Best Players in Italy

[USAstriker7]

Francesco Totti and Paolo Maldini have to be the best players in Italy, I mean come on, tell me what ya'll think.

[SueB]

Maldini, not anymore. Too old. Alessandro Nesta is the best defender. And Vieri is the best Italian striker. I'd agree that Totti is the best creator. And Toldo and Buffon are two of the best keepers in the world. Unfortunately, Italy's problem these days is a lack of world class midfielders although the recent addition of Camaronesi beefs up the pool, at least in terms of attacking flank players.

[BadAzzSnowboarder]

Vieri is overrated.

I'd say Totti. He is probably the smartest and frighteningly instinctual offensive MF in the world. Not to mention physically strong and imposing for an average build footballer(in ITaly, I guess he'd be considered tall). Too bad he's stuck with a crap club and a crap national team.

I don't think he's truly shined yet and there are loads more undiscovered potential hidden somewhere. He's just been unfortunate to have been coached by two of biggest morons in Italian football history. Cappello could f u- ck up a cup of coffee and Trappatoni is well... Trappatoni. Trap doesn't realize he needs to build the Italian national team's tactics based on individual characteristics of his players instead of making his players adapt to HIS characteristics and tactics.

Under a manager like Hiddink, Del Bosque, Wenger, or even Koeman, Totti would be the world's greatest MF.

[SueB]

I didn't get past the part about Totti being tall and physically imposing. :rolleyes:

[USAstriker7]

What about Il Mostro, I forgot to talk about him, come on guys, Christian Vieri is awesome, he plays for Inter and he is vicous, what do ya'll think abou him? tell me what ya'll think

[ECMoney]

Christian Vieri is not over-rated, he is a great striker but is constantly hurt and can't play a full season if his life depended on it. But he has a tremendous goal rate of a goal - a - game.

As for Francesco Totti, he is definitely Italy's best player. I truly beleive that he is one of the Top 5 players in the game today. Del Piero is also a gifted player but Totti can read the field and play a bit better than Del Piero (in my opinion).

[Omicron]

Vieri is actually the leader of serie A for goal made.
In the last year (including FIFA WORLD CUP) he made a goal every 99 minutes played... Specially in Italy that's abslolutely over-human.

About Totti, Buffon, Toldo, Nesta, Cannavaro...
Everyone knows they are great players.

I just wont to remember Roberto Baggio, Vincenzo Montella, Andrea Pirlo, Enrico Chiesa.

[idi amin]

Cassano

[Emre5]

Are you guys that nationalistic?

PAVEL NEDVED plays in Italy.

[SueB]

Ummmm, errrrrr ... this is the ITALY NATIONAL TEAM forum.

[Mark424]

Christian Vieri! Without a doubt the most dangerous man that Trap has in his arsenal.

Totti is fantastic ... especially when he kicks the ball to Vieri.

[thespinydogfish]

Originally posted by USAstriker7
What about Il Mostro, I forgot to talk about him, come on guys, Christian Vieri is awesome, he plays for Inter and he is vicous, what do ya'll think abou him? tell me what ya'll think

I still blame that ugly Australian for screwing up the WC for Italia against South Korea. The Italian media wanted to bitch and moan about unfair refs, blah blah blah - but the real facts are glaringly obvious: if Vieri had finished ONE of his excellent opportunities on goal we might not have been talking about a Brazilian victory.

[thespinydogfish]

Originally posted by Omicron
Vieri is actually the leader of serie A for goal made.
In the last year (including FIFA WORLD CUP) he made a goal every 99 minutes played... Specially in Italy that's abslolutely over-human.

About Totti, Buffon, Toldo, Nesta, Cannavaro...
Everyone knows they are great players.

I just wont to remember Roberto Baggio, Vincenzo Montella, Andrea Pirlo, Enrico Chiesa.

Montella: under-used, under-valued and under-recognized. Amen, let's give props to this classy forward.

Baggio: a legend worthy of all good that can be said of him.

