buffon : Thrown in at the deep end as a 17-year-old with Parma, he held the mighty Milan to a goalless draw and never looked back. Enjoyed success with the Emilia-Romagna club for six years but greater glory at juventus where the Scudetto came in 2002 and 2003 has helped him emerge as one of the world’s great keepers with both club and country.
maldini : It is hard for a player to outshine a famous father but that is precisely what Cesare Maldini’s boy has achieved. A Serie A debutant at 16, he was swept straight into the national team before he turned 20 and won League titles, European Cups and World Club Cups by the hatload. A tall, elegant full-back, he is also physically incredibly strong which allows him to play at the centre of defence with similar ease. Recently broke the Serie A record for appearances of 570 held by Dino Zoff, has made a record 122 European Cup starts and goes from strength to strength. His only regret is the lack of a major honour with the national team.
baresi : The classic modern sweeper, Il Capitano became a symbol of Milan throughout good and bad times after making his debut in 1978. He picked up just about every honour available - three European Cups, two World Club Cups, three European Super Cups and six League titles. But he also lived through the hard times at Milan when the club were relegated for their part in a game fixing scandal in 1980 and then went into Serie B again in 1982. At national level such was his skill that Italy Coach Arrigo Sacchi was forced to beg him out of retirement for the 1994 World Cup only to see him miss a penalty in the Final after another exemplary 120 minutes of play.
scirea : An impeccable and stylish sweeper, he was at the heart of the great Juventus side which ruled Italy throughout the 1970s. A couple of seasons with Atalanta were enough to convince the Bianconeri that he was their man and his switch in 1974 brought about unprecedented success – seven Scudetti, all three major European trophies, a World Club Cup and the World Cup with his country in 1982. His timing and reading of the game was second to none and he seemed destined for a long career in the Juve backroom staff until he tragically died in a road accident in Poland while on a scouting mission for the club.
facchetti : If Italy has a reputation of producing some of the world’s finest defenders then much of the credit has to go to this man. A tall, athletic left-back – and later in his career a sweeper – he let little get past him and also had the strength to make intelligent attacking runs. A pre-cursor of the kind of role that Antonio Cabrini and Paolo Maldini would play, he was forever loyal to the Black and White of Inter and was also capped 94 times by Italy, with an incredible 70 as captain. In 476 Serie A appearances he was a part of the most successful Inter set up of all time, winning four Scudetti, a couple of European Cups and two World Club Cups. Fachetti was also was not averse to getting into scoring positions as his 59 Serie A goals underline. One of the most elegant defenders ever to grace Italy’s top Division, Facchetti was also a star on the international scene. He was a European Championship winner with his country in 1968 and was then part of the team that lost out in the World Cup Final to Brazil in 1970.
gattuso : The midfield hardman of Italian football, Gattuso is viewed as one of the most important players for both Milan and the Azzurri. After making an unspectacular start to his career at Perugia, Glasgow Rangers took him to Scotland and he became a fans’ favourite at Ibrox. After one season he returned to the peninsula with Salernitana, which then led to a move to Milan. With the Rossoneri he has won both domestic and European honours, his crowning glory being a man of the match performance in the 2003 Champions’ League Final.
matthaus : A hard-driving midfielder who regularly got amongst the goals, he was the inspiration behind Inter’s last championship win of 1989 when they set a record points total for an 18-team Serie A. A consistent performer with a ferocious shot, he took his country to the World Cup in 1990 and picked up over 100 caps in an impressive career. In Italy, his influence was immense - particularly in his opening seasons with Inter - as he picked up a trophy in 1989 (League), 1990 (Italian Super Cup) and 1991 (UEFA Cup).
totti : A Roma boy born and bred, this outstanding attacker helped carry his club to an historic third Scudetto in 2001. He was already a legend to the Giallorosso faithful by that time as his outstanding displays and resistance to overtures from other clubs had won their hearts completely. Dogged by a dodgy temperament, he has been able to keep his petulance in check more often as his career has progressed but nonetheless let himself down on the big stage at the last European Nations by spitting on the deliberately provocative Christian Poulsen. But to focus on these brief let-downs is to miss the point of one of the most gifted footballers Serie A has seen in the last 10 years. Few have his vision for the first time pass, rarely has anyone scored such a high number of spectacular goals and probably nobody has ever ‘carried’ a team so much since the days of Diego Maradona at Napoli. Over 300 Serie A games and more than 120 goals are already to his credit at club level.
baggio : By far the most talked about talent of his generation and certainly one of the greatest. His teenage skills lit up the Vicenza team until Fiorentina moved in for this attacking midfielder with an outstanding eye for goal. His transfer in 1990 to archrivals Juventus caused near riots in the streets of Florence but they could not stop their hero moving on. Baggio won the World Player of the Year award in 1993 and almost single-handedly pushed Italy to World Cup glory in USA ‘94 before his wayward penalty gave the trophy to Brazil. His career took in stops at Milan, Inter and, more happily, Bologna and Brescia before the ‘Divine Ponytail’ hung up his boots at the end of the 2003-04 season.
maradona : Rarely in Italian football does a player come to overshadow his club and possibly the whole of Serie A, but that was a feat achieved by this diminutive Argentine with golden feet during the late 1980s. An outstanding talent as a teenager - to such an extent that he made his international debut at 16 - he flopped in his first European outing when he signed for Barcelona. Napoli took the plunge in 1984 and never looked back as El Pibe d’Oro - The Golden Child - took them to unprecedented honours winning two Italian titles, the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup. His dribbling skills were without equal, his free-kicks were deadly and his ability to set up teammates like Antonio Careca was astounding. At Napoli he played 188 League games and scored 81 goals while at international level he starred in his country’s World Cup win of 1986.
van basten : The bare figures do not do justice to just how big his impact was in a mere half a dozen seasons with Milan. He struck 90 Serie A goals and helped the Rossoneri to honours both at home and abroad, becoming rightly recognised as one of the top strikers of all time. During his reign Milan won three Scudetti, two European Cups and two World Club Cups. Serious injury ended his playing days prematurely – he had not yet reached his 30th birthday – but his contribution to the Italian game and his national team cannot be overstated. Now to be found at the helm of his country in a managerial role.
source : channel4.com