uruguay could include them. Family Mazzola plays no defensive role in the middle field, you have in the team Pirlo, Tardelli, Benetti and others and talking about them Bagni and Zacarelli are no better than De Rossi and Albertini and something else Aldo Olivieri was included in Italy of dreams by Gazzeta dello Sport before Zoff and Buffon and also FIFA, and he is not even mentioned on his list, after all he has only played in a small team, so his sources forgot about him for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you, at least Orsi and Andreolo should be italian as they won more caps and were more important for Italy than Argentina, but Narathorn has different criteria. Aldo Olivieri is a miss too. I am a Roma fan, and I believe that between Bagni and De Rossi is a tie, Bagni was more consistent and played to highest peak, but for less years and also less important for the National team, I don't know.

      Delete
    2. Naratorn, have you thought about including Antonio Conte and Carlo Ancelotti (as players) in positional rankings? Their ratings on DBS-Calcio are really high, and they achieved a lot in both charisma, performances and trophies with their teams, even suffering lots of injuries.

      Delete
    3. If rate player just for their performance in national team, number of caps can represent the entire national identification. I include club performance and I also think number of caps in the first half of 20th century is relatively low.

      Delete
  38. Thanks Michelle, about Bagni he was as good as De Rossi, plus De Rossi was more important to Azzurra.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous30/3/18

    Naratorn you did an amazing job thank you for this wonderful website
    why is Rivera only Queen Gold
    considering the fact that he is the second best italian footballer but having a lower class than buffon zoff scirea etc

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rivera's national team opportunity is very limited. It prevents him from achieving King-Class.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous1/4/18

    You could also consider to rate Meazza in KING SILVER, he is the best italian Footballer of all time.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous6/4/18

    I think you could Review the Profil of r. Baggio and v. mazzola considered by many pundits as the best italian Footballers of all time time.

    perhaps class king bronze?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess you're a guy who recently comments many class of player ? Let me explain that class is judged based on my data collection. The historical regard is an too large scale and inaccuarte rating to classify players.

      Delete
  42. Anonymous14/4/18

    ok i understand your system.
    I justed wanted to help you. i'm impressed by your work and it's really a great job. Some times, players with higher classes are lower rated and sometimes, and when you look about player X wiht classe KING, QUEEN, etc., you could think about adapting the class of player Y.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous16/7/18

    Maybe Dino Baggio could be added in postional ranking

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous7/2/19

    Are you serious with Totti??? he's an absolute joke of a player. Most attackers today has a goal to game ratio of at least 0.50 but he has only 290 goals in freaking 709!!! club games and a laughable 9 goals in 58 national team games!!! he doesn't even have the trophies to warrant queen silver rating. I really hopy you will reconsider this, cause in my opnion he doesn't even deserve prince gold rating. You can't say that goals aren't everything, they most certainly are for attackers, and it's the one thing they just HAS to do well, and he never did. Fernando torres is the only other attacker that comes to mind with at least a just as bad goal to game ratio. It's your blog and all, but I simply cant see the stats and trophies that justify a queen rating here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totti is not a pure forward and he is a trequartista. Scoring comparison is not good idea.

      Delete
    2. Naratorn, the comment by Anonymous about Totti has to be the stupidest comment I've ever read talking about football. I am glad you answered with wiser words!

      Delete
  45. No Ravanelli, what does di natale do here?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous26/7/21

      Di Natale was a great player who did not get many chances under Prandelli who preferred the likes of Cassano and Balotelli.

      Delete
  46. Wtf are you hating on Chiellini?

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hi Naratorn. A few suggestions as an Italian.

    Chiellini hasn't played a season as a full back since 2006. He's definitely top 10 Italian central defenders of all time, it makes absolutely no sense to have him ranked number 20 as full back. If you have Bonucci ranked so high, you should put Barzagli above him: ask any Juve fan and they will tell you he was the better player. Bonucci has great distribution and header, but is often sloppy in marking and exposed without Chiellini on his side.

