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List of Italy national football team captains

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This is a list of all the captains who played for the Italy national football team.

Francesco Calì was the first captain of the Italy national football team.[1]

The only players who were captains in all matches they have played in the national team were Giuseppe Milano (11 appearances), Francesco Calì (2 caps) and Giulio Cappelli (2 caps).

Gianluigi Buffon wore the captain band the most times: 80.[2]

Gianluigi Buffon is also the goalkeeper who has worn the captain band the most times: 80.

Valentino Mazzola and Sandro Mazzola as well as Cesare Maldini and Paolo Maldini are the only cases of father and son who have worn the captain band during their respective times on the national team. Goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon and Lorenzo Buffon are distant cousins. Attilio Ferraris and Pietro Ferraris, despite the same surname, are not relatives.

Leonardo Bonucci is the current captain of the national team.

Discover more about List of Italy national football team captains related topics

Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy national football team has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.

Francesco Calì

Francesco Calì

Francesco Calì was an Italian professional football player, coach and referee, who played as a defender. He captained the Italy national football team in their first ever match, on 15 May 1910.

Captain (association football)

Captain (association football)

The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game or has good leadership qualities. The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband.

Giuseppe Milano

Giuseppe Milano

Giuseppe Milano was an Italian footballer and manager who played as a midfielder. At club level, he spent his entire career with Pro Vercelli. With the Italy national football team, he competed in the men's tournament at the 1912 Summer Olympics at international level.

Giulio Cappelli

Giulio Cappelli

Giulio Cappelli was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics with the Italy national football team, winning a gold medal in the tournament.

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the Serie B club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances.

Cesare Maldini

Cesare Maldini

Cesare Maldini was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender.

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time. As the Milan and Italy captain for many years he was nicknamed "Il Capitano". Maldini held the record for most appearances in Serie A, with 647, until 2020, when he was overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon. He is currently serving as technical director for Milan, as well as being co-owner of USL Championship club Miami FC.

Lorenzo Buffon

Lorenzo Buffon

Lorenzo Buffon is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his career, he played 277 times for Italian club A.C. Milan, and also later played for their city rivals Inter Milan, as well as other Italian clubs, winning five Serie A titles. At the international level, he was capped for the Italian international side on 15 occasions, representing his country at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.

Attilio Ferraris

Attilio Ferraris

Attilio Ferraris was an Italian footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Pietro Ferraris

Pietro Ferraris

Pietro Ferraris was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Throughout his career, he won 6 Serie A titles with Ambrosiana-Inter and Torino, and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national football team, where he scored Italy's fastest ever World Cup goal.

Leonardo Bonucci

Leonardo Bonucci

Leonardo Bonucci is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Bonucci is known for his technique, ball-playing skills, tackling and his ability to play in either a three or four-man defence.

List of captains by appearances

Updated as of 26 March 2023.[3]

Players in bold are still active. Players in italics served as the designated captain for his captaincy period.

