During the 90’s Italy was blessed with producing a number of fantastic number 10’s. The country that gave us the term ‘fantasista’ now had an abundance to choose from. We take a quick look at the best five… because ten were too hard to find, but if you can think of another five then feel free to add them to the comments section below.
5. Francesco Totti
Whilst Totti’s finer successes would come later than in the 90’s, he just makes the list, edging out his idol and another great Italian number 10 Guiseppe Giannini, who he would also go onto replace as captain and the very heartbeat of their beloved Roma. It was during this decade that Totti announced his arrival in Serie A, making his debut in 1993 as a precocious 16 year old. By 1995 he was a first team regular and in 1997 he was given the captaincy – in the process becoming the golden boy and symbol of his hometown club. 1998 saw him called up to the national side for the first time, qualifying for Euro 2000 where he would go onto star.
Er Pupone or il Gladiatore, as he is known, played in a variety of attacking positions before establishing himself in the trequartista role later in the decade, culminated in him winning the leagues Young Player of the Year award.
90’s clubs: Roma
90’s Apps/Goals: 173/48
90’s honours: Serie A Young Player of the Year
4. Gianfranco Zola
A student of Diego Maradona’s whilst at Napoli, Zola’s free-kick expertise was phenomenal, scoring a number in a fashion identical to the legendary Argentine. It wasn’t just free-kicks the young Zola learnt whilst at Napoli though, his trickery and dribbling also became a trademark.
Whilst understudy to Diego, Zola earned his first call-up to the national team in 1991, though his international career would never really flourish – his path blocked by another number 10, the great Roberto Baggio.
A place Zola did flourish was Parma where he moved to in 1993, becoming part of one of the most exciting success stories in 90’s Serie A folklore. At Parma, Zola was king for a period of time. The creative genius in an attacking team that won both the UEFA and Italian cup in 1995, whilst almost winning Serie A.
Zola became one of the first pioneers for the foreign boom in the English Premier League, joining Chelsea in 1996. He is one of only a few Italian’s to truly flourish whilst playing outside of Serie A, taking the English league by storm winning the league’s Player of the Year award and establishing himself as a club legend. The diminutive fantasista’s repertoire of tricks and guile was a joy to watch in a more open and attacking league, as he inspired Chelsea to cup silverware at home and in Europe.
90’s clubs: Napoli, Parma, Chelsea
90’s Apps/Goals: 309/112
90’s honours: UEFA Cup, UEFA Supercup x 2, UEFA Cup Winners Cup, FA Cup x 2, League Cup, Coppa Italia, Premier League Player of the Year.
3. Roberto Mancini
Very few Premier League fans will know of Mancini’s exploits as a player, but in his day he was quite the player. His 90’s career is virtually bookended by winning Serie A, with his creative, graceful style in direct conflict with his fiery, explosive temperament – ‘Mancio’ was a spectacle to behold the entire decade.
It began with a bang, gaining a bronze medal as part of Italy’s 1990 World Cup squad, and then by firing his beloved Sampdoria to their only Serie A championship in 1991 – where he had formed a fearsome partnership upfront with long-time friend Gianluca Vialli. The ‘terrible twins’ as they were known, ran riot home and abroad, reaching the European Cup final at Wembley in 1992 only to succumb to Barcelona.
Vialli moved on but Mancini stayed and seemed to grow as a player, becoming a symbol and captain. His fiery attitude on the pitch would often see him arguing with match officials for what seemed an age, but those moments were regularly overshadowed by his genius. Not as prolific as some players in his role, it was the quality of his strikes which really stood out above the others. From flicks to volleys, his goals were often works of art. Probably overlooked outside of Italy, his international career was always hindered by a plethora of quality number 10’s Italy produced at the time.
Mancini moved to Lazio in 1997 nearing the twilight of his career, ending the decade with a League and Cup double and winning the league’s Player of the Year award.
90’s clubs: Sampdoria, Lazio
90’s Apps/Goals: 296/95
90’s honours: FIFA World Cup bronze medal, Serie A title x 2, UEFA Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Supercup, Coppa Italia x 3, Serie A Player of the Year
2. Alessandro Del Piero
A Juventus legend and still going strong, it was in the 90’s when il Pinturicchio announced his arrival to the world, then took it by storm. The rise of a dominant Juventus side in the late 90’s helped to establish Del Peiro’s fame, particularly in Europe.
