 |
| Paulo Rossi and Romeo Benetti |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Italian diaspora
Southern Italy, Central Italy,
Northern Italy(excluding Lombardy), Lombardy
Italy after 1982, Italy between 1938 and 1982.
Southern Italy, Central Italy,
Northern Italy(excluding Lombardy), Lombardy
Italy after 1982, Italy between 1938 and 1982.
What if Italy went to Euro 1992
It's Muller/Miller time
All Diegos Team
Dutch Players' surnames starting with "Van"
Ronaldo, Ronald, Ronnie, Ron etc All-Time team
Brazilian footballers who shared names with historical figures
This is my selection of an All-Time Team for players' surname ending with an "i". The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
A large number of Italian surnames end in i, due to the medieval Italian habit of identifying families by the name of the ancestors in the plural (which have an -i suffix in Italian). For instance, Filippo from the Ormanno family (gli Ormanni) would be called "signor Filippo degli Ormanni" ("Mr. Filippo of the Ormannos"). In time, the middle possessive portion ("of the") was dropped, but surnames became permanently pluralized and never referred to in the singular, even for a single person. Filippo Ormanno would therefore be known as Filippo Ormanni.
Surnames ending in -o come from southern Italy, but names ending in -a or -i generally come from the north.
Team
GK: Giampiero Combi
Combi won the 1934 WC with Italy. He was considered one of the best in the world during his time. He spent his entire career with Juventus. He played 351 games in Serie A, winning five titles – in 1926 (having conceded only 18 goals during the season), 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934 as part of the first golden age of the club with a record of five championship victories in a row, a feat known as Il Quinquennio d'Oro (The Golden Quinquennium).
GK: Enrico Albertosi
Enrico Albertosi was one of the best keepers in his generations. He played with Fiorentina that won Cup Winners' Cup in 1961. Then, he moved to Calgary in 1968, where he played with Luigi Riva and won a scudetti with Caligari in 1970. He later transferred to A.C. Milan in 1974, where he won yet another Serie A title and Coppa Italia. For Azzurri, he was a part of Italy's European Championship team in 1968. He went to the both 1966 and 1970 World Cup Finals.
GK: Giuliano Sarti
Giuliano Sarti had done well in European football. In 1960-61, he helped Fiorentina to win the Cup Winners' Cup. In 1963, he joined Inter Milan and became the starting keeper of La Grande Inter under Helenio Herrera. He won back-to-back European Cup with them in 1964 and 1965. After leaving Inter in 1968, he later spent the 1968–69 season with Juventus as a back-up. Between 1958 and 1967, he only had 8 caps with the Italian national team.
RB: Mauro Tassotti
After making his Serie A debut with Lazio, he went on to play with Milan for 17 years. He won 17 major titles with Milan, including five Serie A championships and three UEFA Champions League tournaments, reaching five finals in total. He was a part of both Arrigo Sacchi's and Fabio Capello's AC Milan. He also went to the WC in 1994, where Italy came second.
RB: Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci's breakout season was the season 1993-1994, when he played 19 games for AC Milan and won the 1994 UEFA Champions' League. The highlight of his career was perhaps his three seasons with Real Madrid. He helped them to win the UEFA Champions' League in 1998. His longest stint was, however, with AS Roma. At the international level, he had 57 caps with Italy, but his career was very rocky. He never secured a regular place with the team.
SW: Franco Baresi
Baresi was considered Italy's greatest libero. He was capped 82 times. He led the Azzurri to the semifinal of the World Cup in 1990 and then, the Final in 1994. However, he missed most of the tournament in 1994. He was a part of the 1982 World Cup winning team, but he did not play a single match. He was the captain of AC Milan for 15 years, where he won three European Cups and 6 Serie A titles. This team was considered one of the greatest club side of all-time.
CB/RB: Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi was one of Inter Milan's greatest defender, winning one scudetto and three UEFA Cups with them. He played his entire career with Inter Milan between 1979 and 1999. He held the record of most appearance in the UEFA Cup. Bergomi won the World Cup in 1982 and appeared in the 1986, 1990 and 1998 World Cup Finals. He was capped 81 times between 1982 and 1998.
