The 29 best Serie A players of the 10s

FourFourTwo

The 29 best Serie A players of the 10s

Tom Hancock

Posted: 19 April 2024 | Last updated: 19 April 2024

Getty Images

Counting down the Italian top flight's finest between 2010 and 2019

There's no denying that Serie A belonged to Juventus during the 10s – a fact reflected in the fact that almost half of the players on this list plied their trade for Italy's most successful club at some point during the decade.

But the years between 2010 and 2019 weren't all about Juve, and rest assured, calcio fans, plenty of other clubs are represented here – thanks to having had some of the finest operators around during that era.

From veteran goalscoring machines to steadfast defensive enforcers, these are FourFourTwo's best Serie A players of the 10s.

<p> Brought to Inter Milan from Udinese in 2012, Samir Handanovic established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe during the 10s. </p> <p> Among a handful of non-Italians to win Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year – which he did in 2011, 2013 and 2019 – the acrobatic six-foot-four Slovenian was named Inter captain in 2019. </p>

Getty Images

Samir Handanovic (Udinese, Inter Milan)

Brought to Inter Milan from Udinese in 2012, Samir Handanovic established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe during the 10s.

Among a handful of non-Italians to win Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year – which he did in 2011, 2013 and 2019 – the acrobatic six-foot-four Slovenian was named Inter captain in 2019.

<p> Argentine striker Diego Milito joined Inter Milan from Genoa ahead of the 2009/10 season – and he made an instant impact, finding the net 24 times in Serie A and 30 times in all competitions as the Nerazzurri did the treble under Jose Mourinho. </p> <p> The rest of his time at Inter was up-and-down, but he outdid himself with 24 league goals during the 2011/12 campaign. </p>

Getty Images

Diego Milito (Inter Milan)

Argentine striker Diego Milito joined Inter Milan from Genoa ahead of the 2009/10 season – and he made an instant impact, finding the net 24 times in Serie A and 30 times in all competitions as the Nerazzurri did the treble under Jose Mourinho.

The rest of his time at Inter was up-and-down, but he outdid himself with 24 league goals during the 2011/12 campaign.

<p> Zlatan Ibrahimovic had three separate spells in Serie A over the course of his career – and his 2010-2012 stint with AC Milan was the shortest. </p> <p> But the enormous Swede was nothing less than typically prolific, bagging 42 goals in 61 league outings, winning the 2010/11 Scudetto and finishing as 2011/12 Serie A top scorer. </p>

Getty Images

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had three separate spells in Serie A over the course of his career – and his 2010-2012 stint with AC Milan was the shortest.

But the enormous Swede was nothing less than typically prolific, bagging 42 goals in 61 league outings, winning the 2010/11 Scudetto and finishing as 2011/12 Serie A top scorer.

<p> Another superstar forward who had a standout two-year stay in Serie A during the 10s, Carlos Tevez was instrumental in Juventus back-to-back title triumphs of 2013/14 and 2014/15. </p> <p> The tenacious Argentine made the Serie A Team of the Year in both campaigns and was recognised as the division’s best player in the latter. </p>

Getty Images

Carlos Tevez (Juventus)

Another superstar forward who had a standout two-year stay in Serie A during the 10s, Carlos Tevez was instrumental in Juventus back-to-back title triumphs of 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The tenacious Argentine made the Serie A Team of the Year in both campaigns and was recognised as the division’s best player in the latter.

<p> Serie A top scorer in 2005/06 while at Fiorentina, Luca Toni left for Bayern Munich in 2007 – but he returned to Italy in 2010 with unfinished business. </p> <p> And, in the penultimate season of his career, in the colours of Hellas Verona, the 2006 World Cup winner made history by claiming the <em>Capocannoniere</em> for the second time – at the record-breaking age of 38. </p>

Getty Images

Luca Toni (Genoa, Juventus, Fiorentina, Hellas Verona)

Serie A top scorer in 2005/06 while at Fiorentina, Luca Toni left for Bayern Munich in 2007 – but he returned to Italy in 2010 with unfinished business.

And, in the penultimate season of his career, in the colours of Hellas Verona, the 2006 World Cup winner made history by claiming the Capocannoniere for the second time – at the record-breaking age of 38.