    As for defenders, I believe you overrate Costacurta a bit: surely he was a very important defender in Milan, but he was the most mistake-prone of their defense (there are lots of articles about this) and probably is ranked so high because he played until his 40s. But he didn't have a great national team carreer either.

    Finally, I believe you should rate Aldo Maldera (left full-back for Milan and Roma); he didn't play a lot for the NT due to Cabrini in the same position, but is extremely rated between both Milan and Roma fans and has also an impressive DBS calcio score. Surely better than Grosso, Benarrivo and Favalli, probably than Carboni as well.

    Talk to you soon!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous17/10/19

    I agree on some of your suggestion about the current Italian defender, Chiellini, Barzagli and Bonucci. I actually forgot to update those for a long time. Anyway, Chiellini is top 10 Italian central defender sounds more possible than top 10 Italian defenders ever. He was rarely rated as the best defender in the world.

    Costacurta is interesting point. He is not rated so high in dbscalcio as well but he made prolific European cup finals and a world cup final allows him to get high legendary status.

    Aldo Maldera ? I never heard of him but I've been impressed with article describes about him.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hi Naratorn, thanks for answering.

    About Costacurta: he is one of the best in Italian history, but I feel you overrate him by putting him above Vierchowod, who was more gifted individually but less a "tactical" player than Costacurta. Costacurta has the advantage of having played in a stellar Milan for years, but Vierchowod has won titles with Roma and Sampdoria, and was key in both successes, as well as in Juve's CL title in 1995-1996.

    I believe Vierchowod, Rosato and Chiellini have been individually more gifted than Costacurta, although they do not have the same amount of trophies. But at least Vierchowod should be above him in my opinion: he even has the longevity to match Costacurta's.

    About Maldera: thank you for placing him in positional ranking, although in my opinion Tassotti should still be rated higher. If not for the vicious foul on Luis Enrique, he would have been the starting right-back throughout USA 94. I believe you underrate Tassotti slightly.

    I will come out with more suggestion on Italian football in the next months, but let me first suggest full-backs Giuseppe BRUSCOLOTTI and Sebastiano NELA here.

    Bruscolotti: Legendary Napoli captain and right-back, fierce marker, really high rating in Dbs Calcio (check it out!). No national team carreer, but had first Gentile and then Bergomi starting for Italy instead of him (not bad!).

    Nela: Roma left-and right back, super high rating in DBS calcio for a player starting for a big club, decent technical abilities and amazing strength and stamina. Won the Serie A and got to European Cup final with Roma. He too has got almost no NT career, but for the same reason as Bruscolotti - Bergomi, Cabrini, Maldini and De Agostini above him. He did take part in World Cup 1986 though.

    Excuse me for the length of my comment, but I wanted to explain my suggestions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for late reply, mate.
      Bruscolotti is really a big omission that is strange no one suggested his name before. Anyway, I notice rating in DBScalcio for the 1st half 1980s gave higher standard deviation compared with the late 1980s to early 1990s. Nela get competitive score in the first half so I'm not sure if he should be qualified for the list.

      Delete
    2. Bruscolotti is largely underrated because of the fact that he was already old when Napoli's best era begun.

      Thank you for noting this about the DBS rating, I didn't notice. I still think Nela has to be in positional ranking, all Roma fans will tell you he was better than Carboni. I'd put him right above Carboni and below Bruscolotti.

      Delete
  50. on the 9x100 list Buffon is 2nd and Zoff is 3rd. But the class of Buffon is King Bronze and of Zoff is King Silver. Shouldn't it be changed?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Hi Again Naratorn.

    Why do you have Giancarlo De Sisti rated so low? Have you seen his DBS Calcio stellar rating?

    If it is only for his international career, he played 5 years for Italy, same as Zaccarelli, but won even more. Furthermore, he was a playmaker (with great engine and stamina), not a defensive midfielder.

    I would also suggest to consider my proposals of Bruscolotti and Nela for full-backs.

    Looking forward to your opinion about De Sisti..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that De Sisti is underrated when his rating in dbscalcio is in world-class range for many years. Do you think his ranking should below Di Bartolomei ?

      For Bruscolotti and Nela, I already reply in previous comment.