# Name Captain Appearances Goals National years Captaincy years Ref
1 Gianluigi Buffon 80 176 0 1997–2018 2010–2018[nb 1] [1]
2 Fabio Cannavaro 79 136 2 1997–2010 2002–2010[nb 2] [2]
3 Paolo Maldini 74 126 7 1988–2002 1994–2002 [3]
4 Giacinto Facchetti 70 94 3 1963–1977 1966–1977 [4]
5 Dino Zoff 59 112 0 1968–1983 1977–1983 [5]
6 Giuseppe Bergomi 33 81 6 1982–1998 1988–1991 [6]
7 Franco Baresi 31 81 1 1982–1994 1991–1994 [7]
8 Adolfo Baloncieri 27 47 25 1920–1930 1927–1930 [8]
9 Renzo De Vecchi 26 43 0 1910–1925 1920–1925 [9]
10 Leonardo Bonucci 25 120 8 2010– 2014– [10]
11 Giampiero Boniperti 24 38 7 1947–1960 1952–1960 [11]
12 Giorgio Chiellini 22 117 8 2004–2022 2012–2022 [12]
13 Giuseppe Meazza 17 53 33 1930–1939 1937–1939 [13]
12 Sandro Salvadore 17 36 2 1960–1970 1963–1966 [14]
15 Umberto Caligaris 16 59 0 1922–1934 1931–1934 [15]
16 Giuseppe Milano 11 11 0 1911–1914 1911–1914 [16]
17 Gaetano Scirea 10 78 2 1975–1986 1984–1986 [17]
18 Luigi Allemandi 9 24 0 1925–1936 1934–1936 [18]
18 Silvio Piola 9 34 30 1935–1952 1940–1952 [19]
18 Marco Tardelli 9 81 6 1976–1985 1983–1985 [20]
18 Antonio Cabrini 9 73 9 1978–1987 1983–1987 [21]
18 Andrea Pirlo 9 116 13 2002–2015 2010–2015 [22]
23 Alessandro Altobelli 8 61 25 1980–1988 1986–1987 [23]
23 Virginio Rosetta 8 52 0 1920–1934 1929–1934 [24]
25 Riccardo Carapellese 7 16 10 1947–1956 1949–1950 [25]
25 Luigi Cevenini 7 29 11 1915–1929 1925–1929 [26]
25 Alessandro Del Piero 7 91 27 1995–2008 2004–2008 [27]
28 Demetrio Albertini 6 79 3 1991–2002 1996–2000 [28]
28 Carlo Annovazzi 6 17 0 1947–1952 1951–1952 [29]
28 Lorenzo Buffon 6 15 0 1958–1962 1961–1962 [30]
28 Sergio Cervato 6 28 4 1951–1960 1955–1959 [31]
28 Daniele De Rossi 6 117 21 2004–2017 2007–2017 [32]
28 Virgilio Fossati 6 12 1 1910–1915 1912–1915 [33]
28 Cesare Maldini 6 14 0 1960–1963 1962–1963 [34]
35 Gianpiero Combi 5 47 0 1924–1934 1931–1934 [35]
35 Gianluigi Donnarumma 5 50 0 2016– 2021– [36]
35 Alessandro Mazzola 5 70 22 1963–1974 1972 [37]
35 Valentino Mazzola 5 12 4 1942–1949 1947–1949 [38]
35 Egisto Pandolfini 5 21 9 1950–1957 1952–1955 [39]
40 Giancarlo Antognoni 4 73 7 1974–1983 1977–1981 [40]
40 Gianni Rivera 4 60 14 1962–1974 1964–1965 [41]
42 Alessandro Costacurta 3 59 2 1991–1998 1995–1997 [42]
42 Attilio Ferraris 3 28 0 1926–1935 1934–1935 [43]
42 Alessandro Florenzi 3 49 2 2012– 2020– [44]
42 Alessandro Nesta 3 78 0 1996–2006 2004 [45]
42 Gianluca Vialli 3 59 16 1985–1992 1989–1992 [46]
47 Romeo Benetti 2 55 2 1971–1980 1978–1979 [47]
47 Giacomo Bulgarelli 2 29 7 1962–1967 1966 [48]
47 Francesco Calì 2 2 0 1910 1910 [49]
47 Giulio Cappelli 2 2 1 1936–1936 1936 [50]
47 Fulvio Collovati 2 50 3 1979–1986 1985 [51]
47 Giovanni Ferrari 2 44 14 1930–1938 1938 [52]
47 Pietro Ferraris 2 14 3 1935–1947 1947 [53]
47 Alfredo Foni 2 23 0 1936–1942 1936 [54]
47 Gennaro Gattuso 2 73 1 2000–2010 2009 [55]
47 Alberto Gilardino 2 57 19 2004–2013 2011–2013 [56]
47 Ciro Immobile 2 55 15 2014– 2018– [57]
47 Ardico Magnini 2 20 0 1953–1957 1956–1957 [58]
47 Marco Materazzi 2 41 2 2001–2008 2004–2005 [59]
47 Riccardo Montolivo 2 66 2 2007–2017 2013–2014 [60]
47 Miguel Montuori 2 12 2 1956–1960 1959–1960 [61]
47 Maino Neri 2 8 0 1948–1954 1948 [62]
47 Gianluca Pagliuca 2 39 0 1990–1998 1994–1995 [63]
47 Pietro Rava 2 30 0 1935–1946 1939–1942 [64]
47 Armando Segato 2 20 0 1953–1959 1958–1959 [65]
47 Marco Verratti 2 53 3 2012– 2019– [66]
47 Gianluca Zambrotta 2 98 2 1999–2010 2010 [67]
68 Massimo Ambrosini 1 35 0 1999–2008 2006 [68]
68 Roberto Baggio 1 56 27 1988–2004 1992 [69]
68 Federico Bernardeschi 1 36 6 2016– 2021 [70]
68 Fulvio Bernardini 1 26 3 1925–1932 1932 [71]
68 Sergio Brighenti 1 9 2 1959–1961 1961 [72]
68 Tarcisio Burgnich 1 66 2 1963–1974 1973 [73]
68 Piero Campelli 1 11 0 1912–1921 1920 [74]
68 Antonio Cassano 1 39 10 2003–2014 2011 [75]
68 Gino Colaussi 1 25 15 1935–1940 1939 [76]
68 Antonio Di Natale 1 42 11 2002–2012 2009 [77]
68 Stephan El Shaarawy 1 29 6 2012– 2020– [78]
68 Ciro Ferrara 1 49 0 1987–2000 2000 [79]
68 Claudio Gentile 1 71 1 1975–1984 1984 [80]
68 Mario Gianni 1 6 0 1927–1933 1932 [81]
68 Lorenzo Insigne 1 54 10 2012– 2018– [82]
68 Jorginho 1 47 5 2016– 2021– [83]
68 Giacomo Losi 1 11 0 1960–1962 1962 [84]
68 Bruno Mora 1 21 4 1959–1965 1962 [85]
68 Bruno Nicolè 1 8 2 1958–1964 1961 [86]
68 Christian Panucci 1 57 4 1994–2008 2003 [87]
68 Angelo Peruzzi 1 31 0 1995–2006 2005 [88]
68 Alfredo Pitto 1 29 2 1928–1935 1935 [89]
68 Giuseppe Rossi 1 30 7 2008–2014 2010 [90]
68 Aristodemo Santamaria 1 11 3 1915–1923 1921 [91]
68 Angelo Schiavio 1 21 15 1925–1934 1933 [92]
68 Salvatore Sirigu 1 28 0 2010– 2020– [93]
68 Luca Toni 1 47 16 2004–2009 2005 [94]
Total 94 players 863 1910–2023 1910–2023

