The Top 20 Italian Players of the Decade

Antonio Cassano could have been higher in the ranking. He's got the talent not any inferior than Totti.

I think Baggio and Maldini should be tied for first. Personally, i believe Baggio is the greatest italian player ever, and top 5 players ever as well. But they should be tied since Maldini played more years in this decade than Baggio. If i had to pick one of them to be number one, it would probably be Baggio.

And Del Piero should be higher.

what about Gattusso of Milan.

5........4........3........2.......1........Happy New Year 2010

tretet teeeeeet teeeeeeeeet tret tet tet

from facemien.com

Does anyone have Lippi's email address? Maybe we can send him Cassano's pic in the Azzuri uniform just in case he forgot what he'd look like......I agree with your picks except for Panucci but, since it was a 3-way tie for 20th place, I'll let it go! Cheers look fwd to reading you in 2010! INTER4EVER

What the hell has Materazzi done since the World Cup? Nothing that I can think of besides red cards and injuries!

"Maybe my choice of Francesco Totti as 4th place may raise some discussion, but here is my reasoning: Totti was the most talented Italian player of the last decade without a doubt. He emerged in 2000 and immediately showed his skills on the international stage at Euro 2000. Since then, the only blight on his resume is his spitting at Euro 2004, but besides that Totti is now on course to be the first modern player since Baggio to reach 200 goals in Serie A, a truly wonderful feat. Even though most non-Roma fans don’t seem to like him, and a lot of people hate him for retiring from international duty, Totti has been without a doubt the most talented Italian player of the last 9 years. People will probably start to appreciate him when he’s retired."

so help me understand how this paragraph 'justifies' him as 4th best this decade, yet you preface your explanation with, "Totti was the most talented Italian player of the last decade without a doubt".

also, GF, being oblivious on how to celebrate a legend like maldini, along with the team you support (both chris and fiorentina did a better job of celbrating his retirement), it's not surprising to see you cite an idiotic blogger who doesnt quite understand concept of a 'golden handshake' as a gesture for being the most prolific player ever for his club. also, how come your not on here vouching for ambrosini to be on that list? finally coming to your senses???

Zambrotta should be higher. He was the best player in the world at his position from 2002-2006.

I'd have Gattuso in my top ten.

Ditto. Look at Brescia sans Baggio, and you can understand what he meant for the team.

I actually think carrying Brescia to European spots in the table is more difficult. That team was filled with players that were not Serie A quality at all. He made the Filippini brothers look like superstars.

we are talking about THIS decade

being the leader of roma then is arguably easier than leading Inter, Milan or Juve, no?

all I can say to tottihaters is just wait and see
also roma and juve are much better then brescia,so being the leader of brescia is easier compared to the others'

Can't argue with your top 5. I'd rank Vieri a little bit higher.

Materazzi, love him or hate him, Italy owes him alot! Thats coming from a Milan fan, the guys PIVOTAL in WC06 and if he wasnt such a scumbag Zidane would have nailed our asses to the wall...

Solid list Francesco

ForzaRoma, maybe you can look at Totti in a new light...

http://www.football-italia.net...

ForzaRoma: I'm shaking my head in utter disbelief. Nice to see other fans value ADP's skill and greatness over the last decade or so, but Baggio an average player? Seriously? As Francesco said, Robby=Brescia. He gave an awful team, consecutive European trips, made everyone around him look amazing(For fuck's sake even Igli Tare looked like a decent striker when he had Baggio beside him), continued to be one of the best Italian passers, dribblers, shooters and set piece takers. When he was with Brescia he even fucking scored from a corner lol.
If any of you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend Una Porta Nel Cielo, awesome book.

Baggio,despite being ur favorite player of all time,was just an average player comapared to totti and del piero for this decade,totti won golden boot and world cup 3 years ago and he just cant stop scoring goals,same goes to del piero,so they just cant be behind baggio

Baggio has gotta be on there. In a different world he goes to the 2002 World Cup and things turn out better for us.

