STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in the squad:
Italy have the strongest defence rating of any nation, and the most world-class players of any nation. Brazil have two fewer, and are the only nation to have won more World Cups than them. Buffon probably just edges Zoff as Italy's greatest goalkeeper. I wanted to start Facchetti in a 3-5-2 formation, but it meant playing Maldini at centre-back, but I wanted him in his strongest role of left-back. I dropped Facchetti to the bench and chose the diamond formation, with Antonio Cabrini dropping out the squad. In midfield, Bulgarelli, Pirlo and Totti are enough cover for the midfield diamond here. Valentino Mazzola was a very versatile player and can provide work-rate and balance to the starting XI, while his son Sandro joins him in the midfield quartet. Riva and Piola can then be back-up options upfront. Riva was also capable of playing on the left wing, but I needed a right-wing option for the squad. So I chose Bruno Conti as my final pick, narrowly ahead of Franco Causio. Players By Decade: 1980's (7), 2000's (5), 1960's (5), 1990's (2), 1930's (2), 1970's (1), 1940's (1) World-Class Italian Players (77)
Honourable Mentions (Close to Gold):
GK: Castellini / F.Cudicini / Tacconi
DEF: Cervato / Collovati / Monzeglio / Salvadore / Tassotti MID: Andreolo / Bagni / Gianinni / U.Locatelli ATT: Boninsegna / Borel / Chinaglia / Inzaghi / Signori
Top 20 Italian Players of All-Time (& their all-time positional rank) |