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Italy is home to some of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game. The Azzurri have not been able to replicate their yesteryear heroics in recent times but they continue to produce some of the most technically proficient footballers.
Italy is the second-most successful team in FIFA World Cups, having won the title four times. Their last World Cup win came in 2006 but the Italians have not come anywhere close to recreating that kind of success in recent times.
But Roberto Mancini has a deep talent pool to draw from at Euro 2020 and Italy are certainly one of the strongest sides in the competition. As always, their defensive strength and midfield artistry is a critical part of their game.
Italy has been one of the most dominant teams on the international stage in the last century
It's near impossible to compile a list such as this as it is difficult to reach a common consensus on these topics. Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best Italian footballers of all time.
#5 Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is one of the most recognizable figures in the history of Italian football. Inarguably one of the finest attacking players of all time, Il Divino Codino (The Divine Ponytail) was incredible at both playmaking and scoring goals.
Michel Platini famously described Baggio as 'nine and a half' due to his ability to score goals and create them. He was neither a pure number nine nor a pure number 10 but a great mixture of the two.
He could play anywhere across the frontline thanks to his tactical intelligence and technical ability. Baggio became a star at Fiorentina but broke their hearts when he left to join bitter-rivals Juventus at the peak of his career.
He won two Serie A titles in his career, first with Juventus and then with AC Milan. He won the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA Player of the Year Award in 1993. Baggio finished second in the Ballon d'Or race a year later as well.
Unfortunately for Baggio, he will forever bear the weight of missing a crucial penalty in the shootout in the 1994 World Cup final against Brazil.
#4 Andrea Pirlo
The younger generation will be familiar with Andrea Pirlo's heroics. The midfield maestro is one of those unique players who have played for AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus and is still adored by fans of all three clubs.
Pirlo thrived as a deep-lying playmaker and his technical ability and passing range were exemplary. So much so that every time Pirlo got on the ball, he made it look like he had more time than the rest of the players. Inter Milan could never really bring the best out of him after signing him in 1998. They subsequently sold him to cross-city rivals AC Milan.
Pirlo became a fixture in the Rossoneri setup and went on to win two Champions League titles and two Scudettos with them. Nicknamed 'the Architect', Pirlo's playmaking skills from deep were unparalleled. He subsequently copped a move to Juventus where he won four consecutive Serie A titles and wrote his name into the Bianconeri folklore as well.
He was also one of the main creative forces behind Italy's World Cup triumph in 2006. Known for his vision and technical proficiency, Pirlo is one of football's modern day greats.
#3 Giuseppe Meazza
Widely regarded as the greatest Italian player of all time, Giuseppe 'Peppino' Meazza started his senior career at 17-years-old, bagging a brace in his debut game. The teenager took Serie A by storm two years later, scoring a record 31 goals in his first season in the Italian top-flight for Inter Milan.
He spent 13 years with the Nerrazurri, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for them. He won three Serie A titles and one Coppa Italia before moving to AC Milan and then to Juventus a couple of years later. Unfortunately, he was way past his prime by then and couldn't replicate the form from his Inter Milan days.
'Il Genio' is known as one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game. His crowning achievement was winning two consecutive World Cups with the Italian national team in 1934 and 1938.
The youngest player to score 100 Serie A goals at 23 years and 32 days old, Meazza was excellent at dribbling, shooting and a creative mastermind on the field. His achievements were so big that his name was given as the honorary title to the San Siro stadium.
#2 Gianluigi Buffon
One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Gianluigi Buffon is still going strong at the age of 43. Juventus broke the then world transfer record fee for a goalkeeper by paying Parma €52 million to secure the services of a 23-year-old Buffon.
One of the best shot-stoppers of all time whose reflexes have astounded fans and peers alike, Buffon's positioning and agility were at a level of their own. Buffon was at the peak of his powers as Italy lifted the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
He conceded just one goal in the tournament until the final and that happened to be a Christian Zaccardo own goal. Buffon went on to win the Golden Glove after being chosen as the best goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup.
He has won the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award a whopping 12 times. He finished second in the 2006 Ballon d'Or race. Buffon has won one FIFA World Cup, 10 Scudettos, six Coppa Italias and seven Supercoppa Italianas. He has also been the runner-up in the Champions League on three occasions.
Buffon is the most capped player in Italy's footballing history with 176 appearances. He also holds the record for the most appearances as captain of the Italian national side and has played in five World Cups.
#1 Paolo Maldini
For a nation that prides itself on its defensive formidability and flair, it is only fitting that one of its defenders tops the list. The legendary Paolo Maldini played at both left-back and centre-back in his career. During his early years, he was great at bombing forwards with the ball and astute at defending.
One of the toughest tacklers the game has ever seen, Maldini was almost impossible to get past. He spent the entire 25 years of his playing career at AC Milan, winning 25 trophies in the process. He also captained Italy for eight years and was unfortunate to have retired four years prior to their World Cup triumph.
Maldini won five Champions League titles, seven Scudettos, four Supercoppa Italianas, one Coppa Italia, for European/UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup in his club career.
As he started to lose a bit of pace in his later years, Maldini shifted from a left-back to centre-back. He was able to slot in almost seamlessly and would go on to become an absolute stalwart in defence thanks to his awareness, reading of the game and incredible tackling abliity.
Maldini also came agonizingly close to winning the FIFA World Cup in 1994 and the European Championship in 2000 but ended up losing in the finals on both occasions.
