10 – Marco Delvecchio
Marco Delvecchio was a funny striker – lanky, graceless, with a perpetually bemused half-smile that made him look like a basketball player on the wrong pitch. Though a decent prima punta, his contribution to the Italian national team was rather sporadic. He played in three games in Euro 2000 (for a total of 140 minutes on the pitch) and was part of the 2002 squad, even though he was never used.
His place on this list, then, is a prize for having done what many of his colleagues could not do (even some of the names higher on this list) – seizing the moment, and answering when called.
His only goal in those two tournaments came no less than in the final of Euro 2000, in a great game against a great side, and one of the few he actually started. For someone who was given so little space, it is a wonderful achievement, and one which does not deserve to be forgotten.
