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| Dunga vs Maradona |
This is my All-time 23 Italian Diaspora team. I have excluded all Oriundo players because those players have been capped by Italy and the Italian national team did not "lose" them.
Please also look at my all-time Italy team here and my All-Time Team Index.
Southern Italy, Central Italy.
Northern Italy(excluding Lombardy), Lombardy
Italy after 1982, Italy between 1938 and 1982.
What if Italy went to Euro 1992
Team
GK: Peter Bonetti (England)
Nicknamed as "the Cat", Peter Bonetti was a legend at Chelsea. His finest moment came in the Final of the FA Cup in 1970 where his heroic play helped Chelsea to win the FA Cup. He was the FWA Player of the Year runner-up that year. However, he only earned 7 caps for England. his career was limited by playing with Gordon Banks at the same time. He was Banks' backup in the World Cup 1966.
GK: Rogerio Ceni (Brazil)
Roger Ceni is known as the goalkeeper who was known as a dead-ball specialist and scored a lot of goals. He is recognized as the highest scorer in history for a goalkeeper. He is a long-term keeper for Sao Paulo. With them, he won two Copa Libertadores: 1993, 2005. For Brazil, he had 16 caps. He went to two World Cup Finals (2002 and 2006) as a backup.
GK Roque Maspoli (Uruguay)
Maspoli began playing in the youth ranks of Club Nacional de Football. He would make his Uruguayan Primera División debut with Liverpool de Montevideo in 1939. After one season with Liverpool, he joined C.A. Peñarol. He would spend the rest of his playing career with Peñarol, winning six Primera titles with the club. He was Uruguay's keeper at the World Cup in 1950, where they won it by breaking the hearts of the Brazilians.
RB: Javier Zanetti (Argentina)
He was the starting rightback for Inter Milan for almost 20 years. He served as their captain from 1999, earning him the nickname "Il Capitano" (The Captain). He held all kind of appearance records in Italy. He widely considered to be Argentina's best ever rightback. He holds the record of the most capped player in the history of the Argentine national team and played in the 1996 Olympic tournament, five Copa América tournaments and two World Cups, in 1998 and 2002.
Minelli was considered one of the best European rightbacks in history. He played 80 times for Switzerland. He played in the 1934 and 1938 WC Finals. In 1938, Switzerland knocked out Germany, a team boosted by additional Austrian players in the first round. For his club career, he played for FC Zurich, Grasshopper and Serviette FC.
RB/CB: Jose Nasazzi (Uruguay)
He was the captain of Uruguay's legendary team that won the World Cup in 1930. He is regarded by many as Uruguay's greatest ever football player. He was known as "El Gran Mariscal" (The Great Marshal) and had already won the gold medal at the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games, as well as the South American Championship in 1923, 1924 and 1926, by the time of the first World Cup.
CB: Daniel Passarella (Argentina)
Daniel Passarella was one of the best center-backs ever played the game. He captained Argentina when it won the World Cup in 1978. He also went to the World Cup Finals in 1982, but he was forced into have a non-playing role in 1986 after a row with Diego Maradona. He was also known for scoring over 140 goals in his career, very high for a defender. His career was associated with River Plate. He also played for Fiorentina and Inter Milan in Italy.
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| Daniel Passarella |
Nicknamed El Mariscal, Perfumo is considered as one of the best Argentine defenders ever. At club level, Perfumo played for Racing, River Plate and Brazilian team Cruzeiro. He was a legend with Racing Club in Argentina winning the Primera title, the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. He was considered their greatest player. He had 37 caps. He played in 1966 and 1974 WC Finals.
CB: Oscar Ruggeri (Argentina)
Oscar Ruggeri played in 3 World Cup Finals, winning the one in 1986 and finishing second in 1990. He was La Liga Foreign Player of the Year in 1989 and South American Player of the Year in 1991. He played for both River Plate and Boca Juniors as well as Real Madrid in Spain. He also had career with Vélez Sarsfield, San Lorenzo, etc.
LB: Silvio Marzolini (Argentina)
In 1959, Silvio Marzolini started his career with Ferro Carril Oeste. A year later, he joined Boca Juniors where he played until 1972 and became an idol. He was considered one of the greatest leftbacks in Latin American football history. For Argentina, he had 28 caps between 1960 and 1969. He went to the 1962 and the 1966 World Cup Finals.