[italia_in_02]

Originally posted by thespinydogfish
I still blame that ugly Australian for screwing up the WC for Italia against South Korea. The Italian media wanted to bitch and moan about unfair refs, blah blah blah - but the real facts are glaringly obvious: if Vieri had finished ONE of his excellent opportunities on goal we might not have been talking about a Brazilian victory.

Totally true. Vieri had that one chance where all he had to do was tap it into the lower corner......yet somehow defying the laws of physics, he sent it up and over the bar from ground level w/ the goal at his mercy...

[BadReligion]

Originally posted by Emre5
Are you guys that nationalistic?

PAVEL NEDVED plays in Italy.

I would agree that Nedved is the best player in Serie A, but this discussion is about Italian players. I think Vieri is the best Italian player at the moment. Cannavaro, Nesta, and Buffon are also right up there. Totti is good when he wants to be, but as of late I haven't been too impressed by him. Still, when he's on he's pretty incredible.

[pulvino]

"yet somehow defying the laws of physics, he sent it up and over the bar from ground level w/ the goal at his mercy..."

does anybody know how that did happen. if i remember the thing right he was around 2yds from goal and stretched out his leg and kind of slid and popped it over. i can see it going wide but not over the goal. maybe i didnt see it right and he was actually able to put power on it

[Brian32683]

Nesta is the best overall player... he prevents more goals than Totti/Vieri score together (although they are both incredible).

Anyway:

1. Nesta
2. Vieri
3. Totti
4. Cannanaro
5. Buffon (maybe)

[dj_juve_bro10]

While i think that vieri is an extremely good FINISHER, i really don't believe that he's the best player. For me a truly great player isn't someone who care score a bunch of goals. Look at Inzaghi, i seriously think that this guy is one of the worst players i have ever seen, but for some reason, he scores so many goals. He's always in the right place at the right time. Though he usually ets the chance to put 5 in the other teams net and scores once, but a 1/5 ratio isn't bad. As for The Best players in Italy goes, Del Piero is a sentimental favorite, but i have to hand it to Totti, he's pretty damn good too. I say they're about even ;)

[romagol10]

Francesco Totti is the best attacking player. Del Piero probably would be if he hadn't suffered his injury, I don't think he's been the same player scince then. Vieri is one of the top 5 goal scorers in the world. Totti is one of the top 5 attacking players in the world. Nesta I believe is the best defender in the World but I can't compare him to Totti as they have such different roles for the Italian national team. So I'll be biased and say Totti is the best :).

[Parmigiano]

Totti, yes. But the guy is very frustrating. He has never really achieved a consistent level of great play like Zidane or Nedved, even though he seems to have the talent. I blame it on Totti's attitude and mentality, which are typical of his native Rome, the Caput Mundi of fatalism, laziness and eternal excuses.

There, I got that off my chest.

Otherwise, I want to tip my hat to two outgoing greats: Roberto Baggio and Gianfranco Zola, two of the classiest players of their generation. Too bad they always had to compete for the same jersey on La Nazionale. (And here I again wonder why any coach in his right mind couldn't find room on the same team for two such geniuses. Ugh, Italian tactics!!) Also, I think both of them got screwed out of more Azzurri appearances with the arrival of Del Piero -- yet another "eterno incompiuto," a guy who has never really lived up to the admittedly enormous expectations that he generated as a 19 and 20-year-old, when he bumped Baggio off Juve.

I mean, Baggio coming off the bench for the lump of flesh that was Del Piero nearly propelled an unworthy Italy over France in '98 -- oh how close was that last-gasp shot? Coupla centmtrs...and Italy was in the final. (Sorry, Croatia.)

And Del Piero can be virtually credited with Italy's loss to France in 2000. He had two clean chances to double Delvecchio's strike and make it 2-0. He missed both.

The thirtysomething Zola, still going strong, would have nailed one of those -- as would have Il Divin Codino.

Well, just my two cents....

Italy is still loaded with talent, too bad the coach won't assemble it all on the same 11.

Meanwhile, for my money neither Totti nor Del Piero has risen to the level of Baggio or Zola, either as players or personalities.

Not yet, at least.