      Delete
    2. Yes, I believe so because Di Bartolomei was excellent but unfortunately for him was never capped by the coaches.

      I believe De Sisti's new rating is fine - but he definetly should be switched to playmaker. So should Juliano. De Sisti was dynamic but his main function was build up play, and Juliano was a playmaker as well.

      I would have the playmaker ranking as follows:

      1. Rivera
      2. Pirlo
      3. Antognoni
      4. De Sisti
      5. Giannini / Juliano
      6. Juliano / Giannini

      What do you think?

      Delete
    3. I really curious about Juliano Position.
      http://www.pesmitidelcalcio.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1566
      This link show his defensive ability more than 75 and that means he matches with my criteria of box-to-box midfielder in 9 x 100 list. When see his low scoring record, I assume he always played in deep midfield position.

      I've also moved De Sisti to playmaker position.

      Delete
    4. In the "Dictionary of Italian Football", that I own, Juliano is described as a "classic playmaker" with a similar style to De Sisti.

      In a book written by two Napoli fans which are also football researchers and journalist, he is described as a "number 8 who could dictate the team's play with great tempo. Not very dynamic but an extremely good organizer, his main function was to assist his teammates. He also had a powerful shoot from mid-range".

      As you see, his defensive quality is not mentioned and indeed his style seems actually similar to Pirlo's. Probably Juliano was stronger, but he also played in a more advanced position. His midfield partner, Vincenzo Montefusco, was more defensive. You can see it here:

      http://www.losiarnaldo.com/arnaldo/figurinecalciatori/Campionato1968-69.html

      In the end, I wouldn't consider Pes miti del Calcio rating, as they often tend to give similar ratings to players which have similarities, and they are not very accurate in my opinion.

      I am 100% sure that Juliano should be a playmaker and not a defensive midfielder, if Pirlo, De Sisti and Verratti are.

      Delete
    5. I just listened to a long interview with De Sisti. He says that he and Juliano had a similar playstile, but Juliano was less dynamic.

      De Sisti describes himself as a playmaker with excellent reading of the game and ball control, great dynamism and good interceptions of the opponent's passes. He also says he was not great in tackling because of his low physical presence, so he used his sense of position to intercept passes rather than try to steal the ball.

      He also said he learned this because of private lessons by Schiaffino, and that he never saw anyone give a harder time to Burgnich than Dragan Dzajic in the final in Euro 1968.

      Interesting interview!

      Delete
    6. OK I already move Juliano to playmaker position. I want your opinion on ranking of these central midfielders ;
      Bagni, Gattuso, Albertini Zaccarelli, De Rossi or any other DM who is ranked below these names but you think should have been ranked higher.

      Are you OK ? do you still live in Seville and how is situation there abiytr coronavirus ?

      Delete
    7. Hi Naratorn,

      Thank you for your concern! I am still living in Seville. Here in Spain the situation is bad, although not yet as bad as in Italy. The government has declared the “alarm state” in the country. Unfortunately, I am still going to work, but the situation is changing every day. What about you? How is the situation there?

      Regarding the central midfielders, I will try to give you my personal rankings below. I am developing my own ranking by position for Italian players, although I am still implementing it so it is not complete at all for any position. The most complete role I have for now is central defenders. I will post here when I have completed the rankings, if you are interested.

      I have separate rankings for defensive midfielders and box-to-box midfielders, and the one for box-to-box midfielders has not started yet. I will try to put both position together here. I will write in capital letters the players you do not have in your ranking.

      A few specifics:

      - I have different criteria than you for nationality, so Andreolo figures in this list.
      - Albertini played the role “Pirlo-style”, defense was not his primary function. I consider him a playmaker and would put him between De Sisti and Juliano.
      - I only have De Rossi before Bagni for national team longevity and performance.
      - Di Bartolomei would be above De Rossi and Bagni if it was not for lack of international apperances.


      CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS – ITALY – No playmakers

      1. M. Tardelli
      2. G. Bulgarelli
      3. R. Benetti
      4. M. Andreolo
      5. D. De Rossi
      6. S. Bagni
      7. G. Gattuso
      8. R. Zaccarelli (obviously more skilled than Gattuso, but Gattuso was a driving force in both club and country)
      9. G. Oriali
      10. Claudio MARCHISIO (Juventus)
      11. A. Di Bartolomei
      12. E. Castigliano – only because of his short career, otherwise he would be easily number 1 or 2
      13. Giovanni LODETTI (Milan, Sampdoria)
      14. Carlo ANCELOTTI (Roma, Milan)
      15. U. Locatelli
      16. A. Ferraris
      17. L. Bertolini
      18. G. Furino
      19. Giuseppe DOSSENA (Torino, box-to-box midfielder and playmaker, very good dbs calcio rating)
      20. G. Baresi – he mainly played as a defensive midfielder or a full back, not central defender
      21. F. De Napoli – he was a box-to-box midfielder
      22. G. Ferrini
      23. G. Chiappella
      24. Alfredo PITTO (Bologna, left half, check him out!)
      25. A. Conte
      26. Mario VARGLIEN (Juventus, half back)
      27. G. Trapattoni
      28. Massimo AMBROSINI (Milan)
      29. P. Serantoni
      30. Romano FOGLI (Bologna, left half, very technical player)
      31. Dino BAGGIO (Parma)
      32. Enrico COLOMBARI (Napoli, centre half)
      33. G. Bedin
      34. Guido ARA (Pro Vercelli, right back, one of the best players in italy before the 1920s)
      35. Gianpiero MARINI (Inter)
      36. L. Di Biagio
      37. Pietro GENOVESI (Bologna, right half)
      38. D. Tommasi
      39. Nicola BERTI (Inter, Box-to-box midfielder)
      40. L. Re Cecconi – for his short high level career, if not, he would be higher
      41. Mario MONTESANTO (Bologna, right half)
      42. Gastone BALDI (Bologna, centre half)


      Surely, after I implement and complete these ratings, most positions will change.

      I hope this is useful! And I apologize again for the usual length in my responses :)

      Delete
    8. I hope you will be safe, mate. I think the peak of inflection should be lasted within this month and it should become better.
      In Thailand, I'm not sure the hot weather helps to diminish inflection rate and I think I don't know the real situation when many people avoid testing because they have to pay by themselves if result is negative.

      Antonio Juliano has a weird profile and I really doubt about rating in dbscalcio that he get the point very high but he wasn't successful in international level at all.

      Delete
  52. Please take into consideration also M. Verratti and C. Marchisio. Both are surely qualified at least for positional ranking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Verratti is OK although his longevity of career is relatively short.
      I'm not impressive with Marchisio rating an profile. He get more than 6.3 only 2.7 seasons.

      Delete
    2. Please keep in mind that DBS calcio rating in Italy is extremely inferior to DBS calcio rating in England, Germany or Spain.

      As you know, almost no player obtained a 7 or more, whereas in other countries it is not rare. If you ask any Italian, Marchisio was a top midfielder plagued by injuries. But you have Di Matteo, Di Biagio and Tommasi in the list for central midfielders, so he should be there no doubt in my opinion.

      Delete
    3. Well, I know that but I'm saying 6.3 in Italy is a rating for international-class and at least more than 6.5 to be considered in world-class.

      Delete
  53. Another great omission: Antonio Juliano. Splendid playmaker and captain for Napoli. STELLAR rating in Dbs Calcio (3 seasons with more than 6.80 in Italian football, playing for a big club of that time are amazing). He had De Sisti, Rivera and Mazzola in competition for a spot in the National team, but he managed to make the squad for both Euro 1968 and the World Cup 1970.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I even think he should have been made a profile and name in 9x100 ranking list.

      Delete
    2. I don't know, maybe this would be too much. He is not considered an Italian all-time great and was not pivotal in the National team.

      I believe he could be considered a top 6-7 italian playmaker - surely after Rivera, Mazzola, Pirlo and Antognoni - maybe on par with De Sisti, who was more dynamic, or just below him.

      He could made your 9x100 reserved list for playmaker, though. Or maybe even take Uribe's place as number 100th. Up to you, of course!

