10 – Mark Iuliano
It would be hard to call Mark Iuliano an unsung hero of Italian football: he is certainly unsung, but he was never much of a hero. The trouble with doping and disqualification in his later years still mark him out as a somewhat shady figure in the sport.
And yet Iuliano was a remarkably strong central defender, consistently reliable and unafraid of chasing the ball out of his zone, a man whose misfortune was to be merely very good in an age of excellence. At his prime, he faced simultaneous competition by the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Ciro Ferrara and Beppe Bergomi.
Iuliano nonetheless managed to play a shining starter’s part in the Euro 2000 competition, where he put in some excellent performances, and it is a shame that so few people remember them. He also played in the 2002 World Cup, before it all crashed in ruins.
Iuliano’s short career with the Azzurri means that he only just cuts it into this list, but he is certainly deserving of his spot. Among the best players of the early 2000s, and one of the reasons why Italy’s defence of the time could genuinely be called the best in the world.
