During a recent Bank Holiday clear out, The Gentleman Ultra writer Martin Dunlop discovered his stash of old Calcio Italia magazines. Needless to say, they survived the cull. Among the iconic covers – including Fabio Cannavaro kissing the World Cup in 2006 and Gianfranco Zola munching on a pizza while dressed as a chef – the front page of their 100th edition stood out. The centrepiece of this nostalgic treat was a Serie A best XI for the period spanning their first 100 editions, from 1992 to 2003. Inspired by the magazine, we set about picking our own best XI for the 1990s.
Our editorial team thrashed out a shortlist – four players for each position – and we set up a series of polls on Twitter. Some places were more hotly contested than others: one player received 88% of the vote for his position (yes, he’s a full-back) but we had to hold a recount for one of the central midfield spots. Finally, after much contention, a consensus was reached and everyone was happy (more or less). So, here it is: our Serie A team of the 1990s.
Goalkeeper: Gianluca Pagliuca
There were some great goalkeepers in Serie A in the 1990s, including Walter Zenga, Sebastiano Rossi, Angelo Peruzzi, Francesco Toldo and a young Gigi Buffon. Pagliuca played 165 games of his 634-game career at Inter, after having won the league title with Sampdoria in 1991. Nicknamed “the wall”, he paired athleticism, quick reactions and good positional sense with his innovation as one of Italy’s first sweeper keepers. He was as famous for his long, left-footed goal kicks as he was for saving penalties. Combine all these attributes and it is no surprise Pagliuca managed to see off stern competition in the public vote, notably from Zenga and Peruzzi, to secure his place.
Left-back: Paolo Maldini
Some of the spots in our starting XI were keenly contested but left-back wasn’t one of them. Is there anything left to be said about Paolo Maldini? The 1990s were the midpoint of his 25 trophy-laden seasons with Milan. He was an integral part of the side that won Serie A in 1991-92 without losing a single match, an unbeaten league run that eventually ended after a staggering 58 matches. Following Franco Baresi’s retirement in 1997, Maldini was appointed Milan captain, a post he served until his own retirement in 2009. By the end of his quarter century with the club, Maldini had won seven league titles – five of which came during the 1990s – and five European Cups.
Centre-back: Franco Baresi
A one-club man who made 719 appearances for Milan, Franco Baresi’s legendary status is untouchable. As is his place in this team. Baresi won four of his seven Serie A titles and two of his three European Cups in the 1990s. Defensively, the high point of his dominance came in the 1993-94 season, when Milan kept 21 clean sheets in Serie A, conceding just 15 goals in 34 games.
Baresi was composed yet uncompromising, subtle yet domineering. He was the graceful libero who marshalled this formidable backline and he remains one of the greatest centre-backs Italian football has ever produced.
Centre-back: Alessandro Costacurta
If Baresi was the symbol of Milan’s indomitable defence during the 1990s, Alessandro Costacurta was the unsung hero. Billy, as he was known to his teammates, made 663 appearances for Milan between 1987 and 2007, many of them alongside Baresi. The Italian duo shared a telepathic understanding at the centre of Milan’s defence, covering one another when they stepped out of defence to break up or initiate attacks.
Costacurta was a master of dictating the game, cajoling and patrolling opponents into positions where they became ineffective. He played for Milan until he was 41 and even scored on his final appearance for the club.
Right-back: Javier Zanetti
Javier Zanetti, the longest serving captain in Inter’s history, secures our right-back spot with ease. From 1995 to 2014, Il Capitano played 858 games for the club in midfield and at full-back. His professionalism, commitment and class on and off the pitch continue to set an example to younger players. Now director of football, he remains a constant in an ever-changing world.
Defensive midfielder: Demetrio Albertini
A reluctant legend, but a legend nonetheless, Demetrio Albertini joined Milan aged 11 and ended up playing for the club 406 times. He made his Serie A debut under Arrigo Sacchi in 1989 aged just 17. A loan spell at Padova in the 1990-91 season rounded off his development and on his return he took Carlo Ancelotti’s place in Fabio Capello’s undefeated starting XI of 1991-92.