Baggio, even in his late 30's, was playing at an extremely high level at Brescia. Countless assists and 45 goals in 4 seasons, as well as being put on the Balon d'Or shortlist in 2001. He deserved to go to the 2002 World Cup and he managed to lead Brescia to two Intertoto cup qualifications. Brescia were so Baggio-dependent that when he retired they got relegated the following season.

ya i agree about baggio not being there, like come on he was on his downhill of a career with brescia. thats just like sayin we'll put cannavaro on next decade's top 20 italain players lol

He's a filthy, scummy, world champion.

No, he's a World Champion.

Dunno about materazzi; he's nothing but filth

Lord Quas: maybe we should put in Carracciolo as well, as he's a God in Brescia. Or Christian Bucchi, for the same reason in Modena?

I am an admirer of Roberto Baggio, Del Piro and Totti.. :)

Rocchi for Lazio - never gets the respect he deserves

Matt "camoranesi is better than de rossi for certain". Are you for real? Or blind?

Top 10 are right on.

With the exception of Maldini, everyone else is in the Azzuri colors.

Milan fan. ( He is not a Roma Fan folks )

Don't think Roberto Baggio should be that high on this list if the title is going to be "Top 20 Italian Players of the DECADE".

From 2000-2004 he played for Brescia and did score 45 goals in 95 matches but that doesn't deserve a TOP THREE.

Baggio did nothing for the Azzuri this decade and in my opinion that pushes him back to 4th,behind Maldini,Gigi and Totti.
Also Chiellini is behind Panucci,Peruzzi,Camoranesi and Perrotta for sure
19/20. Perrotta/Camo 21/22. Peruzzi/Panucci

Thanks for correcting me, Francesco. I'd still put Grosso and Camo higher than Toni...

I'd also try to find a spot for Simone Perrotta who surely has done more for club and country than Cassano or Chiellini (to date)...

This list is a very accurate. I completely agree with the top 10

camoranesi is better than de rossi for certain. i'd put him where bobo is, move gattuso and de rossi back a bit. i think i'd also put canna behind nesta and definitely behind del piero. i think pirlo is in an ok spot...i'd like to move him up a couple but he's not better than the guys you have listed ahead of him.

tito, Grosso only scored 1 goal in the WC (vs. Germany) and Camoranesi scored none. Toni had 2 (both vs. Ukraine).

Cassano hasn't actually *done* anything in his career except sell newspapers and make some neat-o youtube compilations. Certainly he shouldn't be ahead of World Champions Grosso and Camoranesi.

Speaking of which, didn't both Grosso and Camo outscore Toni in the WC? Sorry, back of the line, Luca.

I'd also have Pirlo higher on the list. He's won everything with every team he's been on (except Inter... do they count?). He's certainly been more important to the National team than Nesta, Totti and Del Piero.

He's the Joe Montana of Calcio - improbably athletic but a born winner...

It's a nice list. We don't have many megastars, but our baseline player is better than anywhere else (ok, maybe Brazil...)

I think De Rossi is a bit high up on the list. For me he has always been solid but not quite spectacular. He just hasn't really taken that next step from really good player to great player just yet in my option. But I wouldn't mind having more players like him and with his potential on my team, that's for sure.

Yeah but the thing about Luca Toni is that his goalscoring record in Serie A this decade is pretty impressive: 91 goals since 2000, and that's not including the 30 scored with Palermo in Serie B. He was also the first Italian player to score more than 30 goals in a single season. Of course the one thing he has going against him is his performance in major tournaments for Italy, but he still has 16 goals for the Azzurri.

It's kind of hard to say, when you're merging Italian players for their Serie A contributions and Azzurri. However, my biggest question is this- Luca Toni has had 2-3 good club seasons, and despite a decent scoring record for the Azzurri, has completely underwhelmed in WC06 and even moreso in Euro2008. I think Grosso, Camoranesi, Peruzzi, hell, even Panucci have been better, the latter 3 have had very long productive Serie A careers, and they've also had some success with the Nazionale.