Italian Sports Legends
The greatest italian sports people of all time — across 8 sports.
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⚽ Football
Italian
Paolo Maldini
Left Back/Centre Back
Paolo Cesare Maldini was born in Milan in 1968, the son of AC Milan captain Cesare Maldini, and joined the clu…
Italian
Franco Baresi
Centre Back/Sweeper
AC Milan's imperious sweeper and Italy captain — arguably the greatest defensive organiser the game has ever s…
Italian
Andrea Pirlo
Deep-Lying Playmaker
Andrea Pirlo was born in Flero, near Brescia, in 1979 and became the finest deep-lying playmaker of the modern…
Italian
Francesco Totti
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
Francesco Totti was born in Rome in 1976, grew up a Roma supporter and spent his entire 25-year professional c…
Italian
Alessandro Del Piero
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
Juventus' beloved attacking midfielder, Italy's World Cup winner and the club's all-time leading scorer.…
Italian
Roberto Baggio
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
The Divine Ponytail — Italy's 1994 World Cup Golden Boot winner whose missed penalty in the final defined and …
Italian
Fabio Cannavaro
Centre Back
Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning captain and Ballon d'Or winner — one of the finest defenders of his generation.…
Italian
Gianluigi Buffon
Goalkeeper
Italy's World Cup-winning goalkeeper and Juventus's towering presence in goal across three decades — widely co…
Italian
Salvatore Schillaci
Centre Forward
Toto Schillaci — the most celebrated one-tournament wonder in football history who came from nowhere to win th…
Italian
Gianfranco Zola
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
Football at the highest level rewards technical mastery, physical conditioning and the mental fortitude to per…
Italian
Andrea Pirlo
Midfielder
The Architect — the most elegant deep-lying playmaker in football history, World Cup winner and Serie A titan.…
Italian
Gianluigi Buffon
Goalkeeper
The most capped Italian player in history — World Cup winner and the greatest Italian goalkeeper of all time.…
Italian
Gianfranco Zola
Forward/Attacking Midfielder
The little magician — voted Chelsea's greatest ever player by the fans who watched him.…
Italian
Andrea Pirlo II
Midfielder
The Architect — the man who controlled matches from deep with the game's most elegant long-range passing.…
Italian
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Goalkeeper
The Euro 2020 Golden Glove winner who debuted at 16 — Italy's most important goalkeeper since Buffon.…
Italian
Roberto Baggio
Forward
The Divine Ponytail — the most gifted Italian forward of his era and the man who missed the 1994 World Cup Fin…
Italian
Franco Baresi
Defender
The greatest centre-back in football history — AC Milan's sweeper across three decades.…
Italian
Paolo Maldini
Defender
The most elegant defender who ever lived — AC Milan for 25 years and seven Champions League finals.…
Italian
Roberto Mancini
Forward/Manager
From Euro 2020 manager to Champions League winner as manager — football's most elegant midfielder turned coach…
🏇 Horse Racing
Italian/British
Frankie Dettori
Flat Racing Jockey
Lanfranco Dettori was born in Milan in 1970, the son of champion Italian jockey Gianfranco Dettori, and became…
Italian/British
Frankie Dettori
Jockey
The Magnificent Seven — all seven winners at Ascot on one day in 1998, the most celebrated individual racing d…
🏁 Motorsport
Italian
Valentino Rossi
MotoGP Rider
Nine-time MotoGP World Champion and the most celebrated motorcycle racer in history.…
Italian
Valentino Rossi
Motorcycle Racer
The Doctor — nine World Championship titles and the most beloved motorcycle racer in history.…
Italian
Loris Capirossi
Motorcycle Racer
Multiple World Championship titles — one of MotoGP's most loved veterans.…
Italian
Giacomo Agostini
Grand Prix Motorcycle Racer
15 World Championship titles — Giacomo Agostini is the most decorated motorcycle racer in history.…
🎾 Tennis
🏎️ Formula 1
Italian
Lella Lombardi
Racing Driver
The only woman to score points in a Formula 1 World Championship race — Lombardi earned half a point at the 19…
Italian
Maria Teresa de Filippis
Racing Driver
The first woman to start a Formula 1 World Championship race — competed in three Grands Prix in 1958 and 1959,…