<p> A modern Italian cult hero, Fabio Quagliarella spent his entire career in his homeland – and he aged like the finest of wines, scooping the 2018/19 <em>Capocannoniere</em> award as Serie A top scorer aged 36. </p> <p> Equally impressive was that he did it while playing for mid-table Sampdoria – where he emulated the great Gabriel Batistuta by finding the net in 11 straight Serie A games between October 2018 and January 2019. </p>

Getty Images

Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli, Juventus, Torino, Sampdoria)

A modern Italian cult hero, Fabio Quagliarella spent his entire career in his homeland – and he aged like the finest of wines, scooping the 2018/19 Capocannoniere award as Serie A top scorer aged 36.

Equally impressive was that he did it while playing for mid-table Sampdoria – where he emulated the great Gabriel Batistuta by finding the net in 11 straight Serie A games between October 2018 and January 2019.

<p> Cristiano Ronaldo only moved to Serie A in the summer of 2018, but his record for Juventus was too noteworthy for him <em>not</em> to make the list. </p> <p> Named the league’s Footballer of the Year at the end of his first season – which saw him win the Scudetto – the multiple Ballon d’Or winner bagged 52 league goals in his first two campaigns with the Bianconeri alone. </p>

Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

Cristiano Ronaldo only moved to Serie A in the summer of 2018, but his record for Juventus was too noteworthy for him not to make the list.

Named the league’s Footballer of the Year at the end of his first season – which saw him win the Scudetto – the multiple Ballon d’Or winner bagged 52 league goals in his first two campaigns with the Bianconeri alone.

<p> A 2006 World Cup winner with Italy, Barzagli was included in the Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions, all between 2012 and 2016. </p> <p> Extraordinarily consistent in the heart of defence, Andrea Barzagli joined Juventus in 2011 and spent the remaining eight years of his career with the Turin giants, where he was crowned a Serie A champion in every single season. </p>

Getty Images

Andrea Barzagli (Juventus)

A 2006 World Cup winner with Italy, Barzagli was included in the Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions, all between 2012 and 2016.

Extraordinarily consistent in the heart of defence, Andrea Barzagli joined Juventus in 2011 and spent the remaining eight years of his career with the Turin giants, where he was crowned a Serie A champion in every single season.

<p> Edinson Cavani showed great goalscoring promise at Palermo – and he turned that into phenomenal goalscoring <em>prowess</em> after his 2010 switch to Napoli. </p> <p> Utterly ruthless during his three-season spell with the Partenopei, the iconic Uruguayan frontman found the net 78 times in 104 Serie A outings, scooping the <em>Capocannoniere </em>with 29 goals in 2012/13. </p>

Getty Images

Edinson Cavani (Palermo, Napoli)

Edinson Cavani showed great goalscoring promise at Palermo – and he turned that into phenomenal goalscoring prowess after his 2010 switch to Napoli.

Utterly ruthless during his three-season spell with the Partenopei, the iconic Uruguayan frontman found the net 78 times in 104 Serie A outings, scooping the Capocannoniere with 29 goals in 2012/13.

<p> One of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s very best players of all time, Miralem Pjanic spent almost all of the 10s in Serie A, joining Roma from Lyon in 2011 then moving on to Juventus in 2016. </p> <p> A hugely technically gifted playmaker, the midfielder won four straight Scudetti with Juve and made it into four Serie A Teams of the Year. </p>

Getty Images

Miralem Pjanic (Roma, Juventus)

One of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s very best players of all time, Miralem Pjanic spent almost all of the 10s in Serie A, joining Roma from Lyon in 2011 then moving on to Juventus in 2016.

A hugely technically gifted playmaker, the midfielder won four straight Scudetti with Juve and made it into four Serie A Teams of the Year.

<p> Yep, we also had to make doubly sure that Gianluigi Donnarumma did, in fact, play in Serie A during the 10s – and it’s not like he only just played in them either: the veritably colossal goalkeeper was AC Milan’s number one at the age of 16, debuting in October 2015. </p> <p> <em>Prodigious</em> would be the word to describe Donnarumma at that time – and he was already one of the world’s best by the end of the decade. </p>

Getty Images

Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan)

Yep, we also had to make doubly sure that Gianluigi Donnarumma did, in fact, play in Serie A during the 10s – and it’s not like he only just played in them either: the veritably colossal goalkeeper was AC Milan’s number one at the age of 16, debuting in October 2015.

