These greats stand behind Italy's four World Cup wins!
Italy is a nation that is extremely passionate about football and has produced some of the best-attacking players in history. So who are the all-time greatest Italian attackers? We have been working hard to list the best attackers in the realm of Calcio. Now let's get started!
Roberto Baggio was a huge celebrity in the 1990s, when he was regarded as one of the finest players in the world and one of the most recognisable—he wasn't called "The Divine Ponytail" for nothing—bringing delight to supporters of Juventus, Italy, and other teams. Baggio was a very talented football player who seemed to be able to accomplish everything. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or in 1993 before going on to win Serie A championships with AC Milan and Juventus in the middle of the decade. Had injuries not derailed Jot's career, he may have even been remembered as an all-time great.
The official name of the stadium used by AC Milan and Inter Milan, which is known as the San Siro, is Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. This is because of a guy who also had a brief stint with Juventus. Meazza, however, reached genuine brilliance when playing for Inter, amassing 282 goals in 391 games, earning three Serie A titles between 1930 and 1940, and taking home three Capocannonieri. Recipient of the Golden Ball when Italy won the World Cup in 1934, he excelled once more as the Azzurri kept the trophy four years later.
Paolo Rossi, who scored six goals, including the game-winning goal against West Germany in the final, to win the Golden Boot, was an Italian hero at the 1982 World Cup and is unquestionably one of the all-time great strikers. Being only the third player to win the World Cup Golden Boot, Golden Ball, and the competition itself, Rossi saw success with Juventus in Serie A, Coppa Italia, the European Cup, and the Cup Winners' Cup. He also managed to obtain the 1982 Ballon d'Or, just for good measure.
Alessandro Del Piero, who replaced Giampiero Boniperti as Juventus' all-time top scorer with 290 goals to his predecessor's 185, was among the finest players in international football when he was at his best. Several times a front-runner for the Ballon d'Or, Del Piero won over fans throughout the game, one of which was Diego Maradona, who declared that he was superior to Zinedine Zidane, his Juventus teammate. Del Piero, a six-time Serie A champion and Champions League winner with Juventus, was instrumental in Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph, helping the Azzurri defeat Germany 2-0 in the semifinals.
Del Piero signing an autograph
Gigi Riva was one of the world's top attackers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, thanks to his incredible left foot (one of his coaches quipped that he only required his right foot "to step up onto the tram"). A gifted player. In 42 appearances for Italy, he scored 35 goals, including the game-winning goal in the 1968 Euro final as the Azzurri defeated Yugoslavia in Rome. He also topped the Serie A scoring charts three times, leading Cagliari to the Scudetto in 1969–70.
Other great all-time attacking footballers from Italy would include names like Giampiero Bonaperti, Francesco Totti, Guglielmo Gabetto, Gianluca Vialli, and Christian Vieri.
