The Great Italian Player Thread [Post-1990]

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

OK, one of Italy's most consistent defenders: Ciro Ferrara...
(Sue I hope you don't mind, I stole your picture):

An inspiration to everyone at Juventus FC, Ciro Ferrara remains one of Italy's most experienced defenders, despite often being deployed as a substitute as he reaches the end of an illustrious and truly incredible career, which has seen the defender win every honor in club football.
He won 49 caps for Italy in an international career spanning 13 years. He debuted against Argentina in 1987 and played until Euro 2000, where he claimed a silver medal. He missed out on the '94 and '98 WC's.
He was born on November 2, 1967 in Napoli. He started playing with his hometown club. He made his Napoli debut against his future-employers Juventus in May 1985. Ferrara spent nine seasons at the San Paolo stadium and even lived next-door to Maradona while at Napoli. In a side spearheaded by Diego Maradona, he won Scudetto's with the Southern club in 1987 and 1990. The highlight of his career was the goal in 1989 UEFA Cup final against Stuttgart, which gave Napoli the win and his first European trophy. He stayed until 1994, when he was bought by Juventus.
It was in Torino that he won so much silverware. Juventus claimed the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, European/South American Cup, and five Scudetto's in his time at the club. Ferrara's crowning glory came when Juventus defeated defending champions AFC Ajax on penalties in the 1996 Champions League final. He scored a penalty. He is the only player to have won 7 scudetto's. After playing 30 Serie A matches in 2001/02, Ferrara followed it up with another 25 as Juve claimed back-to-back titles. He scored once in 12 Champions League appearances but was powerless to prevent AC Milan winning the competition on penalties at Old Trafford following the 0-0 draw after regulation time. Ferrara was also the lead singer for Juventus when they performed their rendition of Lucio Battisti's song "Il Mio Canto Libero". The song, along with others, were put on a CD and the proceeds went to charity. Last season he scored his first Serie A goal in four seasons as Juve finished third, but missed out on a medal in the Coppa Italia as S.S. Lazio triumphed over two legs. Ferrara had earlier signed another one-year deal to remain in Turin until 2005. He will hang up his boots at the end of this season, and Juventus has already lined up a job for him working in the front office when he retires. Italy will lose of it's most talented defenders of the present era in June...

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

I think I'm going to postpone Mancini and Donadoni and do Fabrizio Ravanelli next.

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

thanks for the compliments, i try my best. Plus, I made the icon myself...It's amazing what the computer program Paint can do these days...

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Here's Roberto Donadoni:

Roberto Donadoni was born September 9, 1963 in Cisano Bergamasco, a small town outside of Bergamo. He was a cornerstone of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League Soccer, where he played two seasons for the MetroStars.
Donadoni started his career with his hometown team,Atalanta, in 1982. He transferred to Milan in 1986 and became a mainstay in the team. Usually playing a left midfield role, Donadoni was a vital fixture in a team that won five Serie A titles, three European Cups, three European Super Cups, and 2 Toyota Cups. A member of the Italian national team, he played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, helping Italy to third and second place finishes respectively. In the 1990 World Cup, he was one of the unlucky Italians that missed a penalty against Argentina in the semi-finals. Italy were eliminated, and Donadoni never took another penalty in his career.
The MetroStars of MLS made him a centerpiece of their franchise when they signed him in 1996. While with the Metros, he was recalled to the Italian national team and was widely considered their best player at Euro 96, at the age of 32. He came back to MLS, but in the league's first two formative years, Donadoni's class was often wasted. He still proved a spectacular performer, being named to the league Best XI in 1996. Unfortunately, Donadoni's genius could not bring the MetroStars any success.
Berlusconi described Donadoni as a player that could "light up any stadium".
He went back to AC Milan after the 1997 MLS season, and promptly helped them to another Serie A title, his sixth. He ended his career by playing two games with Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia.
Never a big scorer, Donadoni scored just 21 goals for Milan and 6 for the MetroStars. He added 5 for Italy in 63 caps. After retiring as a player, he coached Livorno(while in Serie B) and Genoa. Now, Livorno has called him back and he is having a succesful run as their head coach, leading them to a first year "Salvezza"(avoiding relegation).

