GOAL counts down the finest players to have graced Italy's top flight since 2000, based on talent, trophies, longevity and impact

It's become a cliche at this stage but, in Italy, football really is like a religion. It provokes a level of hysteria and adoration that is both thrilling and terrifying, with fanatics to be found in every single walk of life – which sometimes even results in politicians attacking one another over contested calls and stolen Scudetti.

Fair to say, then, that when it comes to romance, controversy and quality, Serie A has always been in a league of its own. It's had its ups and downs over the past 25 years, going from the centre of the footballing universe to an alleged retirement home for ageing superstars, but has enjoyed such a remarkable renaissance over the past few seasons that it's now second only to the Premier League in UEFA's official rankings.

Throughout it all, Italy has never failed to attract some of the game's biggest names – but who are the best players to have graced Serie A since the turn of the century? GOAL lists its top 25 below, based on talent, trophies, longevity and impact…

Getty 25Thiago Silva

Alessandro Nesta quickly realised that the 2009 arrival of Thiago Silva at AC Milan wasn't just a positive for the club, but also his career. "He's going to extend my life!" the veteran defender quipped. Nesta wasn't wrong, as he continued playing alongside the classy but combative Brazilian centre-back until 2012.

Silva helped Milan win the league in just his second season at San Siro – by the end of which he was being widely lauded as the best defender in the world. "It's difficult to identify where he can still improve," the legendary Franco Baresi admitted. "He has already proven himself to have everything." Bottom line: if Silva hadn't left Italy after just three years, he'd be a lot higher up this list.

Advertisement(C)Getty Images24Paulo Dybala

It's a long time since Paulo Dybala has been compared to Lionel Messi, and while the link was always tenuous, it was at least understandable for a while. Just like his fellow Argentine, 'La Joya' was a fantastic dribbler with a wonderful left foot and he even managed to upstage Messi on occasion in the Champions League.

Back then, Dybala was a truly top talent, featuring in the Serie A Team of the Year four times in five seasons between 2015 and 2020. Injuries eventually led to Juventus letting Dybala leave for Roma, but he showed once again during his second season at Stadio Olimpico that he remains a tremendous talent and, at the time of writing, he has 125 Serie A goals to his name.

Getty 23Antonio Di Natale

Antonio Di Natale didn't make his Serie A debut until he was 25 and even then, he was more of a winger than a centre-forward. What followed, though, was one of the most remarkable and romantic rises to the pinnacle of Italian football. Indeed, the diminutive but explosive striker ranks sixth on Serie A’s all-time leading scorers’ list, with 209 goals. That 191 of those strikes came for Udinese only makes his tally all the more incredible.

It's also genuinely insane that he was twice crowned Capocannoniere while playing for the provincial outfit – and only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo bagged more league goals than the veteran forward between 2009 and 2011. He could have won trophies elsewhere, but Di Natale, one of the game's good guys, never regretted his decision to remain in Udine. "I'd do it all over again," he proudly declared.

Getty 22Gonzalo Higuain

A lot of football fans still have a problem with Gonzalo Higuain. Some Argentinians blame him for some of the country's most painful defeats, while you'd be hard pressed to find a Neapolitan that has forgiven him for joining Juventus at the height of his popularity in the city. However, what's beyond dispute is that for at least a couple of years there was no better centre-forward in Italy – and maybe even the world.

Higuain finished in the Serie A Team of the Year three times in four years and, in 2015-16, broke the goal-scoring record for a single season by netting 36 times in just 35 games. He'd also argue that three Scudetti justified his decision to leave Napoli for Juve and, when Higuain retired, Leonardo Bonucci paid tribute to "one of the greatest No.9s in football".