Pirlo, Totti, Maldini, Buffon: Who is the greatest Italian player ever?

They might not be jetting off for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar, but there’s no disputing that Italy are still one of the biggest powerhouses in the global game.

The Azzurri are the reigning European champions, in addition to being four-time World Cup winners. In terms of sheer talent, few nations have ever produced the sheer amount of talent that Italy has over the years.

With that in mind, the task of ranking the 10 very best players the country has ever produced is not an easy one.

The folks over at FourFourTwo, though, recently decided to have a crack at that very challenge and we’ve taken a look at their countdown below.

Crucially, players have been ranked on their overall achievements in the game, as opposed to solely their contributions at international level. That said, all included did make a considerable impact with the Azzurri.

10. Alessandro Del Piero

The first of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad on this list, Del Piero’s 290 goals in 705 games for Juventus rightly earned him legendary status in Turin.

Del Piero’s game was about far more than his goalscoring, however.

His superb technique and sublime ability from dead-ball situations made him a massive asset for both club and country.

9. Dino Zoff

Zoff became the oldest goalkeeper ever to lift the World Cup at the age of 40 when his Italy side bossed the 1982 tournament.

His club career was no less noteworthy – collecting nine major trophies with Juventus.

Voted the third-best shot-stopper of all time by the IFFHS, Zoff was also recognised as Italy’s most outstanding player of the past 50 years for UEFA’s Jubilee Awards in 2004.

8. Andrea Pirlo

A footballing magician. No individual has quite put their stamp on the deep-lying midfield role like