Best Italian Players Of My Time

A friend of mine triggered this thought in my head. Who would feature as the Top 3 Italian players that I have seen of all-time? Since it's the international weekend, there is no better and more appropriate time than now to delve into this topic. I find it tough to name just 3 so I have decided to choose to best player in each position; Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward.

In goal, I have chosen Gianluigi Buffon because of his longevity, quality, professionalism and effort shown throughout the years. The older he has got, the better he has become just like wine and even at the age of 37, the determination, passion and effort he puts in is still so much better than anyone 10 years younger than him. He is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the moment and he is still playing at a top-level for a top club in Italy and Europe. What I like about him is that he is gracious in defeat, a great sportsman and a great leader. He is the record holder of international caps for the national team and rightly the captain for club and country. He could have had more caps if he wasn't unlucky with an injury before Euro 2000. Gianluca Pagliuca, who is a legend at the club I support, Inter comes in second. He was a great goalkeeper and had good tournaments in 1994 and 1998 and is probably the most good-looking goalkeeper I have ever seen. He could probably model on the side in games when the ball hardly came into his half. He was great at stopping penalties and saved one in the 1994 World Cup Final penalty shootout. A close second to Buffon. Post-1994, he lost his place as the first choice national team goalkeeper to Angelo Peruzzi who was a beast of a man but did very well, when he was promoted to first choice just before World Cup 1998 due to an injury to Peruzzi. I was naturally delighted for Pagliuca as an Inter fan. I might sound biased but Francesco Toldo, another legend at Inter, has to be third for the remarkable impact he had for Italy in Euro 2000. He stepped up as first choice goalkeeper in Euro 2000 after an injury to Buffon and he did spectacularly well especially in the semi-final against co-hosts, the Netherlands. If it wasn't for him (luck and a solid dogged defensive display), Italy would have lost that semi-final. Toldo was a reserve in the 1998 World Cup, 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 squads but he was one of the heroes of Italy's unexpected run to the final of Euro 2000.

In defence, I would plump for Paolo Maldini. Maldini was a great servant for both club and country. He was the former holder of the most international caps for Italy before he was overtaken by Fabio Cannavaro and then Gianluigi Buffon recently. What I liked about him was that he was a classy defender who read the game well, was good in the air and fast on the ground. He was like the perfect defender and an example for all rising defenders. When the penny finally dropped that I should play as a defender, I used Maldini as an example. It was extremely tough to get the better of him and it was rare to see any attacker get the better of him. He did as well playing as a marauding left back as he did in the centre of defence. He was a leader and a great sportsman. It's just sad and unfortunate that despite all the success he tasted at club level, he wasn't able to savour any success at the international level. I never quite managed to watch Franco Baresi at international level as he was injured a lot during the time. I saw a lot of Giuseppe Bergomi at club level but only saw him play at the 1998 World Cup where he did well as expected as the most experienced Italian defender in the squad. Fabio Cannavaro, was another great defender. He was a great leader, had a great leap despite being short for a defender and had lots of pace when he was younger but got exposed against speedy attackers in his later years. He is the last Italian player to have won the Ballon d'Or. Cannavaro was the blood and thunder defender and dovetailed very well with Alessandro Nesta who was another great defender. Nesta, was another great leader, read the game well, was quick across the ground, good in the air but unfortunately was unlucky with injuries. Alessandro Costacurta and Gianluca Zambrotta were other defenders that are worth a mention for their service in the Azzurri jersey. A honorary mention for Antonio Benarrivo (1994 World Cup), Fabio Grosso (2006 World Cup) and Marco Materazzi (2006 World Cup) for at least having one good tournament.

In midfield, I have gone for an obvious choice, Andrea Pirlo. Pirlo is the master passer. He controls the pace of the game from midfield and is the classiest Italian midfielder I have ever seen. He reads the game well and let's the ball do all the work. He might not seem like the most industrious sort but in each game, the number of kilometers he covers is surprising. At the moment, he is seems to be at the stage of passing on the baton to younger players like Marco Verratti as he is used sparingly by Antonio Conte for the national team. Besides his passing prowess, he is a master at set-pieces and can easily weigh in with goals from distance and is deadly from free-kicks. A midfielder that I felt came close was Demetrio Albertini. Albertini was the creative force and leader of the Italian midfield in the 90s and early 00s. Pirlo was his successor at AC Milan and at international level. Other midfielders worth a mention would be midfielders that are tiggerish and industrious Gennaro Gattuso, Dino Baggio, Luigi Di Biagio, Daniele De Rossi as well as wingers like Roberto Donadoni, Nicola Berti and Simone Perrotta. A honorary mention for Stefano Fiore for a great Euro 2000 as the trequartista.

Finally, it shouldn't come as a surprise for my choice as the Best Italian Forward Of My Time, the majestic Roberto Baggio. He is the last Italian forward to have won the prestigious FIFA World Player Of The Year and Ballon d'Or and is the joint leading Italian goalscorer in the World Cup. He is one of the greatest Number 10s and players of all time. He scored great goals, simple goals, created goals and brought a lot of joy to a generation of supporters of the Italian national team. He almost always delivered in the major tournaments for Italy, as an upcoming talent in World Cup 1990, as the star of the team in World Cup 1994 and as the experienced understudy in World Cup 1998. Unfortunately for Baggio and a generation of talented players from the 90s, he could not win any silverware with the national team and another unfortunate episode attached to Baggio would be the penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup Final to seal the win for Brazil. The impact Baggio had on the national team has not been replicated since. Christian Vieri comes close and is the joint-leading Italian goalscorer in the World Cup with Baggio. He exploded onto the scene in the 1998 World Cup and then carried it on as one of Italy's star strikers in the 2002 World Cup but injuries and lack of form saw him miss out on the 2006 World Cup. Injury caused Vieri to miss out on Euro 2000 too and by the time Euro 2004 came around, his form was on the downturn. Francesco Totti comes after him having one great tournament in Euro 2000 but then struggled to cope with the pressure of being Italy's star player in the 2002 World Cup (getting sent off in Italy's controversial defeat to South Korea) and then in Euro 2004 where he lasted only one match after he was suspended for spitting at an opponent. He had minimal impact in Italy's triumphant 2006 World Cup campaign but was lucky enough to have become a World Champion with his most notable contribution being the penalty conversion against Australia in the second round. Filippo Inzaghi deserves a mention for a good Euro 2000 and Luca Toni for 2006 World Cup. Alessandro Del Piero would get some mention as well. His biggest contribution would be an equaliser against Mexico in the 2002 World Cup to save Italy from an early group exit and the final goal in the 2006 World Cup semi final against Germany. Honorary mention for Antonio Cassano for a good Euro 2004 and Euro 2012 as well as Mario Balotelli for a good Euro 2012.

The players I have selected, Buffon, Maldini, Pirlo and Baggio are all well-loved and respected by their peers and fans of all clubs in Italy regardless of who they support.