      Delete
  54. what About ciro immobile

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His current season is magnificently progressing but he has collected only 3 great domestic seasons. I need at least one more season.

      Delete
  55. Hi Naratorn. Why do you now have Luigi Radice in positional ranking for fullbacks? He has only played 100 games in Serie A, was mostly a half back, and was good but not great either - he was not seen at any point of his career as a really important player.

    If you are looking for a fit number 30' fullback, I would suggest Francesco Rocca - also injured early, like Radice, but was a star before the injury and obtained 18 caps in 2 years with Italy. Look up his story.

    P.S: Francesco Rocca obtained 6.89 with Roma in the 1974-75 season.

    Alternatively, Moreno Torricelli, Angelo Anquilletti, Luciano Spinosi, Alberto Bertuccelli could be good candidates as well.

    I would dare to say, Radice as a player has no place in any Italian positional ranking.

    ReplyDelete
  56. I was impressive too early that he was named in Italian Football Hall of Fame but I see players might be named for other particular reasons than pure performance. Like you mention, he had only four regular seasons.

    Francesco Rocca also played only 141 Series A games. Anquiletti has low rating in dbscalcio. Spinosi has better rating but he was seemingly not a first starter for most of his career.

    I am also looking for your opinion on Anastasi. I read article in wikipedia that his skill is all-round and play in various positions from attacking midfielder to center-forward and dbscalcio rates him above 6.4 five seasons but I see his goalscoring is below standard of forward position. Do you think he could be comparable to Di Natale ?



    ReplyDelete
  57. Thanks for sharing this great article.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Naratorn, could you kindly tell which of Buffon's seasons do you consider to be World-Class? Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, as I check my database, I rate him in 2 Supreme-World-Class and 4 Ordinary World-Class seasons but I did not specify year in my database. I think it will be great to discuss as his rating in Dbscalcio is always below 6.50. I also compare with the rating by whoscored.com (available from 2010) I think he is supreme-world-class in entire 2002 - 2003 and 2000 - 2001 Series A season. Other world-class seasons are 2008 - 2009, 2011 - 2012, 2013 - 2014, and 2015 - 2016.

      Delete
    2. I believe the italian newspaper's system of ratings for goalkeeper is way more severe for the recent period than previously. You see, now a goalkeeper who does good saves, is well positioned, does everything perfectly but doesn't have to perform miracles or acrobatic saves because he has a great defense before him would get a 6.00 out of 10. I am telling you because I read those newspapers.

      I have noticed that i.e. Alisson, best goalkeeper in Serie A in 2017-18 season, obtained a 6.38, and Handanovic, best goalkeeper last season alongside Salvatore Sirigu, obtained only a 6.22.

      As you say, Buffon never obtained a rating of 6,50 which is kind of strange. Especially in the 2016-7 season, where he was both best goalkeeper in Serie A awards and 4th in the Ballon d'Or voting, he only obtains a 6.05 domestically.

      In the 80s, for examples, the ratings for goalkeepers were way higher and could be compared, for examples, to the current Bundesliga ratings for goalkeepers in DBS Calcio.

      So Ottorino Piotti - Atalanta - obtained a 6.46 in the 1985-6 season, matching Buffon's best ever rating - and Atalanta finished eight that year. Tacconi and Tancredi could obtain 6.40 - 6.49 ratings quite easily in lots of seasons: they are surely top 10-15 italian goalkeepers ever, but nowhere near Buffon.

      Furthermore, Zenga obtained a 6.76 in 1986-7. His season was indeed sensational, as a couple of articles from Gianni Brera confirm, but this would make it way better that any of Buffon's seasons, and that is simply not true, the Buffon in the early 2000s was incredible and extremely reliable, reaching a very high peak.

      So I believe the ratings for top-profile goalkeepers in Italy are generally lower now than in the 80s, and that this does not reflect the actual performances.

      I would suggest you reconsider the performances of Samir Handanovic in this case, for having lots of seasons above 6.30, which is difficult in the 2010s, and for being constantly top 2 best goalkeepers in the league for a decade.

