Football is taken very seriously in Italy. Calcio is not only the national sport, but a huge part of the fabric of Italian society.
From north to south, Italian clubs are fervently and passionately supported. And even though Italy is a relatively new nation, its cities come to a standstill when the Azzurri are in action in an important game.
One of the most successful national teams, Italy have won four World Cups and two European championships.
Those teams, and others, have been blessed with some wonderful footballers. Here, a look at the very best...
32. Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti spent his entire career with Juventus, where he made over 450 appearances between 1947 and 1961. He later became the club's president.
A creative forward player, he was Juventus' top scorer for over 40 years, before he was overtaken by Alessandro Del Piero. Considered one of Italy's best ever, he took part in the 1950 and 1954 World Cups.
31. Gianluca Vialli
One of Italy's great strikers of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gianluca Vialli enjoyed a hugely successful club career at Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea.
Vialli scored 16 goals in 59 caps for Italy, but his career with the Azzurri never quite matched his exploits at club level and he retired from international duty in 1992 due to a difficult relationship with coach Arrigo Sacchi.
30. Daniel De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi was the youngest member of Italy's World Cup-winning squad in 2006, but the Roma great missed four games after a ban for elbowing the USA's Brian McBride.
He returned for the final and appeared as a substitute as Italy won on penalties. One of the most complete midfielders of his generation, he won 117 caps and scored 21 goals for the Azzurri.
29. Alessandro Costacurta
One of Italy's great defenders, Alessandro Costacurta won five European Cups at AC Milan and formed memorable partnerships with both Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi.
Costacurta helped Italy reach the final of the 1994 World Cup, although he missed out on the match itself due to suspension. He retired from international duty after the 1998 World Cup wih 59 caps, but went on playing with Milan until the age of 41. He hung up his boots in 2007.
28. Gennaro Gattuso
A mainstay of the AC Milan midfield for over a decade, Gennaro Gattuso formed a memorable partnership with Andrea Pirlo for club and country.
One of the world's best defensive midfielders in his prime, Gattuso was a fiercely competitive and tough-tackling ball winner. He helped Italy win the World Cup in 2006 before retiring from international football that year.
27. Gianfranco Zola
An outrageously talented attacker with Napoli, Parma and Chelsea in the 1990s, Gianfranco Zola was unfortunate to play in an era when Italy were blessed with some of the world's best forward players.
An unused substitute in the 1994 World Cup final, Zola featured for Italy at Euro 96 and famously scored a winner against England at Wembley the following year. He retired from international duty in 1998, with 35 caps and 10 goals, after being left out of the 1998 World Cup squad.
26. Valentino Mazzola
Valentino Mazzola was the captain of the legendary Grande Torino team of the 1940s and is considered to be one of Italy's greatest players. Some believe he was the best of them all.
An all-round, versatile attacking midfielder, Mazzola tragically lost his life in the Superga air disaster of 1949 at the age of 30, depriving the football world of one of its biggest talents. His son Sandro Mazzola also went on to become an Italy great.
25. Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chielliini began his career as a left-back before moving inside to become one of the best central defenders in the world.
Something of an old-fashioned centre-back, Chiellini was a leader on the pitch for Juventus and Italy. He captained the Azzurri to victory at Euro 2020 and won 117 caps in all before retiring from international duty in 2022.
24. Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri scored 23 goals in 49 appearances for Italy between 1997 and 2005 and is considered one of the nation's greatest strikers.
Italy's joint top scorer at World Cups alongside Paolo Rossi and Roberto Baggio with nine goals from as many games, he was unfortunate to miss Italy's victorious campaign in 2006 through injury.
23. Antonio Cabrini
Antonio Cabrini was named Best Young Player at the 1978 World Cup and helped Italy win the tournament in Spain four years later.
One of Italy's great left-backs, Cabrini spent 13 years at Juventus and formed a formidable back line with goalkeeper Dino Zoff and defenders Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea for club and country.
22. Bruno Conti
Bruno Conti is widely considered to be the greatest Italian winger of all time and his role in the Azzurri's 1982 World Cup win was huge.