Discover more about List of captains by appearances related topics

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the Serie B club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances.

Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro is an Italian professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of Serie B club Benevento.

Giacinto Facchetti

Giacinto Facchetti

Giacinto Facchetti was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official games for the club, scoring 75 goals, and was a member of "Grande Inter" team under manager Helenio Herrera which won four Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. He placed second for the Ballon d'Or in 1965.

Dino Zoff

Dino Zoff

Dino Zoff is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italy national team in the 1982 tournament, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days. He also won the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament and was elected to the team of the tournament for his performances, keeping two clean-sheets, an honour he also received after winning the 1968 European Championship on home soil. Zoff is the only Italian player to have won both the World Cup and the European Championship. He also achieved great club success with Juventus, winning six Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and a UEFA Cup, also reaching two European Champions' Cup finals in the 1972–73 and 1982–83 seasons, as well as finishing second in the 1973 Intercontinental Cup final.

Giuseppe Bergomi

Giuseppe Bergomi

Giuseppe Bergomi is an Italian former professional footballer who spent his entire career at Inter Milan. He is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time, and as one of the best of his generation, being elected by Pelé to be part of the FIFA 100 in 2004.

Franco Baresi

Franco Baresi

Franchino Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining the club for 15 seasons. He is considered to be one of the best defenders in the history of the sport. He was ranked 19th in World Soccer magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century. With Milan, he won three UEFA Champions League titles, six Serie A titles, four Supercoppa Italiana titles, two European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.

Adolfo Baloncieri

Adolfo Baloncieri

Adolfo Baloncieri was an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.

Giampiero Boniperti

Giampiero Boniperti

Giampiero Boniperti was an Italian footballer who played his entire 15-season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961, winning five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He also played for the Italy national team at international level, and took part at the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the 1952 Summer Olympics with Italy. After retirement from professional football, Boniperti was a CEO and chairman of Juventus and, later, a deputy to the European Parliament.

Giorgio Chiellini

Giorgio Chiellini

Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strength, aggressiveness and man-marking, as well as his ability to play in either a three or four-man defence. He has also played as a left-back earlier in his career.

Giuseppe Meazza

Giuseppe Meazza

Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza, also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club, and winning three Serie A titles, as well as the Coppa Italia; he later also played for local rivals Milan, as well as Turin rivals Juventus, in addition to his spells with Varese and Atalanta. At international level, he led Italy to win two consecutive World Cups: in 1934 on home soil, and in 1938 as captain, being named to the All-star Team. Meazza is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, as well as being regarded by many in the sport as Italy's greatest ever player. Giuseppe Prisco and Gianni Brera considered him to be the greatest footballer of all time.

Giuseppe Milano

Giuseppe Milano

Giuseppe Milano was an Italian footballer and manager who played as a midfielder. At club level, he spent his entire career with Pro Vercelli. With the Italy national football team, he competed in the men's tournament at the 1912 Summer Olympics at international level.

Gaetano Scirea

Gaetano Scirea

Gaetano Scirea was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent most of his career with Juventus F.C.

List of captains by captaincy period

List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.[13]

Discover more about List of captains by captaincy period related topics

Captain (sports)

Captain (sports)

In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In either case, it is a position that indicates honor and respect from one's teammates – recognition as a leader by one's peers. In association football and cricket, a captain is also known as a skipper.

Francesco Calì

Francesco Calì

Francesco Calì was an Italian professional football player, coach and referee, who played as a defender. He captained the Italy national football team in their first ever match, on 15 May 1910.

Giuseppe Milano

Giuseppe Milano

Giuseppe Milano was an Italian footballer and manager who played as a midfielder. At club level, he spent his entire career with Pro Vercelli. With the Italy national football team, he competed in the men's tournament at the 1912 Summer Olympics at international level.