Signed by La Vecchia Signora in 1993 Alex played further forward as a striker, though he had all the tools any true number 10 needs. Once the fantasista role (and number 10 shirt) was vacated by Roberto Baggio in 1995, Alex slotted in and never looked back, though was often used as a second striker when tactical adjustments were used. His movement, vision and particularly his curling strikes into the far corner of the net became his trademark. So much so that they name an area of the pitch after him, the danger zone from where he used to shoot from – the ‘Del Piero zone’. He was also a dead ball specialist, scoring free-kicks and penalties with seeming ease.
During the late 90’s Juventus were a world super power and Del Piero was their prince, amassing quite the trophy haul throughout the decade which puts him second on this list – although he never quite translated his club form to the international stage, for whom he made his debut in 1995.
90’s clubs: Juventus
90’s Apps/Goals: 165/59
90’s honours: Serie A title x 3, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Supercup, FIFA Intercontinental Cup, Coppa Italia, Intertoto Cup, Serie A Player of the Year
1. Roberto Baggio
For a period of time during the 90’s Roberto Baggio was quite simply the best player on the planet. The fantasista and Italian legend was a breathtaking sight to behold during this period. In a time when tactics and athleticism were taking precedence more and more over natural ability and technique, Baggio was a throwback to the days when artistry pure creative talent took priority.
The beginning of the 90’s was a hectic time for Baggio as he was thrust into the world limelight – firstly becoming the most expensive player in the world as Fiorentina sold him to Juventus for a then record £7.7million, much against the will of their fans which sparked a riot lasting 3 days in Florence. Secondly, he starred for Italy in the 1990 World Cup finals, scoring ‘goal of the tournament’ (a sublime dribble and finish, from the halfway line) as Italy finished 3rd overall.
It took Baggio a while to adapt to his new surroundings, but once he did there was no stopping him, becoming the captain at Juve, leading by example and providing the creativity and spectacle during their matches. Many opposition teams had to adapt to facing him, sending out man-markers (sometimes two!) in an attempt to halt his creativity or his goal scoring prowess. Indeed, goal scoring is something which came naturally to Baggio.
So cool was he in front of goal, the media used to state he had ‘ice in his veins’. Il divin codino was virtually prolific in one-on-one situations, though it was often the quality and variety of goals he scored which astounded: chips, volleys, dribbles, curlers – he could do it all…and often did! His technique and close dribbling skills were also part and parcel of his game, as were his free-kicks and penalties. What is so remarkable is that he created more goals than he scored – a mark of true fantasista genius.
Whilst at Juve he was crowned World Player of the Year and was the Ballon d’Or winner in 1993. Baggio then almost single-handedly dragged Italy to the 1994 World Cup final, scoring 5 goals (all decisive) before succumbing to a hamstring injury before the final. Baggio stated he would play on one leg if necessary, rather than miss football’s greatest match and it is unfortunate that some choose to best remember him for his penalty miss in that final, where they lost in a shoot-out to Brazil.
He enjoyed less success with moves to AC Milan (although he won his second scudetto here) and Inter, as he found it difficult to overcome the coaches preferences to regimented and robotic play, but in between enjoyed a fantastic year at little Bologna in 1997 where he had his most prolific goal scoring season.
Roberto scored in all 3 World Cup finals during the 90’s, notching an amazing 9 times in total and was perhaps the one Italian fantasista who reproduced his club form at international level, leading him to become loved all around the globe.
90’s clubs: Juventus, AC Milan, Bologna, Inter Milan
90’s Apps/Goals: 263/121
90’s honours: World Player of the Year, European Player of the Year, Serie A title x 2, UEFA Cup, Coppa Italia, FIFA World Cup bronze medal, FIFA World Cup silver medal.
This article was originally published by Jimmy Areabi on Fantasista10 make sure you check the site out and also follow Jimmy on Twitter.
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king ale, ur d best
they are all my favourite
There is only one God in Italy.. that is Roberto Baggio!!!
Forza BAGGIO!!!