Football is taken very seriously in Italy. Calcio is not only a national sport, it is a huge part of the fabric of Italian society. Italian clubs are passionately supported from north to south.
Although Italy is a relatively new country, when teams play an important match, life throughout the country comes to a halt.
We have compiled for you the most famous, most loved, most well-known Italian football players in history:
Roberto Baggio
The international career of Roberto Baggio, one of Italy's most symbolic and beloved football players, is remembered by many for the penalty he missed against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup final.
Without Baggio's genius, Italy would not have been in the final in the first place. He returned four years later and scored a penalty against Chile. However, in their third consecutive World Cup, Italy was eliminated in the quarter-finals, this time in a penalty shoot-out. Baggio scored 27 goals in 56 matches.
Paolo Maldini
Considered one of the best defenders of all time, Paolo Maldini spent his entire career at AC Milan and played for Italy 126 times between 1988 and 2002.
A classy left-back or center-back, Maldini finished second in the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000. He retired from the national team in 2002 after the Azzurri were eliminated from the World Cup by losing to South Korea. He deserved to win a great victory with his country.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon, Italy's most capped player, World Cup winner and one of the best goalkeepers of all time, played for the Azzurri for over 20 years.
Buffon won the Golden Glove after keeping a clean sheet in five games en route to winning the World Cup in 2006 and finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting that year. He was also named Serie A goalkeeper of the year 13 times.
Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe Meazza is one of three Italians, along with Giovanni Ferrari and Eraldo Monzeglio, to win two World Cups (1934 & 1938).
Legendary striker Meazza, who spent most of his career at Inter before a brief spell at AC Milan, scored 33 goals in 53 appearances for Italy and captained the Azzurri to their 1938 victory. Milan's iconic San Siro stadium is officially named after him.
Gianni Rivera
Gianni Rivera was one of the talented playmakers for AC Milan and the Italian national team in the 1960s and 1970s.
Rivera, who won the Ballon d'Or award in 1969 and finished second six years ago, scored the winning goal in extra time in Italy's epic World Cup semi-final win over West Germany in 1970. However, he was controversially left on the bench in the final match, where his team lost 4-1 to Brazil.
Francesco Totti
Despite interest from many of Europe's elite clubs, Francesco Totti remained loyal to Roma throughout his long career and helped Italy win the World Cup in 2006.
In Germany in 2006, Totti featured in all seven matches despite playing with metal screws and plates in his ankle. He scored the winning penalty against Australia and assisted four goals en route to the cup. He is one of Italy's all-time greats.
Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi made more than 700 appearances in his incredible career, all spent at AC Milan, winning three European Cups and six Serie A titles with the Rossoneri.
Baresi, who won the World Cup in 1982 without playing a single match, could not take advantage of the penalty kick in the 1994 final when Italy lost to Brazil on penalties. Even today, Baresi is considered one of the best defenders in football history.
Andrea Pirlo
A deep-playing playmaker with exceptional technical ability and vision, Andrea Pirlo was part of AC Milan's great squad for a decade and later extended his career with an unforgettable spell at Juventus.
Pirlo, who was at the heart of some of the great Italian teams between 2002 and 2015, played a key role in the Azzurri's 2006 World Cup victory. The midfielder, who was selected as the "Player of the Match" for his assist to Fabio Grosso for the opening goal against Germany in the semi-final, took the corner for Marco Materazzi's goal in the final. He also managed to be named "Player of the Match" three times as Italy advanced to the finals of Euro 2012.
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff; He completed a remarkable international career with the Azzurri, captaining Italy as they won the 1982 World Cup at the age of 40.
Zoff made his Italian debut in 1968 and was in the Azzurri's starting eleven during their European Championship success that year. Between 1972 and 1974, he broke a record by keeping a clean sheet for Italy in 1,142 minutes. When he retired in 1983 with 112 games under his belt, he was the country's most-capped player at the time.
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero stands out as Juventus' player with the most appearances (705) and top scorer (290) of all time. This makes him one of the club's most emblematic players in the modern era.
A creative and technically gifted striker, Del Piero made 91 appearances for Italy and scored 27 goals. The goals he scored against Germany in the 2006 World Cup semi-finals were the most memorable.