Adolfo Baloncieri

Adolfo Baloncieri

Adolfo Baloncieri was an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.

Gianpiero Combi

Gianpiero Combi

Gianpiero Combi was an Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent his entire club career at Juventus, where he won five Italian League titles. At international level, he won the 1934 World Cup with the Italy national team, as well as two Central European International Cups, and an Olympic bronze medal in 1928.

Luigi Allemandi

Luigi Allemandi

Luigi Allemandi was an Italian footballer who played as a defender, usually as a left back. He was a member of the Italy national team which won the 1934 World Cup.

Giuseppe Meazza

Giuseppe Meazza

Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza, also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club, and winning three Serie A titles, as well as the Coppa Italia; he later also played for local rivals Milan, as well as Turin rivals Juventus, in addition to his spells with Varese and Atalanta. At international level, he led Italy to win two consecutive World Cups: in 1934 on home soil, and in 1938 as captain, being named to the All-star Team. Meazza is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, as well as being regarded by many in the sport as Italy's greatest ever player. Giuseppe Prisco and Gianni Brera considered him to be the greatest footballer of all time.

Carlo Annovazzi

Carlo Annovazzi

Carlo Annovazzi was an Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. He was usually deployed as a right-sided, central, or defensive midfielder, although he was also capable of playing in defence. A large and physically imposing player, despite his deeper playing role, he was known for his eye for goal as a footballer, and was also an accurate penalty kick taker; during his time with A.C. Milan, he successfully converted all eight of the spot kicks he took.

Giampiero Boniperti

Giampiero Boniperti

Giampiero Boniperti was an Italian footballer who played his entire 15-season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961, winning five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He also played for the Italy national team at international level, and took part at the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the 1952 Summer Olympics with Italy. After retirement from professional football, Boniperti was a CEO and chairman of Juventus and, later, a deputy to the European Parliament.

Lorenzo Buffon

Lorenzo Buffon

Lorenzo Buffon is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his career, he played 277 times for Italian club A.C. Milan, and also later played for their city rivals Inter Milan, as well as other Italian clubs, winning five Serie A titles. At the international level, he was capped for the Italian international side on 15 occasions, representing his country at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.

Cesare Maldini

Cesare Maldini

Cesare Maldini was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender.

Giacinto Facchetti

Giacinto Facchetti

Giacinto Facchetti was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official games for the club, scoring 75 goals, and was a member of "Grande Inter" team under manager Helenio Herrera which won four Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. He placed second for the Ballon d'Or in 1965.

Source: "List of Italy national football team captains", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 27th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Italy_national_football_team_captains.

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Notes
  1. ^ a b Gianluigi Buffon served as second acting captain in UEFA Euro 2008 after Alessandro Del Piero was named the team's acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.[4] Although Buffon was officially named Italy's new captain in 2010,[5] following Fabio Cannavaro's retirement subsequent to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Andrea Pirlo was named the Italy national team's acting captain after the tournament (while Daniele De Rossi was named the team's second acting captain),[5][6][7] as Buffon was ruled out until the end of the year due to injury, and only made his first appearance as Italy's official captain on 9 February 2011, in a 1–1 friendly away draw against Germany.[5][8][9][10]
  2. ^ a b During UEFA Euro 2008, Alessandro Del Piero was named the Italy national team's acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however Gianluigi Buffon was often played as captain as Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.[11][12][4]
References
  1. ^ "Franz Calì: il primo capitano raccontato in un libro" [Franz Calì: the first captain recounted in a book] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Founders: Fabio Cannavaro". Fondazione Cannavaro-Ferrara. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Capitani" [Captains]. FIGC.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b Paolo Menicucci (10 June 2008). "L'Italia parte male, l'Olanda cala il tris" [Italy start badly, Holland score three] (in Italian). UEFA. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Andrea Santoni (27 June 2010). "Buffon, annuncio choc: Mi opero e torno nel 2011" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. ^ Riccardo Pratesi (6 August 2010). "Prandelli cambia l'Italia Amauri, Cassano e Balotelli" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Pirlo, ricetta Nazionale "Ritroviamo la qualità"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Motta, Giovinco and Matri news. Among the 23 players Buffon's return". FIGC. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Il gol di Rossi salva l'Italia: 1-1" (in Italian). Mediaset. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  10. ^ Micaela Del Monte (29 March 2012). "Capitani Azzurri: Gianluigi Buffon (2008 - Oggi)" (in Italian). TuttoNazionali.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  11. ^ Gaetano DeStefano (2 June 2008). "Italia, è già dopo Cannavaro Arriva Gamberini, chi gioca?" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  12. ^ Maurizio Nicita (12 June 2008). "Buffon, niente fascia Il capitano è Del Piero" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Capitani" [Captains]. FIGC.it (in Italian). FIGC. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
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