It's Muller/Miller time
All Diegos Team
Dutch Players' surnames starting with "Van"
Ronaldo, Ronald, Ronnie, Ron etc All-Time team
Brazilian footballers who shared names with historical figures
This is my selection of an All-Time Team for players' surname ending with an "i". The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
A large number of Italian surnames end in i, due to the medieval Italian habit of identifying families by the name of the ancestors in the plural (which have an -i suffix in Italian). For instance, Filippo from the Ormanno family (gli Ormanni) would be called "signor Filippo degli Ormanni" ("Mr. Filippo of the Ormannos"). In time, the middle possessive portion ("of the") was dropped, but surnames became permanently pluralized and never referred to in the singular, even for a single person. Filippo Ormanno would therefore be known as Filippo Ormanni.
Surnames ending in -o come from southern Italy, but names ending in -a or -i generally come from the north.
 |
| Filippo Inzaghi, Christian Vieri and Francesco Totti |
GK: Giampiero Combi
Combi won the 1934 WC with Italy. He was considered one of the best in the world during his time. He spent his entire career with Juventus. He played 351 games in Serie A, winning five titles – in 1926 (having conceded only 18 goals during the season), 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934 as part of the first golden age of the club with a record of five championship victories in a row, a feat known as Il Quinquennio d'Oro (The Golden Quinquennium).
GK: Enrico Albertosi
Enrico Albertosi was one of the best keepers in his generations. He played with Fiorentina that won Cup Winners' Cup in 1961. Then, he moved to Calgary in 1968, where he played with Luigi Riva and won a scudetti with Caligari in 1970. He later transferred to A.C. Milan in 1974, where he won yet another Serie A title and Coppa Italia. For Azzurri, he was a part of Italy's European Championship team in 1968. He went to the both 1966 and 1970 World Cup Finals.
GK: Giuliano Sarti
Giuliano Sarti had done well in European football. In 1960-61, he helped Fiorentina to win the Cup Winners' Cup. In 1963, he joined Inter Milan and became the starting keeper of La Grande Inter under Helenio Herrera. He won back-to-back European Cup with them in 1964 and 1965. After leaving Inter in 1968, he later spent the 1968–69 season with Juventus as a back-up. Between 1958 and 1967, he only had 8 caps with the Italian national team.
 |
| Giuliano Sarti |
After making his Serie A debut with Lazio, he went on to play with Milan for 17 years. He won 17 major titles with Milan, including five Serie A championships and three UEFA Champions League tournaments, reaching five finals in total. He was a part of both Arrigo Sacchi's and Fabio Capello's AC Milan. He also went to the WC in 1994, where Italy came second.
RB: Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci's breakout season was the season 1993-1994, when he played 19 games for AC Milan and won the 1994 UEFA Champions' League. The highlight of his career was perhaps his three seasons with Real Madrid. He helped them to win the UEFA Champions' League in 1998. His longest stint was, however, with AS Roma. At the international level, he had 57 caps with Italy, but his career was very rocky. He never secured a regular place with the team.
SW: Franco Baresi
Baresi was considered Italy's greatest libero. He was capped 82 times. He led the Azzurri to the semifinal of the World Cup in 1990 and then, the Final in 1994. However, he missed most of the tournament in 1994. He was a part of the 1982 World Cup winning team, but he did not play a single match. He was the captain of AC Milan for 15 years, where he won three European Cups and 6 Serie A titles. This team was considered one of the greatest club side of all-time.
CB/RB: Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi was one of Inter Milan's greatest defender, winning one scudetto and three UEFA Cups with them. He played his entire career with Inter Milan between 1979 and 1999. He held the record of most appearance in the UEFA Cup. Bergomi won the World Cup in 1982 and appeared in the 1986, 1990 and 1998 World Cup Finals. He was capped 81 times between 1982 and 1998.
 |
| Giuseppe Bergomi |
Armando Picchi was the captain of La Garnde Inter. The team was transformed when Helenio Herrera moved him to the libero position during the 1961-1962 season and a legendary team was born. He was often credited of changing how the position was played. He was capped 12 times by the Azzurri, but he was left out of the 1966 World Cup team and an injury prevented him from playing at the European Championship of 1968, in which Italy won.
CB/LB: Giorgio Chiellini
Chiellini played with Livorno, Roma and Fiorentina before moving to Juventus in 2005. With Juventus, he has won seven consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2018. He earned over 90 caps. He was selected for the 2004 Olympics, winning a bronze medal, as well as for three European Championships, two World Cups and two Confederations Cups, helping them to reach the final of Euro 2012. He captained Italy as they won Euro 2021.