Prodigious would be the word to describe Donnarumma at that time – and he was already one of the world’s best by the end of the decade.

<p> Named in three successive Serie A Teams of the Year between 2011 and 2013, Christian Maggio set himself apart as arguably the league’s top right-back during the first half of the 10s. </p> <p> During a decade-long stay spell with Napoli, Maggio made 233 Serie A appearances, leaving in 2018 as an all-time club legend. </p>

Getty Images

Christian Maggio (Napoli)

Named in three successive Serie A Teams of the Year between 2011 and 2013, Christian Maggio set himself apart as arguably the league’s top right-back during the first half of the 10s.

During a decade-long stay spell with Napoli, Maggio made 233 Serie A appearances, leaving in 2018 as an all-time club legend.

<p> Not many Spaniards have carved out a successful Serie A career, but Jose Callejon did exactly that after swapping Real Madrid for Napoli in 2013. </p> <p> The Italian top flight’s leading provider with 13 assists in 2016/17, Callejon also reached double figures for league goals in four separate seasons with the Partenopei. </p>

Getty Images

Jose Callejon (Napoli)

Not many Spaniards have carved out a successful Serie A career, but Jose Callejon did exactly that after swapping Real Madrid for Napoli in 2013.

The Italian top flight’s leading provider with 13 assists in 2016/17, Callejon also reached double figures for league goals in four separate seasons with the Partenopei.

<p> Another Bosnia and Herzegovina great to make quite a mark on Serie A, Senad Lulic joined Lazio from Swiss giants Young Boys in 2011 – and spent the remaining decade of his career there. </p> <p> One of Lazio’s all-time leading appearance makers, the superbly consistent midfielder was handed the captain’s armband in 2017. </p>

Getty Images

Senad Lulic (Lazio)

Another Bosnia and Herzegovina great to make quite a mark on Serie A, Senad Lulic joined Lazio from Swiss giants Young Boys in 2011 – and spent the remaining decade of his career there.

One of Lazio’s all-time leading appearance makers, the superbly consistent midfielder was handed the captain’s armband in 2017.

<p> Daniele De Rossi was well-established in Roma’s midfield by the beginning of the 10s – and the 2006 World Cup winner went from strength to strength in the new decade. </p> <p> Ever-reliable, De Rossi left Roma for Boca Juniors in 2019 – having amassed more than 400 Serie A appearances for his hometown club. </p>

Getty Images

Daniele De Rossi (Roma)

Daniele De Rossi was well-established in Roma’s midfield by the beginning of the 10s – and the 2006 World Cup winner went from strength to strength in the new decade.

Ever-reliable, De Rossi left Roma for Boca Juniors in 2019 – having amassed more than 400 Serie A appearances for his hometown club.

<p> Former Belgium international Radja Nainggolan began his professional career in Italy with Serie B Piacenza, spending time in Serie A with Cagliari, Roma and Inter Milan over the course of the 10s. </p> <p> And it was with the Giallorossi that the mohawked midfield aggressor played his best football, making 155 league appearances and featuring in every Serie A Team of the Year from 2015 to 2018. </p>

Getty Images

Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari, Roma, Inter Milan)

Former Belgium international Radja Nainggolan began his professional career in Italy with Serie B Piacenza, spending time in Serie A with Cagliari, Roma and Inter Milan over the course of the 10s.

And it was with the Giallorossi that the mohawked midfield aggressor played his best football, making 155 league appearances and featuring in every Serie A Team of the Year from 2015 to 2018.

<p> Another Rome native who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, Francesco Totti didn’t just become a Roma legend; he became the greatest player in the Giallorossi’s history, spending his entire career with them and retiring in 2017 with 619 Serie A appearances to his name. </p> <p> Still going strong into the mid-10s, <em>Il Capitano</em> was named Europe’s most popular footballer by IFFHS in 2011. </p>

Getty Images

Francesco Totti (Roma)

Another Rome native who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, Francesco Totti didn’t just become a Roma legend; he became the greatest player in the Giallorossi’s history, spending his entire career with them and retiring in 2017 with 619 Serie A appearances to his name.

