Serie A might not be at its strongest, but it has enjoyed long periods as the best league in the world. Many of the best players in the history of football have played in Italy’s top flight.
Italian Serie A betting has been dominated by Juventus for the best part of a decade, but picking an all-time XI goes far beyond the Old Lady. There were challenging decisions to be made across the pitch, most notably at the back.
Best Serie A XI:
Perhaps it would have been fitting to go with a back three, allowing another centre-back into the team, but instead this is 4-3-3 with playmaking and goals aplenty up top.
It could just as easily line-up as a diamond or a 4-2-3-1 with three numbers 10s behind Giuseppe Meazza.
Serie A will be often feature in our football prediction in 2020/21. For now, though, it’s time to look back on some of the best players in the league’s history.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon’s long career saw Serie A move around in the top leagues in European football. Buffon was there for Italy’s supremacy and saw it fall to near irrelevance around the time of Calciopoli.
He might have never enjoyed success in the Champions League, but Buffon had plenty to celebrate in Italy. The former most expensive goalkeeper in the world has the most appearances and clean sheets in Serie A history and 10 league titles.Javier Zanetti
A record-holder for club and country, Javier Zanetti is seventh all-time in career appearances. He spent the majority of his career in the blue and black of Inter, winning 16 trophies with the club including the treble under Jose Mourinho.
Versatility was Zanetti’s trademark, comfortable on the right, left or in midfield. It’s right-back where he slots in for us here – his stamina will be crucial to provide width in this side.
Paolo Maldini
The first name on the team sheet, Paolo Maldini is primarily thought of as a left-back, but he slots in alongside Fabio Cannavaro for this side.
What is there to say about Maldini? He’s quite simply the greatest player in Serie A history. He won five Champions Leagues and seven Scuddetti across his 25 seasons with the Rossoneri and twice finished third in Ballon d’Or voting.
Paolo Maldini had everything.
Giacinto Facchetti
A player before his time, Giacinto Facchetti was a star of Helenio Herrera’s Grande Inter. He played over 600 matches for Inter, winning four Serie A titles and two European Cups along the way.
Facchetti revolutionised the full-back position, overlapping down the left flank and cutting the ball back into the area. He was a goal threat as well as a creator, scoring over 70 times for Inter.An iconic figure in Italian football, Facchetti was not just a magnificent player, but a stellar leader too, captaining Italy and Inter. Herrera’s system would not have been the same without the brilliance of Facchetti.
Andrea Pirlo
The great Milan sides of the early noughties were built around Andrea Pirlo’s ability to dictate games from midfield. Accompanied by Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso, Pirlo controlled the pace, picked out passes and delivered immaculate set pieces.
He regularly shone for Italy too, of course, and led the way for Juventus’ resurgence in the 2010s. The medals he’s won show his importance to his sides. There is no replacement for Pirlo, as Juventus have found. He is a unique, generational footballer.
Daniele De Rossi
Unlike his midfield partner, Daniele De Rossi was all-action. Midfield destroyer, passer, goal-scoring threat, De Rossi could do whatever his manager required. His combative nature perhaps saw him pigeon-holed and led to his all-round game becoming under-rated.
Roma were never a football betting tips favourite during De Rossi’s career, but his presence so often elevated his teammates. A leader, a player who can adapt to different roles, he was a manager’s dream. He’s the ideal partner for Pirlo.Zinedine Zidane
This spot could have been filled by Zinedine Zidane’s compatriot Michel Platini, who enjoyed a similar career to Zidane in Serie A. Neither had the longevity of others in this XI, but both performed at incredible levels.
Zidane won a couple of league titles during his time in Turin, and led Juventus to the Champions League final twice. Playing behind Alessandro del Piero and David Trezeguet, Zidane was masterful in midfield, bending games to his will.
Featuring in football betting as a manager, will Zidane return to Serie A after his second stint in Madrid?
Francesco Totti
Not many people are universally liked in football. Francesco Totti comes pretty close to that. He didn’t enjoy the team success that many others did in this XI, but Totti captured fans, he entertained, and he did it for a long, long time.
His 250 goals is good for second all-time in Serie A, which is sensational for a player perhaps best remembered for his playmaking. There will never be another Totti.Alessandro Del Piero
Accompanying Totti in the final third is a fellow modern great in Alessandro del Piero. Similarly, del Piero played just off a main striker for the majority of his career and was occasionally used out wide.
He won it all at Juventus. Like Totti, he aged well, adapting his game to different managers and systems, playing in new roles and thriving. Del Piero could play wherever we need him to in this front line.
Giuseppe Meazza
You’ve got to be pretty good to get nicknamed ‘the genius’. Giuseppe Meazza is arguably the greatest Italian player in history – he won consecutive World Cups in the 1930s, the second of which he was captain.
Only three players in Serie A history have bettered Meazza’s tally of 216 and his 33 goals for Italy remains the second-highest ever.The majority of Meazza’s career was in Inter’s colours, but he went on to play for both Milan and Juventus. San Siro was named in his honour back in 1980.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Gregorio Borgia / AP Photo*