LB: Giacinto Facchetti
Until the emerge of Paolo Maldini, Giacinto Facchetti was considered to be Italy's greatest left back. He spent his entire career with Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He was the star wingback of La Grande Inter where they won back-to-back European Cups in the 1960's. He was capped 94 times and also won the Euro 1968 with Italy. He played in 1966, 1970 and 1974 World Cup Finals.
LB: Paolo Maldini
He was considered the greatest leftback of all-time. He won 26 trophies in his 25 year career with AC Milan, including 5 Champions' league trophies. With the Azzurri, Maldini took part in three European Championships, and four World Cups. Although he did not win a tournament with the Italian National team, he reached the finals of the 1994 World Cup in the US and Euro 2000, and the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy and Euro 1988 in West Germany, and was elected into the all-star teams for each of these tournaments, in addition to the Euro 96 all-star team. He was capped 126 times for Italy.
DM/CM: Marco Tardelli
He played at the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina and the 1980 European Football Championship at home. He was the unsung hero of Italy's 1982 WC winning team. He was capped 81 times. He also won all the three major European competitions with Juventus. He also played for Pisa, Como, Inter Milan and St.Gallen of Switzerland.
DM: Romeo Benetti
At international level, Benetti represented the Italy national football team on 55 occasions between 1971 and 1980, and took part at the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 1980, achieving fourth-place finishes in the latter two tournaments. He is best remembered for his 5 seasons with AC Milan, winning a Cup Winners' Cup.
CM: Demetrio Albertini
Demetrio Albertini was the deep-lying playmaker of the great AC Milan team of the 1990's. He won 5 league titles in the 1990's and the Champions' League title in 1994. At the end of his career, he played for Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Barcelona. At the international level, he played for his country 79 times. He went to the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, Euro 96, and Euro 2000. He was voted into the team of tournament at Euro 2000.
CM/AM: Giancarlo Antognoni
He was Fiorentina's greatest ever player . He was a key player for Italy's WC winning team in 1982, but he missed the Final because of an injury. He was capped 73 times for the Azzurri. His career started in the Italian Serie D with the club of Asti Ma.Co.Bi., when he was only sixteen. In 1972, he joined Fiorentina. Because of his loyalty with his club, he never won anything at the club level. He holds the record for the most appearances in Serie A for Fiorentina, with 341 appearances.
AM/LM: Francesco Totti
Totti was the long serving captain of Roma and perhaps the greatest ever player for the club. Roma won the Serie A in 2001 after a 20 year drought. He was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for 2000 and 2001. He won the European Golden Boot award in 2006-2007. A 2006 World Cup winner and Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
RW/LW: Bruno Conti
Conti was the greatest winger in Italy's history. He had 47 caps. He won the World Cup in 1982 and also took part at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico. Except with two loan spells with Genoa, he played his entire career with AS Roma. The season after the World Cup Finals in 1982, he helped Roma to win the league title. He also led them to the 1984 European Cup Final but were defeated on penalties by Liverpool.
RW/FW: Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti played his entire career with Juventus where he played from 1946 to 1961. He was known for playing alongside John Charles and Omar Sivori. He was the highest goalscorer in Juventus' history for more than 40 years, until his record was broken by Alessandro Del Piero. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1950 and 1954. He was capped 38 times and served as captain 24 times.
LW: Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni was one of Italy's greatest wingers. He was a vital part of AC Milan's squad under both Sacchi and Capello, winning six Serie A titles, three European Cups, four Italian Supercups, three European Super Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups during his time at Milan. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1990 and 1994. At the end of his career, he played briefly in MLS and Saudi Arabia.
FW: Alessandro Altobelli
Alessandro Altobelli played for Latina and Brescia before joining Inter Milan in 1977, where he became a star at the club. He scored over 200 goals for them. He also spent a season with Juventus in the 1988-1989 season before joining Brescia. For the Italian national team, he had 61 caps. He was best-remembered for scoring a goal against West Germany at the World Cup Final in 1982. He also played in the 1986 World Cup Finals.
ST: Filippo Inzaghi
Inzaghi is one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time, fifth in Italy, with 313 goals scored in official matches. He is currently the fourth-highest goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals. With AC Milan, he won two UEFA Champions League titles (2003, 2007). he made his national team debut in 1997. He went to all major tournaments from 1998 to 2006. He won the World Cup in 2006, but only played in one match.