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Here is the Silver Fox, Fabrizio Ravanelli:

“White Feather”, "Silver Fox", "Penna Bianca": These are all nicknames for the great Fabrizio Ravanelli. All these nicknames derive from his grey hair, from which he had since a teenager. He is also famous for his shirt over the head celebration. Sometimes sponsors paid him to wear their t-shirts and show the sponsor's name when he scored. He started small in Itay. He started playing with his hometown club Perugia and then went to Avellino, Casertana and Reggiana. Then he went from Reggiana, who were in Serie B, to Juventus. Many talked about how a great club would pick up a Serie B player. Ravanelli was a powerful, robust, and talented forward. The 94-95 season at Juve was memorable and was Lippi's debut. Juve had a ferocious attacking pair of Vialli-Ravanelli with Roberto Baggio supporting or the emerging talent Del Piero. He scored the go-ahead goal against Ajax in the 1996 Champion's League final, which Juve won in PK's. He was loved by Juve's fans but was a little hot-tempered. He felt betrayed when he was sold to Middlesborough, expecting the captain's armband from Juve after the departure of Vialli. He debutted for Boro with a hat-trick against Liverpool, a Premiership record. He helped them to win the European Cup that year. He is then sold to Marseille. He helps Marseille to first place, but many referee scandals occurred at the time. Also, he is a big part of Italy's World Cup qualifying campaign for France '98. But like Zola, he is also cut from Maldini's '98 squad. After a three year absence, he returns to Italy in December 1999 with Lazio. He helps Lazio to the Scudetto that year, but leaves for Derby County. He spends a couple of seasons there, then moves to Scotland with Dundee. Dundee goes into administration and he offers to get a pay cut, but it doesn't help. Last season, Perugia, desperate for a star player after the departure of Miccoli, bring Ravanelli back to his hometown. His objective is to lead Perugia away from the relegation zone. He leads valiantly, leading Perugia out of the automatic relegation spots, finishing in a play-off spot. Perugia had to play 6th place Serie B side Fiorentina and win to stay in Serie A. A loss would mean Serie B, and Fiorentina going to Serie A. Fiorentina won the playoff 2-1 on aggregate, and Perugia dropped down to B. He is currently still playing with Perugia.

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

I think since I haven't done a goalkeeper yet, than I'll do Gianluca Pagliuca. Any objections/suggestions?

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Good catch Phillips10, I made a mistake. That goes with Lazio....Anyway I'm going to do Pagliuca next.

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Maybe I'll do a special 'double feature', Peruzzi and Pagliuca, Italy's 2 best goalkeepers in the 90's.

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Here's Gianluca Pagliuca:

Gianluca Pagliuca was born on December 18, 1966, in Bologna. His football career also began there in 1984 when he joined his hometown club Bologna, playing at that time in Serie B. He was sold to Sampdoria. His Serie A debut took place for Sampdoria on May 8, 1988, in a 0-0 draw between Sampdoria and Pisa. These seasons at Samp were probably the best in his career.
Remaining with Sampdoria until the 93-94 season, and having become one of the best goalkeepers in Italy, he also received his first call-up to the national team. He played for the Azzurri for the first time in a 1-1 draw with the USSR on June 16, 1991. At Samp, he won the scudetto in 1991. The legendary Samp side had him, Roberto Mancini, and Gianluca Vialli playing on it. They lost in the Champion's League final to Barcelona the following year 1-0. The goal game on a thunderous drive from Ronald Koeman, and Pagliuca couldn't do anything to stop it. He was Italy's starting 'keeper for the 1994 World Cup in the USA. He also picked up a red card and was substituted by Marchegiani, and that was the controversial game where Sacchi decided to pull Roby Baggio off the field. Italy went to final and Pagliuca played valiantly, but ITaly lost in PK's. Inter purchased Gianluca after the World Cup to replace an aging Walter Zenga, and for the next five seasons he became the "bulwark of the nerazzurri defense", in the words of a RAI commentator. He won the UEFA Cup with them in the 97-98 season. He was the starting 'keeper for Italy at France '98 because of an injury to starter Peruzzi. He was excellent in the 1998 World Cup and made some unbelievable, acrobatic saves. "The Inter keeper supplements his notable experience by excellent reflexes and great acrobatic talents. "Stalwart and trustworthy, he has defended the Italian goal extremely well at the World Cup in France" - wrote about him Italian newspapers. Russian commentators declared him to be goalie in the best form. After Inter's difficult 98-99 season Pagliuca found his future uncertain with the arrival of new coach Marcello Lippi. Pagliuca returned to Bologna, signing a two-year contract - a happy homecoming. He is still playing with the club and has over 550 Serie A appearances. One of his goals is to play until his early 40's. Even at the ripe old age of 38, Pagliuca is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in Italy right now. He plays great every game and always keeps Bologna in the game. I might sound crazy, but with Italy's second goalkeeper choice uncertain, I would have Gianluca sit on the bench...

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Sorry, forgot a Picture:

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

thanks for the suggestions, I was actually thinking of doing Lentini...maybe he will be next...

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Here's Gianlugi Lentini:

Lentini was born in 1969 in a small town named Carmagnola outside of Torino. He was part of there Primavera squad. He made his debut on a cold November day in 1986. It was a 2-0 loss to Brescia. After that game, he made 10 more appearances that season and 11 more the season after.La He had talent. He had a good physique, great dribbling, and great crossing. Er nato un altro Claudio Sala? O assomigliava più a Gigi Meroni? Torino decided to loan him out to Serie B side Ancona in 1989. He became a great player, and Torino took him back. Torino went from Serie B to the Uefa Cup final in a year, with Lentini and veteran Bruno Giordano leading the way. He was an idol to teenage girls everywhere. He made his Azzurri debut in Feb. 1991 against Belgium. Torino ran into economic trouble and put Lentini on the transfer list. There was already a pre-contract signed with Juventus, but the fans would not let Torino sell Lentini to there arch-rivals. He was sold to Milan for a record breaking 16 million lire. That was a lot of money in those days to spend on a soccer player. Lentini started his career at Milan brilliantly. He had luxury cars, the national team, and beautiful girls all at his fingertips. He was the protagonist of Milan's 1993 Scudetto win. But then, that summer, drama came: His car crashed into a guard-rail on the expressway. After days in a comma, he finally woke up, but he was not the same player. After that he seemed depressed, he always looked unhappy, he was not playing well. He spent three years suffering at Milan, but was given new life at Atalanta under coach Mondonico, but he left soon. Torino was in Serie B and he wanted to return to wear the Granata jersey. Three diligent seasons, one promotion in Serie A, but the skills that Lentini once had were just not there. For the past 4 years he was playing at Cosenza, a Serie B team that last year played in C1. But, like Napoli, they went bankrupt, and were relegated to Serie D. They are now playing in Serie D with Gianluigi Lentini leading the way. Maybe Lentini would've been a superstar if he hadn't gotten into that car accident. We'll never know...

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Ok, Looks Like I'll be doing these players next:

1)Giannini
2)Maldini
3)Vialli

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

My curiosity about Schillaci's career led me to finding information on him. So here it is: It's probably the shortest one I've done bcause he had a relatively short career.