LB: Alberto Tarantini (Argentina)
Alberto Tarantini had 61 caps between 1974 and 1982. He was the starting leftback for Argentina in 1978 and 1982, where Argentina won their first WC in 1978. He was infamously known for his career in England where he only lasted 28 matches. He played for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Talleres de Córdoba, River Plate, and European teams SC Bastia, Toulouse and FC St. Gallen.
DM: Nestor Rossi (Argentina)
One of Argentina's greatest defensive midfielders. Nicknamed "Pipo", he started his career at River Plate, playing from 1945 to 1949, and then again from 1955 to 1958, winning a total of 5 Argentine leagues. He also won 6 more with Millonarios in Colombia. He played in the 1958 World Cup Finals and was a part of their 1957 Copa America winning team.
DM: Dunga (Brazil)
Dunga's bluecollar and defensive style of football symbolized a new era in Brazil's football during the 1990's. He played 91 times for Brazil. He was the captain of Brazil's World Cup winning team in 1994. He also went to Italia 1990 and France 1998. He is one of onlytwo men to have played in a World Cup, Olympic Games, Confederations Cup and continental championship final. He played in Brazil, Japan, Italy and Germany in his club career.
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| Dunga |
Cambiasso has won 23 official titles (as of the end of 2011), being the Argentine footballer with most honours in history, one more than Alfredo Di Stéfano. The majority of his titles were won during his ten seasons at Inter Milan, including the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. He won 52 caps for Argentina, and represented the country at the 2006 World Cup.
DM: Diego Simeone (Argentina)
Simeone started his career with Velez Sarsfield. He first joined Pisa and Sevilla before going to Atletico Madrid. He won the Double with them in 1995-1996. He then moved to Inter Milan, where he won the UEFA Cup in 1998. In 1999, he moved to Lazio. Again, he won the Double. For Argentina, he was capped 106 times. He won Copa America in 1991 and 1993. He went to play in three WC Finals; 1994, 1998 and 2002.
Simeone started his career with Velez Sarsfield. He first joined Pisa and Sevilla before going to Atletico Madrid. He won the Double with them in 1995-1996. He then moved to Inter Milan, where he won the UEFA Cup in 1998. In 1999, he moved to Lazio. Again, he won the Double. For Argentina, he was capped 106 times. He won Copa America in 1991 and 1993. He went to play in three WC Finals; 1994, 1998 and 2002.
CM/AM/FW: Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina)
The best player in the world before the emerge of Pele and Maradona. He was one of the younger member of the great River Plate in the 1940's. In 1949, he moved to play in Colombia before moving to Europe in 1953. He won 5 straight European Cups with Real Madrid. He was credited in turning Real Madrid into a legendary club. His international career was limited to the fact that Argentina did not select overseas players. He played for Argentina, Colombia and Spain.
AM: Enzo Scifo (Belgium) Born in Belgium of Italian background, Enzo Scifo made his name with Anderlecht, helping the team to the 1984 UEFA Cup Final. He also played in both France and Italy at the club level. He was capped over 80 times between 1984 and 1998. He appeared for Belgium in the World Cups of 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998, playing sixteen games in total. He was a star at the World Cup Finals in 1986 and 1990, where he scored one of the best goals of the tournament in 1990.
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| Enzo Scifo |
Rivelino is considered to be one of the greatest left-sided midfielder ever. His signature move was the "flip-flap". He was a member of Brazil's great 1970 team and also played in the 1974 team. He had 92 caps for Brazil. He started his career with Corinthians, but in one of the club's worst period in history. He moved to Fluminense in 1974, forming a great team with Carlos Alberto. He also played for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
RW/FW: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
At time of writing, Messi won 4 World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or. In 2016, he was convicted for 21 months in jail for tax fraud. Despite his tax evasion conviction and fraud with his charities, he is considered a clean-cut player. Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment.
AM: Michel Platini (France)
Michel Platini is one of the greatest footballers of all time. He played 72 times for France, He scored 9 of France's 14 goals as they won the European Championship in 1984 at home. It was probably the greatest individual performance in a tournament. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1983, 1984 and 1985. With Juventus, he won the European Cup in 1985, the first ever for the club. He started with Nancy and was a member of the famous team with AS Saint-Etienne.