ST: Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri was born in Italy, but grew up in Australia. At the club level, he played for 12 clubs in his career. He played in Italy, Spain and France. He was the Serie A Footballer of the Year in 1999. He became the most expensive player in the world when Inter Milan signed him from Lazio. For the national team, he made his debut in 1997 and played in his last game in 2006. He won the Silver in France 1998. He missed out on the 2006 World Cup team, where Italy won the World Cup.
ST: Paolo Rossi
Rossi was the hero of Italy's WC winning team in 1982, notably for scoring a hattrick against Brazil in Spain, and went on to win the Golden boot. He was also the European player of the Year in 1982 because of his performance at the WC Finals. His club career was associated with Juventus. He was a part of the great Juventus team of the 1980's. He won the 1985 European Cup as Juventus' second top scorer. He also went to the 1978 World Cup Finals.
Honorable Mention
Antonio Cabrini, Gabriel Oriali, Giacomo Bulgarelli, Giuseppe Giannini, Agostino Di Bartolomei, Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi, Renzo De Vecchi, Francesco Graziani, Toto Schillaci, Alfredo Foni, Roberto Mancini, Giovanni Ferrari, Giancarlo Di Sisti, Aldo Campatelli, Gianluca Vialli, Adolfo Baloncieri, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Belotti, Luca Toni.
Squad Explanation
-- This is a fun team. I also did an all-time team for Muller/Miller surnames. and Netherlands' "Van" surnames.
-- Giampiero Combi, Giacinto Facchetti and Paulo Maldini. Paulo Rossi, Bruno Conti, Giancarlo Antognoni, Romero Benetti, Marco Tardelli and Giuseppe Bergomi are on my Italy All Time Team.
-- All of "Oriundo"'s would be listed with their first national team they capped for, but I did not select anyone. Luis Monti and Raimondo Orsi probably deserved a place on this team. Omar Sívori's greatness was for Juventus, not the Azzurri. Mauro Camoranesi never played for Argentina. So he is eligible for this team. He made my honorable mention.
-- The team is relatively very young. I did not select a single player from the World Cup winning teams in the 1930's. Instead, I have players from the 1990's as well as the World Cup winning team of 1982 and 2006.
Chiellini played with Livorno, Roma and Fiorentina before moving to Juventus in 2005. With Juventus, he has won seven consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2018. He earned over 90 caps. He was selected for the 2004 Olympics, winning a bronze medal, as well as for three European Championships, two World Cups and two Confederations Cups, helping them to reach the final of Euro 2012. He captained Italy as they won Euro 2021.
LB: Giacinto Facchetti
Until the emerge of Paolo Maldini, Giacinto Facchetti was considered to be Italy's greatest left back. He spent his entire career with Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He was the star wingback of La Grande Inter where they won back-to-back European Cups in the 1960's. He was capped 94 times and also won the Euro 1968 with Italy. He played in 1966, 1970 and 1974 World Cup Finals.
 |
| Giacinto Facchetti |
He was considered the greatest leftback of all-time. He won 26 trophies in his 25 year career with AC Milan, including 5 Champions' league trophies. With the Azzurri, Maldini took part in three European Championships, and four World Cups. Although he did not win a tournament with the Italian National team, he reached the finals of the 1994 World Cup in the US and Euro 2000, and the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy and Euro 1988 in West Germany, and was elected into the all-star teams for each of these tournaments, in addition to the Euro 96 all-star team. He was capped 126 times for Italy.
 |
| Paolo Maldini |
He played at the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina and the 1980 European Football Championship at home. He was the unsung hero of Italy's 1982 WC winning team. He was capped 81 times. He also won all the three major European competitions with Juventus. He also played for Pisa, Como, Inter Milan and St.Gallen of Switzerland.
DM: Romeo Benetti
At international level, Benetti represented the Italy national football team on 55 occasions between 1971 and 1980, and took part at the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 1980, achieving fourth-place finishes in the latter two tournaments. He is best remembered for his 5 seasons with AC Milan, winning a Cup Winners' Cup.
CM: Demetrio Albertini
Demetrio Albertini was the deep-lying playmaker of the great AC Milan team of the 1990's. He won 5 league titles in the 1990's and the Champions' League title in 1994. At the end of his career, he played for Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Barcelona. At the international level, he played for his country 79 times. He went to the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, Euro 96, and Euro 2000. He was voted into the team of tournament at Euro 2000.