Still going strong into the mid-10s, Il Capitano was named Europe’s most popular footballer by IFFHS in 2011.

<p> Sporting an almighty mohawk, Marek Hamsik dazzled in a multitude of midfield roles for Napoli for more than a decade. </p> <p> Slovakia’s best player of all time, Hamsik scored 100 goals in just over 400 Serie A appearances for the Partenopei – with most of those coming between 2010 and 2019 – where he assumed the captaincy in 2014. </p>

Getty Images

Marek Hamsik (Napoli)

Sporting an almighty mohawk, Marek Hamsik dazzled in a multitude of midfield roles for Napoli for more than a decade.

Slovakia’s best player of all time, Hamsik scored 100 goals in just over 400 Serie A appearances for the Partenopei – with most of those coming between 2010 and 2019 – where he assumed the captaincy in 2014.

<p> During the 2015/16 campaign, Gonzalo Higuain equalled a Serie A record by racking up 36 goals for Napoli – in only 35 appearances. </p> <p> Needless to say, that secured the robust Argentine striker the <em>Capocannoniere</em> – and he went and followed it up with 24 more league goals for his new club, Juventus, the very next season, firing them to his first of three Scudetti. </p>

Getty Images

Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan)

During the 2015/16 campaign, Gonzalo Higuain equalled a Serie A record by racking up 36 goals for Napoli – in only 35 appearances.

Needless to say, that secured the robust Argentine striker the Capocannoniere – and he went and followed it up with 24 more league goals for his new club, Juventus, the very next season, firing them to his first of three Scudetti.

<p> Ciro Immobile flopped in Germany and Spain, but the Lazio icon has been a different proposition altogether in his homeland. </p> <p> From his arrival in 2016 until the end of the decade, Immobile notched 84 league goals for the Biancocelesti - winning the 2013/14 <em>Capocannoniere</em> and sharing it four years later – as he went a long way to establishing himself as one of Serie A’s most prolific strikers of all time. </p>

Getty Images

Ciro Immobile (Genoa, Torino, Lazio)

Ciro Immobile flopped in Germany and Spain, but the Lazio icon has been a different proposition altogether in his homeland.

From his arrival in 2016 until the end of the decade, Immobile notched 84 league goals for the Biancocelesti - winning the 2013/14 Capocannoniere and sharing it four years later – as he went a long way to establishing himself as one of Serie A’s most prolific strikers of all time.

<p> In each Serie A season from 2009/10 to 2011/12, Antonio Di Natale scored at least 23 goals for Udinese, collecting the <em>Capocannoniere</em> in 2010 and 2011. </p> <p> Voted Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year in 2010 and named in three consecutive Teams of the Year between 2011 and 2013, the 42-cap Italy international was unfortunate never to get a move to a top club. </p>

Getty Images

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)

In each Serie A season from 2009/10 to 2011/12, Antonio Di Natale scored at least 23 goals for Udinese, collecting the Capocannoniere in 2010 and 2011.

Voted Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year in 2010 and named in three consecutive Teams of the Year between 2011 and 2013, the 42-cap Italy international was unfortunate never to get a move to a top club.

<p> Among the most prolific strikers in Europe at his peak, Mauro Icardi banged in 122 goals in 221 Serie A appearances from 2012 to 2019. </p> <p> The vast majority of that total came in the colours of Inter Milan, who the Argentine – recipient of the <em>Capocannoniere</em> for the 2014/15 and 2017/18 seasons – joined from Sampdoria in 2013. </p>

Getty Images

Mauro Icardi (Sampdoria, Inter Milan)

Among the most prolific strikers in Europe at his peak, Mauro Icardi banged in 122 goals in 221 Serie A appearances from 2012 to 2019.

The vast majority of that total came in the colours of Inter Milan, who the Argentine – recipient of the Capocannoniere for the 2014/15 and 2017/18 seasons – joined from Sampdoria in 2013.

<p> In between his two stints at Manchester United, Paul Pogba starred in four Serie A title-winning sides at Juventus – and made it into three Teams of the Year. </p> <p> Arguably one of the most underrated players of his generation, the 2018 World Cup-winning Frenchman has to go down among the Italian top flight’s finest midfielders of the modern era. </p>

Getty Images

Paul Pogba (Juventus)

In between his two stints at Manchester United, Paul Pogba starred in four Serie A title-winning sides at Juventus – and made it into three Teams of the Year.