Salvatore Schillaci seemingly came from nowhere. But the 1990 World Cup made Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci a world star. His six goals in the tournament saw him net the Golden Boot and become Italy’s overnight scoring sensation, leaving the more acclaimed Gianluca Vialli in the shadows.
Born and bred in the streets of Palermo, Schillaci learned his trade on the roadsides of Sicily. "He was born to score goals," says Angelo Chianello, the scout who spotted him. "He was like Santa Rosalina to the people of Sicily. He was ours. But above all he was mine because I saw him grow up."
Schillaci used to play on one street corner in particular and had a reputation in the neighbourhood as a real talent. So much so that people would often look out of their windows and balconies to see the youngster play.
He was spotted by Chianello, a Messina scout. Messina picked up the young Sicilian and Toto grabbed the attention of many big clubs because of his performances in Serie B.
He arrived at Juventus in the season prior to the Finals from Serie B and earned a place in the squad with 15 goals in 30 games for I Bianconeri. The first game Italy played was against Austria. Italy coach Azeglio Vicini did not know his strike pair until 10 minutes before the game. He chose a Vialli-Carnevale tandem. Gianluca Vialli was being tipped to be Italy's star player in the tournament, but Toto took that away. Carnevale played with Napoli and Vicini decide to give him a go. The score was 0-0. Italy backup keeper Stefano Tacconi was sitting next to Toto on the bench and told him, "You're going to go in a score on a header." Surely enough, Schillaci was brought on for Carnevale and on a cross by Giuseppe Giannini, he rose up between two defenders and headed the ball in the net. Italy won 1-0. His six goals were key to Italy’s third place finish as his strikes and bulging eyes caught the public’s imagination. He emerged as Italy's tournament hero.
However, post World Cup Schillaci would struggle to be the same player. He was closely man-marked and eventually dropped from the national side. A move to Inter followed but regular goals were never to be his again until a move to Jubilo Iwata in Japan in the J-League. He had a pretty succesful career in Japan, scoring 56 goals in 78 games before retiring. He now lives in Palermo and runs a soccer academy for youth players.

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

He's one of Roma's legends: Giuseppe "Il Principe" Giannini

Giuseppe Giannini was born in Rome on August 28, 1964. He played in the streets of ROme when he was young and Lazio, Milan, and Roma were all in the race to get the promising youngster. He decided to go with Roma, his favorite team since he had been a little boy. He debuted in Serie A January 31, 1982 in Roma-Cesena(0-1). He was nicknamed the "Principe" (Prince) for his elegance with the ball, how he was so calm when he recieved the ball and put his head up and looked where to pass it. He was admired by many of Roma's stars, Falco especially. He soon became captain, and he had the bad luck of never getting to play in a championship Roma squad. As much of a good player he was, he never won the scudetto. The most he came close to winning anything was the UEFA Cup final which they lost to Inter, and the Coppa Italia final. In 1990 he played in the World Cup with the #10 jersey, he scored a goal against the USA, but then lost to Argentina in the semi's. He played 47 games with the Azzurri. With Roma he played from 1981 to 1996, playing 319 games, scoring 49 goals. In European play, he played 80 games and 19 goals.
He left ater the 1995/96 season along with coach Mazzone, Roma wanted to go with a foreign coach, Carlos Bianchi. That season, Giannini missed a Penalty in the derby with Lazio and Sensi criticized him heavily, and Giannini no longer felt wanted. After Roma he went to Sturm Graz in Austria, then returned to Italy to play a few games with Lecce on their return to Serie A. On May 17, 2000 they played his farewell game, Italia 1990 vs. Super Roma. The game was abandoned after the first half because fans invaded the pitch. In 2002 he became an analyst on RAI International's soccer show "La Grande Giostra dei Gol", but got his coaching license last year and was hired by Serie C1 side Foggia. He got the axe earlier this year.

