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#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.