      Delete
  59. Anonymous6/5/20

    mauro icardi is argentinan

    ReplyDelete
  60. Hello Naratorn. I've tried to check information about Francesco De Napoli (offensive lateral) and can't find anyhthing. Is this a typo mistake?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was misunderstood. Actually there is only De Napoli (Fernando) in CM list.

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  61. I suggest you Renato Cesarini for the CM position.

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    1. I already name in Argentina list as he born in Argentina, played for Argentina as his first nation and also growing up in Argentina. Although he mainly played for Italy but only 11 games did not make him as a legend of Italy.

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  62. Rosetta played mainly as a righ-defender, not left.

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  63. u do a great work but Giuliano Sarti never played world cups

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  64. Hi Naratorn. I would like to suggest Gianfranco Matteoli as a playmaker for positional ranking. He played a pivotal role in Inter's record domestic season in 1988-89 and was the best player at Cagliari rating-wise over Francescoli. He even was one of the best playmakers for DBS Calcio in his year at little club Como.

    He was snobbed by the national team in favour of more offensive playmakers (Giannini and Baggio mostly). As I compiled a positional ranking based on DBS Calcio for the years from 1990 to 1995, he comes out in first place between playmakers above Zola, Baggio, Marco Osio and Giannini.

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    Replies
    1. As I check his rating profile, he should have been stand over minimum qualification in a great distance. I agree to name him.

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  65. Don't take me wrong, i learn so much from you, but your formation with 5 similar players ( baggio rivera meazza mazzola x 2) isn't best option. Also playing two sweepers?
    I think buffon - bergomi baresi maldini facchetti - oriali pirlo - conti rivera meazza- riva is more balanced and more respectful to all positions. Maybe for destroyer Oriali isn't best option, maybe Bulgareli or Benetti is but one pure def midf is a must.

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  66. Anonymous20/11/20

    Totti is ranked higher than players who are ahead of on the positional ranking list andreas on the main hall of fame. Is it because he is an offensive player ? The same goes for Baggio and Meazza.

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  67. Buffon,burgnich,scirea,baresi,maldini,tardelli,rivera,Roberto baggio,Bruno conti,meazza,luigi riva.

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  68. Why isn't Antonio Vojak in your positional ranking list? I've always wondered. If you excluded him due to his only international cap, you should consider that his competitors as inside forward were Adolfo Baloncieri and Mario Magnozzi in the 1920s and Meazza or Ferrari in the 1930s.

    He had an exceptional scoring rate at Napoli and was an important player for Juventus too.

    I would suggest to include Mario Magnozzi as well, who has even better stats than Vojak and has scored 16 goals for Italy too. The only doubt about his status was him not having played for a great club, since Livorno was not one and Milan was not competitive in the early 1930s. Nevertheless, you have deservedly included other players who never played for a top club, so I think you should add Magnozzi as well (he was a left inside forward).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The English article regarding Italian players in the pre-war era is rare and few people has contributed it in the football pages so this area of players rating are really receptive to your opinion.

      Vojak has been fit to advanced midfielder position as I read in pes miti that he often got to deep area. Magnozzi is preferably a forward.

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    2. I agree about categorization of both. Magnozzi was a more offensive player, but a really good one as far as articles and stats can go. He is not well known only because he played for Livorno.

      Anyways, in case you need any further information about Italian players but the info is in Italian, feel free to ask me to translate it for you.

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  69. In italy final list 22 miss totti. Boniperti. In portugal miss travassos. In argentina miss kempes. In spain miss 1 player. 21 not 22.

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  70. Carlo Ancelotti? A of best midfielders of Roma and the 80's?

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    Replies
    1. I saw his footage but not impressive enough.

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    2. Anonymous12/4/21

      Is a player having impressive qualities that important to the purposes? Some players might be game-changers even if they do not seem special. From what you saw Ancelotti did not impact proceedings to a great degree?

      Delete
  71. Virgilio Maroso can't stay in that position... here in Italy is considered one of best three or four lateral defenders ever.

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  72. Replies
    1. Seemingly very interesting for his ability after reading relevant articles and his profiles, He may be at least in positional ranking list.