The former Roma favourite set up one goal against West Germany in the final, was involved in the move for another and also won a penalty in Italy's 3-1 win. He retired after the 1986 World Cup, having played every match as the Azzurri went out in the last 16.
21. Marco Tardelli
Marco Tardelli's celebratory cry after his goal in the 1982 World Cup final against West Germany has become one of the most iconic images in Italian football history.
A tough-tackling but elegant defensive midfielder, Tardelli liked to get forward as well and was key in Italy's 1982 triumph. He won 81 caps in total and later captained the Azzurri between 1983 and 1985.
20. Alessandro Nesta
One of the game's great defenders, Alessandro Nesta was a rock for Italy in a 10-year international career between 1996 and 2006.
After winning the Euros at Under-21 level in 1996, he made Italy's senior squad for Euro 96 and went on to play at three World Cups. Interrupted by injury in all three, he finished with a winners' medal in 2006 and declined an invitation to return in 2010.
19. Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile was a tough-tackling hardman who was is often remembered for his brutal man-marking job on Diego Maradona at the 1982 World Cup.
More rustic than stylish, ironically with his name, Gentile's performances against Argentina, Brazil and West Germany were key to Italy's success in 1982. Named in FIFA's team of the tournament that year, he also helped the Azzurri to the last four at the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship in 71 caps overall.
18. Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi made over 750 appearances in a club career spent entirely with Inter and was part of three UEFA Cup-winning teams.
One of the best right-backs ever, Bergomi began his international career in 1982 and won the World Cup that year. After a controversial red card and six-match ban in 1991, his international career looked over, but he returned at 34 years old to play in his fourth World Cup in 1998.
17. Sandro Mazzola
Sandro Mazzola spent his entire playing career at Inter and won 70 caps for Italy between 1963 and 1974.
His father, Valentino Mazzola, had been a great footballer at Torino and tragically died in the Superga air disaster. Sandro, an attacking midfielder or forward, went on to become one of Italy's greats in his own right. A European Championship winner with the Azzurri in 1968, he was also a World Cup finalist two years later.
16. Fabio Cannavaro
Considered one of the greatest centre-backs in the history of football, Fabio Cannavaro was nicknamed the "Berlin Wall" after leading Italy to the World Cup in Germany in 2006.
The Azzurri kept five clean sheets and conceded only twice en route to the title and Cannavaro was key to their success. He went on to pick up the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards and remains one of Italy's most-capped players.
15. Paolo Rossi
Banned for two years for his alleged involvement in the Totonero betting scandal, Paolo Rossi made a triumphant return to action at the 1982 World Cup.
Rossi scored six goals in the tournament, including a hat-trick against Brazil in the semi-finals. He won the Golden Ball and also the Golden Boot, later picking up the Ballon d'Or and the World Player of the Year awards as well. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 64.
14. Silvio Piola
Silvio Piola remains the all-time top scorer in Italian league history, with 290 goals, and the legendary striker netted 30 in just 34 appearances for the Azzurri.
In a career interrupted by the Second World War, Piola helped Italy win the World Cup in 1938, scoring twice in the final against Hungary. He was known for his acrobatic volleys and popularised the bicycle kick during his career.
13. Luigi Riva
Following a spell at third tier Legnano early in his career, Luigi Riva stayed local to Cagliari from 1963 all the way through to his retirement in 1976.
A powerful centre-forward, Riva scored in the final as Italy won Euro 1968 and helped the Azzurri reach the final of the 1970 World Cup two years later. Blighted by injuries, he still managed an impressive 35 goals in 42 games for Italy and remains the nation's all-time top scorer.
12. Giacinto Facchetti
Regarded as one of the greatest left-backs in the history of football, Giacinto Facchetti spent his entire career at Inter and played 94 games for Italy between 1963 and 1977.
Facchetti captained Italy to victory at Euro 1968, even calling the coin toss which saw the Azzurri advance against the Soviet Union in the semi-finals. Two years later, he was named in the team of the tournament as Italy reached the 1970 World Cup final, which they lost 4-1 to Brazil. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 64.
11. Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea won 78 caps for Italy in an 11-year international career which saw him named in the team of the tournament at Euro 1980, feature in three World Cups and help the Azzurri claim the trophy in 1982.