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

One of Italy's most loved players: Paolo Maldini

Paolo was born in Milan June 26, 1968. His father Cesare was an AC Milan legend. Interestingly enough, Paolo was a Juventus fan as a little boy, but because of his father's Milan history, he joined Milan's youth academy. He started out as a striker! But the coach saw he could make a big impact at left-back with his strength, speed, and left foot. He became a fan of Milan as he played on their youth team. And, on the 20th of January, 1985, Maldini, age 16, made his debut for Milan as a second-half substitute against Udinese. Milan's roster was infested by injuries and Paolo was called up by coach Neils Leidhom. He has now over 530 appearances in Italy's top flight and 25 goals. That next season, at 17, he was a regular on the Milan backline alongside legend Franco Baresi. He made his Azzurri debut a year later in 1986, in a friendly versus Holland. His first major tournament was Euro '88, which the Dutch won, and Italy lost in the semi's. His azzurri record is 126 caps, and 7 goals. He has won a trophy for Milan in every season that he has played except a drought period from 1999-2000 to 2001-2002. He took over the captain's armband for Milan and Italy from Franco Baresi after he retired from each. Paolo has come close to winning a World Cup in 90 and 94, and was seconds away from a European Championship (2000), but even though he has had a superb club career, he has never won anything internationally. He was coached by his dad during WC 98, but Italy lost on penalties to France. He was only coached by his dad one other time in his career, and that was when he was Interim manager of Milan when Zaccheroni was sacked. He retired from the Azzurri after the upset against the Koreans in WC 2002. Many called for his Azzurri return for Euro 2004, but he declined for 'personal reasons'. He was and still is one the world's best defenders, and was probably the best at the peak of his career. He has never won a Golden Ball but has won the World Soccer Player of the Year award in 1994. Also in 1994, Giorgio Armani got Maldini to model his clothing. Maldini is not an arrogant or loud person. He's very quiet, and he always keeps his cool. He is an ambassador for UNICEF, and always wears a UNICEF captain's armband. He is married with two sons. He also likes rap music and Eros Ramazzotti. He has also been contracted to sportswear company Nike since 1992. Maldini is one of the most loved players in the game and when he retires, it's going to be a sad day...

 

Re: The Great Italian Player Thread

Here's Gianluca Vialli:

Vialli wins the Champion's League with Juventus in '96


Gianluca Vialli was born on July 7, 1964 in Cremona. Unlike many players that grew up poor, Vialli's father was a multi-millionaire industrialist and Vialli grew up in 60-room castle. He later joined the youth team of his hometown club, Cremonese. He later makes it on the Cremonese roster and makes his debut in Serie A in the 193-84 season. In his Serie A career, he has scored 123 goals in over 300 appearances. He is transferred to Sampdoria, and there he makes a phenomenal attacking pair with Roberto Mancini. They are nicknamed "I Gemelli dei Gol" (the Goal Twins). They were both constantly scoring for Samp. Thanks to there goals, Samp becomes one of the strongest teams in Italy and Europe. In 1990 they win a Cup-Winner's Cup and in 1991 they help Samp win their first and only Scudetto. This was probably the best part of Sampdoria's history.
He debuts with the Azzurri in 1985, and played in Euro '88 and World Cup 1990. He gathered 59 caps with them. He was supposed to be a major player at the World Cup, but was overshadowed by the success of Salvatore Schillaci and young Roberto Baggio. After some run-in's with Azzurri coach Arrigo Sacchi, December 1992 is the last time Vialli would ever wear an Azzurri jersey. He is then sold to Juventus. With the bianconeri he wins a Scudetto (1995), a UEFA Cup (1993), and a Champion's League (1996). He forms a devastating attacking trio with Ravanelli and Baggio and later, Ravanelli and Del Piero.
At the start of the 1996-97 season he is one of the first Italian players to play outside of Italy. He is signed by Chelsea, coached at the time by Milan legend Ruud Guillit. They win an FA Cup.
In 1998, Giullit is sacked and Vialli becomes player-manager. Under his guidance, Chelsea wins an FA Cup and a Cup-Winner's Cup. He stayed on until 2000, then became manager of Watford. He was sacked and is now an analyst for SKY Italia. He has said that he will only accept another coaching job if the right offer comes along.