Arguably one of the most underrated players of his generation, the 2018 World Cup-winning Frenchman has to go down among the Italian top flight’s finest midfielders of the modern era.

<p> A constant goal threat from out wide, Dries Mertens came within one strike of finishing the 2016/17 season as Serie A top scorer. </p> <p> Signed by Napoli from PSV in the summer of 2013, the brilliant Belgian notched the best part of 100 league goals for the Partenopei before the decade was out – and set up his fair share, too. </p>

Getty Images

Dries Mertens (Napoli)

A constant goal threat from out wide, Dries Mertens came within one strike of finishing the 2016/17 season as Serie A top scorer.

Signed by Napoli from PSV in the summer of 2013, the brilliant Belgian notched the best part of 100 league goals for the Partenopei before the decade was out – and set up his fair share, too.

<p> Perhaps the greatest African player ever to ply his trade in Serie A, Senegal superstar Kalidou Koulibaly joined Napoli from Belgium’s Genk in 2014. </p> <p> He soon established himself as one of the most formidable centre-halves around, featuring in four Serie A Teams of the Year and being named the league’s standout defender of 2018/19. </p>

Getty Images

Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)

Perhaps the greatest African player ever to ply his trade in Serie A, Senegal superstar Kalidou Koulibaly joined Napoli from Belgium’s Genk in 2014.

He soon established himself as one of the most formidable centre-halves around, featuring in four Serie A Teams of the Year and being named the league’s standout defender of 2018/19.

<p> By the time he left Juventus in 2018, Gianluigi Buffon had been one of the world’s best goalkeepers for the best part of two decades. </p> <p> Already a two-time Scudetto winner, the 00s yielded even more success for Italy’s 2006 world-champion custodian – most notably seven consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2018. </p>

Getty Images

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

By the time he left Juventus in 2018, Gianluigi Buffon had been one of the world’s best goalkeepers for the best part of two decades.

Already a two-time Scudetto winner, the 00s yielded even more success for Italy’s 2006 world-champion custodian – most notably seven consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2018.

<p> Another integral figure in Juventus’ serial Serie A title-winning era, Leandro Bonucci joined Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini in a formidable three-man defence for many years. </p> <p> Included in the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 Serie A Teams of the Year, Bonucci left Juve for AC Milan in 2017 – only to return 12 months later and win his seventh Scudetto of the 10s. </p>

Getty Images

Leandro Bonucci (Bari, Juventus, AC Milan)

Another integral figure in Juventus’ serial Serie A title-winning era, Leandro Bonucci joined Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini in a formidable three-man defence for many years.

Included in the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 Serie A Teams of the Year, Bonucci left Juve for AC Milan in 2017 – only to return 12 months later and win his seventh Scudetto of the 10s.

<p> Like Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini will be remembered as one of the very best defenders of his generation – obviously, because he’s one of the best defenders of any generation. </p> <p> One of the most-capped players in the history of the Italian national team Chiellini – who won eight Serie A titles and featured in five Teams of the Year during the 10s – was a brilliantly aggressive centre-half with an old-school streak running through his game. </p>

Getty Images

Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

Like Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini will be remembered as one of the very best defenders of his generation – obviously, because he’s one of the best defenders of any generation.

One of the most-capped players in the history of the Italian national team Chiellini – who won eight Serie A titles and featured in five Teams of the Year during the 10s – was a brilliantly aggressive centre-half with an old-school streak running through his game.

<p> Andrea Pirlo left Serie A midway through the 10s to wind down his career in MLS, but he did enough during the first half of the decade to take top spot on this list. </p> <p> The Panenka-taking playmaker’s metronomic midfield magic was poetry in motion, as fans of AC Milan, Juventus – with both of whom he won the Scudetto – and more will attest. </p>

Getty Images

Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan, Juventus)

Andrea Pirlo left Serie A midway through the 10s to wind down his career in MLS, but he did enough during the first half of the decade to take top spot on this list.

The Panenka-taking playmaker’s metronomic midfield magic was poetry in motion, as fans of AC Milan, Juventus – with both of whom he won the Scudetto – and more will attest.