5 Greatest Italian Footballers of All Time

1.Gianni Rivera:

Gianni Rivera

Rivera was the greatest among all the legendary footballers Italy has produced and was an inspiration to a whole generation of footballers. He played for AC Milan from 1960 to 1979 and scored 164 goals in 658 matches for them. He was also a part of the Italian national team in the 1960s and 1970s, and won the Ballon d’Or in 1969.

Rivera was an attacking midfielder, who also managed to score quite a few goals in his career. He was a part of the Italian national team that finished runners-up in the 1970 World Cup. He won the European Championship with Italy in 1968. He also won 3 Serie A titles with Milan and remained one of the premier players in the world in his prime.

Rivera earned 60 caps for Italy and scored 14 goals for them. He also finished runner-up in Ballon d’Or in 1963. His passing and shooting skills were exceptionally good and he was duly adjudged the greatest Italian player of the 20th century in 1999.