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  73. I found a very interesting statement from Mumo Orsi about Mario Magnozzi. While talking to Renato Cesarini as they were watching the Intercontinental Cup final in San Siro in 1965, Orsi stated that according to him Magnozzi was the best italian footballer ever.

    The statement is somewhat stretched, of course, but according to Orsi, Magnozzi possessed an unbelievable combination of stamina and quality that he never again saw in an inside forward (up until 1965, of course).

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    Replies
    1. Interesting information. I think Orsi's comment could be overstatement as I see he was not even the regular first choice of Italy during his prime, being selected to play in international cup only 4 games.

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  74. Chiellini (specially) and Bonucci need to improve their positions from now, am I right?

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    Replies
    1. He has been moved up over Armando Picchi. Thanks for asking.

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  75. Anonymous26/7/21

    I agree, Verratti should get a rise too. I also believe some of the players who won the Euros should enter the rankins and especially the likes of Jorginho and Chiesa. Maybe also Immobile because of his performances in serie A.

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    Replies
    1. I have just reviewed and updated. I add Jorginho and Immobile in positional ranking. For Chiesa, he is too young and hasn't amassed performance enough.

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  76. Anonymous26/7/21

    Now that i think about it,Insigne should definitely get a mention too.

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  77. I think 6 professional seasons at high level and the MVP Award of Euro 2020 is enough for Donnarumma to already be in the positional ranking.

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    Replies
    1. I think he is deservedly in the list when look at Abbiati profile. At the first stage, I rank him just below Aldo Oliveri.

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    2. Yes, he certanly already achieved more than Abbiati, and is more talented. I'm looking forward to see his development at PSG

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  78. Anonymous21/8/21

    I am a Roma fan but i would rate Immobile above Gilardino and just below Montella. Gilardino was more talented but i think Immobile is the better player and that he has achieved more with lesser teammates.

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  79. Wasn’t Gino Capello a striker/forward?

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  80. Anonymous11/10/21

    I think you are slightly overrating Pirlo's contribution in the introduction. If Pirlo deserves a mention then also Totti and Vieri deserve a mention in the introduction.

    His performances for the National team in his later years were outstanding but without someone like Totti backing him in the attack or someone like Gattuso covering up for him he was no longer able to win anything with Italy in his last years.

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  81. Anonymous17/10/21

    Why is Daniele de Rossi listed as major club Inter Milan??

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  82. Anonymous18/10/21

    Why does Maldini deserve king silver class when there are players with higher scores that have a lower class and Italy won the world cup without him? In the World's greatest footballers list he is ranked below players with a lower class in the international legendary museum. If Meazza who is Italy's greatest ever player and won two world cups is in King Bronze class then either Meazza needs to be ranked up or Maldini needs to be ranked down.

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    Replies
    1. Maldini is best difensor all time. Left and central beckenbauer

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  83. Anonymous1/2/22

    Does Meazza lack something in international club?

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  84. Hi Naratorn. I have started giving ratings based on newspaper's articles and available sources for the Serie A of the 1930s. I am taking into account every game played in a season and giving ratings for each player for each game.

    For now I only have 1929-1930 season. If you'd like to take a look, the link is https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/serie-a-ratings-1929-1943.2120111/

    If you want to take a look

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    Replies
    1. This is very appreciated work of yours. I will certainly spend sometime to take a look.

      Delete
  85. Italy 2 euro cup win 2021

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  86. Anonymous23/9/22

    A number of the players listed are incorrectly categorised. A notable example in this respect is the Grande Torino player, Aldo Ballarin, who is listed as a central defender when in fact his correct position is right full back.

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  87. Anonymous17/11/22

    I think Del Piero's prince gold class might be underrated in comparison to Cantona who also had a mixed international record.
    Also Del Piero is recognized as an italy legend or an italian football legend by the media and not just as a juventus legend

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  88. Anonymous10/1/23

    Ciro Immobile might deserve an higher rating in comparison to what he has now when you look at the consistency of his goalscoring in serie A.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous10/1/23

    I think Immobile might deserve an higher rating on the positional ranking

    ReplyDelete