CM/AM: Giancarlo Antognoni
He was Fiorentina's greatest ever player . He was a key player for Italy's WC winning team in 1982, but he missed the Final because of an injury. He was capped 73 times for the Azzurri. His career started in the Italian Serie D with the club of Asti Ma.Co.Bi., when he was only sixteen. In 1972, he joined Fiorentina. Because of his loyalty with his club, he never won anything at the club level. He holds the record for the most appearances in Serie A for Fiorentina, with 341 appearances.
AM/LM: Francesco Totti
Totti was the long serving captain of Roma and perhaps the greatest ever player for the club. Roma won the Serie A in 2001 after a 20 year drought. He was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for 2000 and 2001. He won the European Golden Boot award in 2006-2007. A 2006 World Cup winner and Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
 |
| Francesco Totti |
Conti was the greatest winger in Italy's history. He had 47 caps. He won the World Cup in 1982 and also took part at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico. Except with two loan spells with Genoa, he played his entire career with AS Roma. The season after the World Cup Finals in 1982, he helped Roma to win the league title. He also led them to the 1984 European Cup Final but were defeated on penalties by Liverpool.
RW/FW: Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti played his entire career with Juventus where he played from 1946 to 1961. He was known for playing alongside John Charles and Omar Sivori. He was the highest goalscorer in Juventus' history for more than 40 years, until his record was broken by Alessandro Del Piero. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1950 and 1954. He was capped 38 times and served as captain 24 times.
LW: Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni was one of Italy's greatest wingers. He was a vital part of AC Milan's squad under both Sacchi and Capello, winning six Serie A titles, three European Cups, four Italian Supercups, three European Super Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups during his time at Milan. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1990 and 1994. At the end of his career, he played briefly in MLS and Saudi Arabia.
 |
| Roberto Donadoni |
Alessandro Altobelli played for Latina and Brescia before joining Inter Milan in 1977, where he became a star at the club. He scored over 200 goals for them. He also spent a season with Juventus in the 1988-1989 season before joining Brescia. For the Italian national team, he had 61 caps. He was best-remembered for scoring a goal against West Germany at the World Cup Final in 1982. He also played in the 1986 World Cup Finals.
 |
| Alessandro Altobelli |
Inzaghi is one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time, fifth in Italy, with 313 goals scored in official matches. He is currently the fourth-highest goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals. With AC Milan, he won two UEFA Champions League titles (2003, 2007). he made his national team debut in 1997. He went to all major tournaments from 1998 to 2006. He won the World Cup in 2006, but only played in one match.
ST: Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri was born in Italy, but grew up in Australia. At the club level, he played for 12 clubs in his career. He played in Italy, Spain and France. He was the Serie A Footballer of the Year in 1999. He became the most expensive player in the world when Inter Milan signed him from Lazio. For the national team, he made his debut in 1997 and played in his last game in 2006. He won the Silver in France 1998. He missed out on the 2006 World Cup team, where Italy won the World Cup.
ST: Paolo Rossi
Rossi was the hero of Italy's WC winning team in 1982, notably for scoring a hattrick against Brazil in Spain, and went on to win the Golden boot. He was also the European player of the Year in 1982 because of his performance at the WC Finals. His club career was associated with Juventus. He was a part of the great Juventus team of the 1980's. He won the 1985 European Cup as Juventus' second top scorer. He also went to the 1978 World Cup Finals.
 |
| Paolo Rossi |
Antonio Cabrini, Gabriel Oriali, Giacomo Bulgarelli, Giuseppe Giannini, Agostino Di Bartolomei, Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi, Renzo De Vecchi, Francesco Graziani, Toto Schillaci, Alfredo Foni, Roberto Mancini, Giovanni Ferrari, Giancarlo Di Sisti, Aldo Campatelli, Gianluca Vialli, Adolfo Baloncieri, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Belotti, Luca Toni.
Squad Explanation
-- This is a fun team. I also did an all-time team for Muller/Miller surnames. and Netherlands' "Van" surnames.
-- Giampiero Combi, Giacinto Facchetti and Paulo Maldini. Paulo Rossi, Bruno Conti, Giancarlo Antognoni, Romero Benetti, Marco Tardelli and Giuseppe Bergomi are on my Italy All Time Team.
-- All of "Oriundo"'s would be listed with their first national team they capped for, but I did not select anyone. Luis Monti and Raimondo Orsi probably deserved a place on this team. Omar Sívori's greatness was for Juventus, not the Azzurri. Mauro Camoranesi never played for Argentina. So he is eligible for this team. He made my honorable mention.