Regarded as one of the greatest central defenders in the history of the game, Scirea spent most of his career at Juventus. He tragically died in Poland at the age of just 36 after his car was hit by a truck.
10. Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero is Juventus' all-time record holder for both appearances (705) and goals (290) – and one of the club's most emblematic players of the modern era.
A creative and technically gifted striker, Del Piero played 91 times for Italy and scored 27 goals, with the most memorable of those coming against Germany in the 2006 World Cup semi-finals.
9. Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff captained Italy to their 1982 World Cup win at the age of 40, rounding off an extraordinary international career with the Azzurri.
Zoff made his Italy debut way back in 1968 and was a starter for the Azzurri in their European Championship success that year. Between 1972 and 1974, he went 1,142 minutes without conceding a goal for Italy in a new clean sheet record and eventually retired in 1983 with 112 appearances, making him the nation's most-capped player at that time.
8. Andrea Pirlo
A deep-lying playmaker with extraordinary technical ability and vision, Andrea Pirlo featured for a decade in a great AC Milan side and later prolonged his career in a memorable spell at Juventus.
At the heart of some great Italian teams between 2002 and 2015, Pirlo was key in the Azzurri's 2006 World Cup win. Man of the Match against Germany in the semi-finals as he assisted Fabio Grosso for the opening goal, the midfielder took the corner for Marco Materazzi's goal in the final. He also won three Man of the Match awards at Euro 2012 as Italy reached the final.
7. Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi made over 700 appearances in a wonderful career spent entirely at AC Milan, winning three European Cups and six Serie A titles with the Rossoneri.
A World Cup winner without playing a single match in 1982, Baresi missed a penaty in the shootout as Italy lost on penalties to Brazil in the 1994 final. He is considered one of the greatest defenders in the history of football.
6. Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti stayed loyal to Roma throughout his long career, despite interest from many of Europe's elite clubs, and helped Italy win the World Cup in 2006.
Totti played with metal screws and plates in his ankle at Germany 2006, but featured in all seven matches, scoring a winning penalty against Australia and assisting four goals en route to the trophy. One of Italy's all-time greats.
5. Gianni Rivera
Gianni Rivera was a gifted playmaker for AC Milan and the Italian national team in the 1960s and 1970s.
Ballon d'Or winner in 1969 and a runner-up six years earlier, Rivera hit the winner in extra time as Italy beat West Germany in the teams' epic World Cup semi-final in 1970, but was controversially left on the bench until very late in their 4-1 defeat to Brazil in the final.
4. Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe Meazza is one of only three Italians, along with Giovanni Ferrari and Eraldo Monzeglio, to have won two World Cups – in 1934 and 1938.
A legendary forward who spent most of his career at Inter before a brief spell at AC Milan, Meazza scored 33 goals in 53 games for Italy and captained the Azzurri to their 1938 triumph. Milan's iconic San Siro stadium is officially named after him.
3. Gianluigi Buffon
Italy's most-capped player, a World Cup winner and one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Gianluigi Buffon played for the Azzurri for over 20 years.
Buffon won the Golden Glove after keeping five clean sheets en route to the World Cup win in 2006 and finished second in the Ballon d'Or vote that year. He was also named as Serie A's goalkeeper of the year on 13 occasions.
2. Paolo Maldini
Widely considered as one of the greatest defenders of all time, Paolo Maldini spent his entire career at AC Milan and played 126 times for Italy between 1988 and 2002.
A stylish left-back or central defender, Maldini finished as runner-up at the 1994 World Cup and again at Euro 2000, retiring after the Azzurri's World Cup exit to South Korea in 2002. Deserved to win a major honour with his nation.
1. Roberto Baggio
One of Italy's most emblematic and much-loved footballers, Roberto Baggio's international career is unfairly remembered by many for his missed penalty against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup final.
Were it not for Baggio's brilliance, Italy would not have been in the final in the first place. He returned four years later and scored a penalty against Chile, but Italy went out in a shootout for the third World Cup in a row – this time in the quarter-finals. Scored 27 goals in his 56 appearances.