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| Michel Platini |
Enzo Francescoli is known as "the Prince". He was Uruguay's most capped outfield player. He was a big fan favorite in River Plate where he won Copa Libertadores in 1996. He also played in France and Italy. With Uruguay, he won three Copa America's in 1983, 1987 and 1995, where he was voted the best player in two of the tournaments. He played in two World Cup Finals. He was also South America Player of the Year in 1984 and 1995.
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| Enzo Francescoli |
AM: Diego Maradona (Argentina)
Maradona was considered the second best player in history after Pele. He won the World Cup in 1986, scoring the best goal in the history of the World Cup when he scored against England. He also played in the WC Finals in 1982, 1990 and 1994. For club football, he was best remembered for leading Napoli to break the dominance of the Northern Italian clubs in the Serie A. Napoli won two league titles and a UEFA Cup. He was also considered to be Boca Juniors' greatest player. |
| Diego Maradona |
ST: Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina)
Gabriel Batistuta is the current top-scorer for Argentina. He first gained international recognition when Argentina won the Copa America in 1991 where he finished as the top scorer. He earned a move to Fiorentina spending the next 9 seasons there while becoming their all-time leading scorer. In 2000, he moved to Roma and won the scudetto in his first season. He went to the WC Finals in 1994, 1998 and 2002.
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| Gabriel Batistuta |
Honorable Mention
Paul Caligiuri (USA), Tony Meola (USA), Miguel Brindisi (Argentima), Nestor Sensini (Argentina), Ciriaco Sforza (Switzerland), Tony Cascarino (Ireland), Hilderaldo Bellini (Brazil), Roger Piantoni (France).
Squad Explanation
-- I have excluded all Oriundo players because those players have been capped by Italy and the Italian national team did not "lose" them. Omar Sivori, Luis Monti, etc are ineligible. Alfredo Di Stefano played for Spain, but Italy. He is eligible.
-- Tony Cascarino (Ireland) turned out that he was adopte, would make him ineligible for Ireland. His father was not Italian, I supposed. Nevertheless, he has an Italian surname and that it all mattered to me. He made honourable mention.
-- It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent (up to 62.5% of the total population). Therefore, almost all of the great Argentinian footballers are Italians. Daniel Passarella, Alfredo Di Stefano, Diego Maradona, Roberto Perfumo, Gabriel Batistuta, Nestor Rossi, Oscar Ruggeri, Lionel Messi, Silvio Marzolini, Alberto Tarantini and Javier Zanetti are on my Argentina All-Time team. Diego Simeone made my honorable mention.
-- Four World Cup winning captains are selected. They are José Nasazzi, Dunga, Passarella and Maradona. Hilderaldo Bellini would have been the fifth one, but he only made honourable mention here. Italy also won 4 World Cup with 4 different captains. At the time of writing, there are 21 World Cup captain, which meant 9 of the 20 captains are of Italian heritage.
-- Hilderaldo Bellini lost out to Oscar Ruggeri, Daniel Passarella, José Nasazzi and Roberto Perfumo.
-- Severino Minelli was one of the best right backs in the world during the 1930's. He is from Küsnacht, near Zurich. It is not an Italian speaking part of the region.
-- Peter Bonetti's parents are actually Italian-Swiss. They are from Ticino, an Italian-speaking region in Switzerland.
-- Alfredo Di Stefano's father came from Sicily. His mother was half-French and half-Irish.
-- Michel Platini's father came from Agrate Conturbia, Piedmont, not far from Turin, where he played for Juventus.
-- Dunga's full name was Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri. He is also of German descent.
-- Rivelino's family origibally came from Macchiagodena in Southern Italy.
-- The Honorable mention should be longer. I am sure that I am missing someone with Italian blood from maternal side of the family.
-- I only selected a single striker, which is very unrealistic. But who can I leave out for another striker? Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stefano, Michel Platini and Lionel Messi got ahead of any striker. I supposed that there might be a space if I take out Enzo Scifo.
Formation
Thank you for this it has been most helpful
ReplyDeleteForza Italia😁