For many years, Italian football was regarded in England with a mixture of suspicion and contempt. The years of Catenaccio – the ultra-defensive tactical approach honed in Serie A in the 1960s – had cast a dark shadow over the world of Calcio for many. It was a preconception that persisted for decades after the system had long since been ditched.
The boom of the Premier League, though, meant that players from the peninsula could not be ignored and slowly but surely the world’s biggest spending division started to plunder talents from all of Italy’s biggest sides. Initially, it was players who were longer in the tooth and looking for a pension payment but that soon changed to pretty much having their pick of talent. The most recent case – of Inter youth Cesare Casadei going to Chelsea – only highlights how times have changed.
Selecting an all-time XI, though, remains a thorny prospect. To do justice to the spread of the Italian invasion while picking a credible formation is never a straightforward task. There are some notable names who have been omitted – above all Luca Vialli – due to the need to try to represent a number of teams while also putting out a team which could have had tactical equilibrium on the field.
It is interesting to look back on who had – and continues to have – the most impact on England’s top flight. It was surprising to find that for a nation which has a reputation for defensive football there were many more Italian attackers to have played in the Premier League with some distinction than practitioners of the so-called “dark arts”. Another indication, perhaps, that old stereotypes should have died out some time ago.
Nonetheless, this looks – and feels – like a decent side which includes most of the top teams and would certainly entertain its audiences. Not all of these players became club legends but they all made a fair contribution to their sides – sometimes struggling to adapt to the hustle and bustle of the English game compared with their more tactical homeland. Or is that another sporting cliché that needs to be ditched?
Anyway, agree or disagree with the final XI, it hopefully includes enough material for reminiscence and debate. Were those really the best full-backs? How many trophies did these players deliver? And how on earth did one of them end up at Charlton Athletic? All in all, a team which would entertain, frustrate, niggle and delight in equal measure. These England Azzurri would surely guarantee a sell-out crowd if it were possible for them to play together.
Goalkeeper: Carlo Cudicini (Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur 1999-2013)
Although he gained a bit of a reputation later in his career as the eternal understudy, he proved a more than capable deputy whenever he had to play a more prominent role. He started out with hometown club Milan but was limping along at Castel di Sangro when the London giants called him to Stamford Bridge. He was first choice until the arrival of Petr Cech when he drifted into the back-up role which would carry on when he moved to Spurs. An agile, gifted shot-stopper he racked up more than 250 appearances in England despite often being a member of the supporting cast..
Right-back: Matteo Darmian (Manchester United 2015-19)
Another player to start out at Milan, he had gained a solid reputation at Torino before making the move to Old Trafford. His first season was a pretty decent one but the Italian international defender quickly found his influence and first team appearances started to fade. There were constant rumours of his departure back to Italy before he eventually did make the switch to Parma and then Inter where he continued to enjoy a much more prominent role than the one he had latterly at United.
Left-back: Alessandro Pistone (Newcastle United, Everton 1997-2007)
An Italian Under 21 international, he had a difficult introduction to the English game with injury and a change of manager limiting his appearances with Newcastle. However, he would enjoy more success when he made the move to Everton and appear for the Toffees more than 100 times. There were glimpses of the galloping attacking player he could be but his career was undoubtedly hampered by a string of spells on the treatment table.
Centre-back: Gianluca Festa (Middlesbrough, Portsmouth 1997-2003)
One of the earlier arrivals in the Premier League from Serie A, he served his apprenticeship as a stalwart for Cagliari, Roma and Inter before quitting the Nerazzurri for Teesside. An impressive organiser, he played more than 100 games for Middlesbrough before making a brief cameo at Portsmouth prior to returning to Italy. Not the most fashionable name, but a dependable performer who chipped in the odd goal throughout his playing career.
Centre-back: Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham 2015-date)
Spotted by Torino as a teenager he would go on to stay for about a decade and capture the eye of the Italian national team selectors. A move to the other side of the city at Juventus did not go perfectly in terms of performances but did bring him trophies. It was no surprise when they declared him surplus to requirements and he moved to London. Despite some serious injuries he is fast closing in on 200 appearances for the Hammers.
Defensive midfielder: Jorginho (Chelsea 2018- date)
He took time to win over some fans at Stamford Bridge when he arrived alongside Coach Maurizio Sarri but stayed after his mentor had departed. He emerged in Italy at Hellas Verona but Napoli was where he cemented his status as a top player. A stunning 2021 saw him win the European Championships, Champions League, European Super Cup, Club World Cup and be crowned UEFA Men’s Player of the Year. Not bad for a man some supporters would have sent packing after one campaign.
Defensive midfielder: Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea 1996-2002)
The Blues have a long-standing love affair with Italian talent and this team could easily have been packed with many more of their players. Raised in Switzerland, he played his football there until Lazio snapped him up and saw him establish himself as an Italian international. His most memorable moment was probably scoring the opener in the 1997 FA Cup final win in less than a minute. He would deliver a number of other trophies before returning as manager to win the Champions League in 2012.
Attacking midfielder: Benito Carbone (Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Bradford City, Derby County, Middlesbrough 1996-2002)
Immortalised by Napoli fans in song as the successor to Diego Maradona and Gianfranco Zola, he never quite scaled their heights but was nonetheless a star performer on his day. He actually moved to England from Inter and went on to play for a string of clubs with mixed results. A European Under 21 champion in the early stages of his career that did not deliver the full international caps many had expected. Tricky, talented and occasionally temperamental, he was always watchable wherever he went.
Attacking midfielder: Paolo Di Canio (Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham, Charlton Athletic 1997-2004)
If Carbone gives an exciting edge to the team then the former Milan, Lazio and Juventus man takes it to another level. Famously banned for pushing over a referee but also hailed as an example of fairplay when he refused to score while an opponent lay on the ground, he was definitely a man of contradictions. Nobody ever went home complaining that he did not give them value for their ticket when he was on the field of play.
Forward: Gianfranco Zola (Chelsea 1996-2003)
One of the best foreign imports of all-time to the Premier League, the little man from Sardinia had already wowed crowds at Napoli and Parma before he moved north. A brilliant dribbler, with free-kick skills he studied under Maradona, he was also an exemplary professional, giving a lie to the stereotype of the fiery Italian. A great servant to his country he delivered trophy after trophy in London and was voted his club’s player of the season on at least a couple of occasions.
Forward: Mario Balotelli (Manchester City, Liverpool 2010-16)
If Zola gives the team stability, then Super Mario gives it spice. A man renowned for his off-the-pitch antics as much as his skills, it is easy to forget just what a colossal talent he was when reached England. A breakout star at Inter with a ballistic ability second to none he moved to Manchester City where he tended to blow very hot or very cold but delivered the assist which brought the long-awaited league title in 2012. A move to Milan also brought goals but they dried up at Liverpool sparking a lengthy tour of Europe which, at the time of writing anyway, sees him in Switzerland.
Manager: Claudio Ranieri (Leicester, Fulham, Watford 2015-22)
Although Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte all enjoy greater global reputations, the Roman’s achievement with the Foxes is probably enough to trump them all. His rally cry of “dilly-ding, dilly-dong” was both a wake-up call and a way of defusing any expectations around a team which produced surely the most surprising triumph of the Premier League era. And, moreover, proof that nice guys don’t have to finish last.