During 14 years at Milan, the quiet midfielder with a fondness for intellectual pursuits won five Serie A titles, three European Cups and two Uefa Cups. He had no ego and played in front of Tassotti, Costacurta, Baresi and Maldini – one of the best backlines world football has ever seen – so his role is often overlooked. Not here. After leaving Milan in 2002, he had spells at Atlético Madrid, Lazio, Atalanta and Barcelona, where his final act as a player was to win La Liga in 2004-05 under his old Milan teammate Frank Rijkaard.
Left-midfield: Pavel Nedved
Before he morphed into Patrick Swayze at Juventus in the 2000s, Pavel Nedved was a robust, short-haired winger who spent the last four years of the 1990s rampaging down the wing for Lazio. A star of the Czech side who made it to the final of Euro 96, Nedved moved to Lazio from Sparta Prague that summer for a measly £1.2m.
He struck the winning goal in the 1999 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Real Mallorca at Villa Park with a brilliant volley from the edge of the area. He won the league title the next season, again under Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio, which helps him cement his place in this team.
Attacking midfielder: Roberto Baggio
The definitive player of the decade; the 1990s belonged to Il Divin Codino. From the highs of winning the Ballon d’Or in 1993 to that penalty in Pasadena in 1994, from the controversy surrounding his world record transfer to Juventus that sparked three days of riots in Florence to moments of breathtaking genius, and from various spats with overzealous coaches to crumbling body parts, the introverted Baggio was rarely out of the headlines.
Baggio played for five clubs during the 1990s and was loved by all of them, a rarity in the Italian game. In a sport that was beginning to prioritise athleticism over skill, Baggio was the antidote. An artist who could unlock any defence, score any kind of goal and visualise things mere mortals couldn’t, he was probably the finest player in the world between 1992 and 1995.
Right-midfield: Rui Costa
Rui Costa arrived at Fiorentina from Benfica in 1994 and began orchestrating play behind Gabriel Batistuta. What a joy it was to see the No10 as he glided effortlessly across the pitch. He unlocked the tightest of defences with his nonchalant style. With his slicked back hair, the iconic tape under the knee and rolled down socks, Rui Costa was an icon of this fantastic era.
Forward: Ronaldo
“Every game was a party,” the Ronaldo of his time in Milan. “I wouldn’t trade my time at Inter for anything.” He arrived at the club from Barcelona in 1997 and quickly scored 59 goals in 99 matches. Like any good love story, however, there was also tragedy. On 12 April 2000, after coming back from injury, his knee buckled again in a game against Lazio and he was stretchered off in tears. Ronaldo’s time at Inter, while glorious, is also a story of what could have been.
Forward: Gabriel Batistuta
Batigol dressed in purple performing his machine-gun celebration is one of the iconic images of 1990s Italian football. In a golden era of video gaming when Fiorentina wore the Nintendo logo on their shirts, it seemed natural he should honour his shooting skills in such a direct and cartoonish manner.
Batistuta had plenty of reasons to be boastful, scoring 207 goals in 333 appearances during his nine years in Florence. He even stuck with the club after their relegation in 1993 and went on to score in the opening 11 games on their return to the top flight to break Ezio Pascutti’s 30-year-old record.
During his years with the Viola, Batistuta picked up a Coppa Italia and a Supercoppa Italiana but the league title eluded him. It wasn’t until he moved to Roma in 2000 he finally earned a Scudetto medal, scoring 21 times as the club picked up their first league title since 1983.
Mister: Marcello Lippi
The man who knocked Milan off their mighty perch. Milan had won three titles in a row under Fabio Capello when the suave, cigar-chomping Lippi was given the Juventus job. Lippi won the league at the first attempt and started his own era of dominance. His ever-evolving side reached three Champions League finals on the bounce and made superstars of Alessandro Del Piero, Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids.
By writers Martin Dunlop, Luca Hodges-Ramon, Richard Hall, Emmet Gates, Neil Morris and graphic designer Ed Moynihan
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