Best Italy XI of all time
Italy has always been one of the bests in the world of football with a great number of football stars since the early years. In this article today, we will bring you a list of Italy’s best 11 of all time. Stay tuned to know more about these remarkable footballers.
As one of the best countries in the world of football, Italy has always been remembered by its shining football players since its first performance in 1910. So far, Italy has won 4 World Cups and is the holder of 2 European Championship titles. In addition, they have won the Olympic football tournament’s first title in 1936.
Before going through the Italy greatest XI of all time, there are also two interesting facts to be mentioned about the Italy national team with the first one to go back to 1938, where Italy became the first team to defend its World Cup title, and due to the outbreak of World War II, retained the title for a further 12 years. As the other fact, you must know that the team was unbeaten from October 2018 to October 2021, and holds the world record for most consecutive matches without a defeat.
Italy Best XI of all time
We all know that the Italians have been very successful all through the history of football. Considering this fact, we will all agree that there are several more successful and brilliant soccer players in the history of this country, which makes it somehow impossible to choose just 11 among them. However, some of these players have been so extraordinary that we did not have a doubt, placing them on this list. Without further ado, we give you the Italy All-Time Greatest XI.
GK: Gianluigi Buffon
Position:
Goalkeeper
Date of birth:
28 January 1978
International appearances:
176
The first name on our list of the best Italy XI of all time is the well-known legendary goalkeeper of the team, who guarded Italy’s national team till 2018, Gianluigi Buffon.
Born on 28 January 1978, Gianluigi Buffon is regarded as one of the bests in the history of Italian football.
He started his footballing career in 1991, with his youth club, Parma and 4 years later joined Parma’s first team to start his professional career. He later joined Juventus to become the team’s legendary goalkeeper, joining Paris Saint-Germain for one year in between.
He made his first appearance in international level in 1993 where he guarded Italy’s under 16 national team, and made his first appearance for Italy's senior team on 29 October 1997, at the age of 19, as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during the 1998 World Cup qualification play-off’s first leg, in their match against Russia. The cap made Buffon the youngest goalkeeper to feature for Italy post-World War II.
With 176 international caps in his resume, Buffon is the most capped player in Italy's national team history, the seventh-most capped footballer of all time, and the third-most capped European international player ever.
As for the FIFA World Cup tournaments, he was called up for a record of five tournaments in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014.
In the 2006 World Cup, where Italy won the title, Buffon was the team’s starting goalkeeper of the squad and was awarded the competition's Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper. During this tournament, Buffon kept a record of five clean sheets and hence was presented the Yashin Award. The legendary coach officially confirmed his international retirement in May 2018.
It also has to be mentioned that Buffon has been the first-ever goalkeeper to win the Golden Foot Award, and was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a record five times, alongside Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer.
RB: Giuseppe Bergomi
Position:
Defender
Date of birth:
22 December 1963
International appearances:
81
The next name on our list of the best Italy XI of all time is Bergomi. Born in December 1963, the Italian former footballer, who spent his entire club career at Inter Milan, started his football career in 1977 with the Nerazzurri’s youth club. Being on the legend’s club career page, we also have to mention that the team’s long-time captain held the record of most appearances for the club for several years.
Regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time, Bergomi was interestingly referred to as "Lo Zio", which means the uncle, because of his bushy eyebrows and the mustache, which he wore even as a youngster.
As one of the best of his generation, Bergomi started his international career with Italy national team in 1982 and won the FIFA World Cup the same year. What a great start! Don’t you agree?!
Also taking part in the 1986 and 1990 campaigns, he helped his team reach the UEFA Euro 1988 semi-finals.
Despite his great start at the beginning as his late achievements, after being sent off, in a match against Norway during the Euro 1992 qualifiers, the legendary Italian player wasn’t called up to the Azzurri, for several years. However, eventually, in 1998 he was chosen to accompany for the FIFA World Cup in France.
He began the tournament on the bench but finally got the chance to enter the match after Alessiandro Nesta suffered a tournament-ending injury, during Italy’s match against Austria, in the last group stage.
That was the chance he needed to prove his superiority. For the rest of the tournament, he partnered with Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Costacurta, and Maldini, and led Italy to the quarter-finals. However, eventually, in their quarter-finals match against France, who became the champions later, they were eliminated on penalties. The game was Bergomi’s final international appearance, with an overall of 81 matches.
LB: Paolo Maldini
Position:
Defender
Date of birth:
26 June 1968
International appearances:
126
The current AC Milan director, Paolo Maldini is the next name on our list of the best Italy XI of all time.
Kicking the ball also as a left-back and center-back, Maldini played an important role during his career for AC Milan and the Italy national team.
Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was also nicknamed "Il Capitano", as he captained both Milan and Italy national team for many years.
Before going through his international career, first let us mention that Maldini spent all 25 seasons of his club career with Milan, where he achieved 25 trophies, including five European Cup/UEFA Champions League, seven Serie A titles, and one Coppa Italia. He also won the Best Defender trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39.
As for his international career, you should know that the legendary player started kicking the ball for Italy’s U21 team in 1989 before joining the senior team in 1988.
During his international career, he scored 7 goals as a defender in 126 caps, which was also a record at that time but was eventually surpassed by Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.
Out of the 14 years of his international career, Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances as Italy's captain, until again being overtaken by Cannavaro and Buffon.
During this time he also helped Italy reach the final of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000, and the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988. To name a few of his achievements during this time, we have to mention:
Coming second to George Weah for FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995
The third place in the 1994 and 2003 Ballon d'Or
The defender on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002
Being chosen by Pele for the FIFA 100 in 2004
Being selected for the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020
Being inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2012
CB: Frank Baresi
Position:
Defender
Date of birth:
8 May 1960
International appearances:
81
And here is the next name on our list of the greatest Italy XI of all time, Frank Baresi. The former defender started his playing career back in 1972, joining the AC Milan youth team, later leaving them to join the first team in 1977.
Spending the next twenty years and his whole career with the Rossoneri, he also captained the team for 15 seasons.
Aside from his bright club career in which he gained three UEFA Champions League titles, six Serie A titles, four Supercoppa Italiana titles, two European Super Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups, Baresi also had an amazing international career.
He made his first appearance for Italy's national team in 1982 and became a member of the Italian squad that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup against West Germany with a 3-1 result.
Baresi later took part in the 1990 World Cup, where he was chosen for the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, finishing third in the competition. Four years later he again took part in the World Cup tournament where he captained the team which could make its way to the final, though they were defeated by the Brazilians.
The World Cup tournaments are not all he took part in, as Baresi also represented Italy at two UEFA European Championships, in 1980 and 1988, and at the 1984 Olympics, reaching the semi-finals on each occasion.
CB: Gaetano Scirea
Position:
Defender
Date of birth:
25 May 1953
Date of death:
3 September 1989
International appearances:
78
Time to go through the next name on our list of the best Italy team of all time. Being one of the only six players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA, Gaetano Scirea started playing football professionally in 1972 joining Atalanta's first team after kicking the ball for two years for the youth club. Two years later he joined Juventus and stood by the team till 1988, one year before being tragically killed in a car accident.
Also regarded as one of the greatest defenders in history, Scirea is one of only nine players in the history of European football that won all three major UEFA football competitions.
At the international level, Scirea first took part in Italy’s team in 1975 and stayed with them for the next eleven years.
During this time he was an undisputed member of Italy's defensive line-up, which also won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, took part in two more World Cup tournaments, and the 1980 UEFA Euro, before eventually being retired in 1986.
CM: Andrea Pirlo
Position:
Midfielder
Date of birth:
19 May 1979
International appearances:
116
The next person to talk about in our article about Italy's best XI of all time is the team’s best central midfielder who is of course the team’s well-known former player, Andrea Pirlo.
Born in 1979, the Italian football coach and the former player started his professional playing career back in 1955, joining Brescia’s first team, after spending three years with their youth club.
Being remembered for his vision, technique, creativity, and free-kick ability, Pirlo joined Milan in 1998, before joining AC Milan in 2001, where he stayed for the next 10 years and achieved so many titles and awards. He also has been a Juventus and a New York City FC player during his club career.
But how about the great players’ international career? Well, Pirlo started his career with his country’s first team in 2002, making 116 appearances for them and scoring thirteen times.
During the thirteen years of his international career, Pirlo helped his team achieve so many awards and titles, among which there were the 2004 Olympics bronze medal, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2012 UEFA European Championship runner-up title, and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup third-place title.
The legendary player also represented Italy at the 2004 and 2008 UEFA European Championships, the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and the 2009 and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cups.
AM: Francesco Totti
Position:
Attacking midfielder, forward
Date of birth:
27 September 1976
International appearances:
58
Our selected attacking midfielder is no other than Francesco Totti, who we all know as one of the greatest players of all time. Born on 27 September 1976, Totti is the one to be known for his long-term playing career with his one and only club, Roma.
Also known as the Golden Boy, Totti is considered to be one of the greatest Italian players of all time and Roma's greatest player in history.
The great goal scorer achieved so many titles and awards during his club career with Rome, winning a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles, to name a few.