-- The team is relatively very young. I did not select a single player from the World Cup winning teams in the 1930's. Instead, I have players from the 1990's as well as the World Cup winning team of 1982 and 2006.
-- In 2021, I replaced Ricardo Ferri with Giorgio Chiellini after Italy won Euro 2020. Chiellini helped Italy to win Euro 2020 in 2021. I also questioned the status of Armando Picchi over Ferri. Picchi missed all of the big international tournaments in his career while Ferri's international career was limited by the Golden generation of Italian defenders in his prime. I also added Andrea Belotti to honorable mention.
-- Antonio Cabrini again failed to get into this team because of Giacinto Facchetti and Paulo Maldini.
-- Daniele De Rossi and Gabriel Oriali have done enough in their careers for a spot, but I do not have space. Instead, I selected Demetrio Albertini because I needed a deep lying playmaker. He probably deserved a spot.
-- Paolo Rossi was a good player, but he was probably not the greatest Italian forward of all-time. However, he brought the World Cup home with a great individual effect. He deserved a spot.
-- Alessandro Altobelli, Christian Vieri and Filippo Inzaghi are the other strikers. Gianluca Vialli missed out.
-- I also do not know much about Adolfo Baloncieri.
-- Giampiero Boniperti could also play wide. He edged out Vialli.
-- Francesco Totti is underrated. His loyalty to AS Roma secured him a place in the history of the game, but he also did not win many trophies. In the 2005-2006 season, he was playing wonderfully until he was injured. At the 2006 WC Finals, he was not at his best. Nevertheless, he won a World Cup.
-- The same applied to Giancarlo Antognoni. He was injured in the Final against West Germany at the1982 World Cup Finals. His tournament was overshadowed by other players, but he was still a key part of the team. Liked Totti, his club career was limited by his loyalty to his own club.
Formation
Giancarlo Antognoni got the start over Totti, but I am happy to replace him with Totti. Bergomi should be a better fit with Baresi than Picchi. The midfield, however, is weak defensive with only Tardelli.
Formation
This formation based upon Italy from 1978 to 1982. Antognoni did not play much in the 1982 World Cup Finals. Donadoni was more of a traditional winger than a wing-forward.
-- Antonio Cabrini again failed to get into this team because of Giacinto Facchetti and Paulo Maldini.
-- Daniele De Rossi and Gabriel Oriali have done enough in their careers for a spot, but I do not have space. Instead, I selected Demetrio Albertini because I needed a deep lying playmaker. He probably deserved a spot.
-- Paolo Rossi was a good player, but he was probably not the greatest Italian forward of all-time. However, he brought the World Cup home with a great individual effect. He deserved a spot.
-- Alessandro Altobelli, Christian Vieri and Filippo Inzaghi are the other strikers. Gianluca Vialli missed out.
-- I also do not know much about Adolfo Baloncieri.
-- Giampiero Boniperti could also play wide. He edged out Vialli.
-- Francesco Totti is underrated. His loyalty to AS Roma secured him a place in the history of the game, but he also did not win many trophies. In the 2005-2006 season, he was playing wonderfully until he was injured. At the 2006 WC Finals, he was not at his best. Nevertheless, he won a World Cup.
-- The same applied to Giancarlo Antognoni. He was injured in the Final against West Germany at the1982 World Cup Finals. His tournament was overshadowed by other players, but he was still a key part of the team. Liked Totti, his club career was limited by his loyalty to his own club.
Formation
Giancarlo Antognoni got the start over Totti, but I am happy to replace him with Totti. Bergomi should be a better fit with Baresi than Picchi. The midfield, however, is weak defensive with only Tardelli.
Formation
This formation based upon Italy from 1978 to 1982. Antognoni did not play much in the 1982 World Cup Finals. Donadoni was more of a traditional winger than a wing-forward.
dsa
ReplyDeletescraps and leftovers:
ReplyDeleteFabio-Cudicini
Roberto-Filippi Christian-Panucci Cesare-Maldini Chiellini Facchetti
Damiano-Tommasi Bulgarelli
Totti
Giampiero-Boniperti Giuseppe-Signori
Ommiting a target striker like Vieri, Toni or Inzaghi allows for a typical catenaccio team with deadly counters.
In hindsight, I'd replace Cesare Maldini with Armando Picchi
ReplyDelete