As of his international career, Totti made his first appearance for Italy’s national team in 1998 and stayed with them till 2006. During these years he helped the team win the 2006 FIFA World Cup, while they also made their way to the UEFA Euro 2000 final. Totti also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Besides all these titles, he also achieved so many individual awards at the international level, among which he was named in the FIFA 100 by Pelé, and was also recognized by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe.
LM: Roberto Baggio
Position:
Forward, attacking midfielder
Date of birth:
18 February 1967
International appearances:
56
Roberto Baggio is the next name on our list of the greatest Italy XI of all time. The famous national footballer started his playing career back in 1982, kicking the ball for many famous clubs including Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan during his professional playing career.
The skillful striker, who was also capable of playing in different offensive positions, including the attacking midfielder, was famous for his curling free-kicks, dribbling skills, and goalscoring during his playing career.
Starting his international career with Italy's first team in 1984, he became one of the greatest in no time, adding so many titles to his resume.
Interestingly in 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. Nine years later, in 2002 Baggio was chosen as a member of the FIFA World Cup Dream Team and only two years later was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players.
During the sixteen years of his international career, Baggio took part in 56 matches, scoring 27 goals, which has given him the fourth spot on Italy’s national team's highest goalscorer list, along with Alessandro Del Piero.
In 1990 Baggio helped Italy finish third in the FIFA World Cup, scoring twice and four years late, guided his team to the final, scoring five goals. Hence he received the World Cup Silver Ball and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team.
Taken part in three World Cups and scoring nine times, Baggio also holds the record for Italy’s most goals scored in World Cup tournaments, along with Christian Vieri and Paolo Rossi.
RM: Bruno Conti
Position:
Winger
Date of birth:
13 March 1955
International appearances:
47
And here is another Roma member, Bruno Conti, who was born on 13 March 1955 and started playing football professionally in 1973. Spending all his career with I Giallorossi, except for his two season-long loan spells with Genoa, "The Mayor of Rome”, played an important role during his time with the club, helping them win a league title and also five Coppa Italia titles.
At the international level, he was one of the most notable team members, which took part in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and won the tournament, also taking part in the 1986 competition.
The legendary player made his senior international debut on October 11th, 1980, in a match against Luxembourg, which was over in a 2–0 win.
Conti was elected to be part of the 1982 FIFA World Cup team, because of his performances. In addition, Pele named Conti as the best player of the tournament, and also one of the best players in the world.
ST: Giuseppe Meazza
Position:
Forward
Date of birth:
23 August 1910
Date of death:
21 August 1979
International appearances:
53
Coming to the last two names on our list of the best Italy XI of all time, here we have Giuseppe Meazza, also known as il Balilla.
Kicking the ball mostly for Inter Milan, he has scored 242 goals and won three Serie A titles in addition to the Coppa Italia during his career at San Siro Stadium.
Also, he later joined AC Milan, Juventus, Varese, and Atalanta.
As of his international career, he was the one to help Italy win two consecutive World Cups, one in 1934, and one in 1938.
Il Balilla was also chosen to be a member of the all-start team, who also won the Golden Ball Award at the 1934 World Cup, as the tournament's best player.
Considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, he is one of only four Italian players to have won two World Cups, along with Giovanni Ferrari, Guido Masetti, and Eraldo Monzeglio, while also being ranked as the fourth-best player in the history of the World Cup.
Meazza was also known as "il genio" (the genius), due to his creative ability, prolific goalscoring, and technical skill.
Overall, Giuseppe Meazza is also the second-highest goalscorer for the Italian national team with 33 goals, also being the third-highest Italian goalscorer in all competitions, with 338 goals.
ST: Paolo Rossi
Position:
Striker
Date of birth:
23 September 1956
Date of death:
9 December 2020
International appearances:
48
And here is the last name on our list of the greatest Italy XI of all time, Paolo Rossi.
Starting his career in 1973 with Juventus, he later became a part of Vicenza, Milan, and Hellas Verona, in addition to his spells on loan with Como and Perugia.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever, the Italian footballer was the one to lead Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, also scoring six goals to win the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball.
Another interesting fact about the legendary player is that Rossi is one of only three players, and the only European, to win all three awards at a World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962, and Mario Kempes in 1978.
Back in 1982 also he was awarded the Ballon d'Or, while he is also Italy's top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals, along with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri.
With 103 club and 20 International goals, Rossi was chosen by Pele in 2004 to be one of the “Top 125 greatest living footballers” as part of FIFA's 100th-anniversary celebration.
And that was all on our article about the greatest Italy XI of all time. Which positions do you think, have to be substituted by other players? Let us know in the comment section below.
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