Roberto Baggio is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation. A technically gifted creative playmaker and set piece specialist, renowned for his curling free-kicks, dribbling skills, and goalscoring, Baggio is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. In 1999, he came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002. In 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players.
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.
Paolo Rossi was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament. Rossi is one of only three players, and the only European, to have won all three awards at a World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962 and Mario Kempes in 1978. Rossi was also awarded the 1982 Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year for his performances. Along with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, he is Italy's top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals overall.
Roberto Bettega is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward.
Roberto Boninsegna is an Italian former football player, who mainly played as a forward. After retiring, he worked as a football manager. As a player, he represented the Italy national side at two World Cups, reaching the final in 1970.
Franco Causio is an Italian former professional footballer who won the 1982 FIFA World Cup and played for Juventus for many years in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever wingers, throughout his career, he was given the nickname "The Baron", because of his stylish moves on the pitch, as well as his well-educated upbringing, and his fair attitude in life.
Franco Tancredi is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for several Italian clubs, in particular Roma, and the Italy national team. He is a member of the A.S. Roma Hall of Fame.
Pietro Anastasi, nicknamed Petruzzu 'u turcu by fans, was an Italian footballer who played mainly in the role of a forward.
Roberto Tricella is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He was most frequently deployed as a sweeper throughout his career. Tricella played for Italian clubs Internazionale, Verona, Juventus, and Bologna, winning a Coppa Italia with Inter, a Serie A title with Verona, and a Coppa Italia-UEFA Cup double with Juventus. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
The 1990 UEFA Cup Final was an association football tie played on 2 May 1990 and 16 May 1990 between Juventus and Fiorentina of Italy. Juventus won 3–1 on aggregate. This was the first final between two Italian sides in the UEFA competitions' history and the third between two clubs of the same country.
Alessandro Del Piero is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia. A technically gifted and creative supporting forward who was also a free-kick specialist, Del Piero is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. He won the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year award in 1998 and 2008 and received multiple nominations for the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
Roberto Maximiliano Pereyra is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for the Argentina national team. A right-footed player, his preferred position is as a midfielder or as a forward. Due to his versatility, he is capable of playing a variety of positions such as left or right wing, central midfield, attacking midfield or second striker.
Massimo Piloni is an Italian professional football coach and a former player, who played as a goalkeeper.
Associazione Sportiva Roma did not manage to repeat its successful previous two seasons, and instead took a step back to seventh in the league championship. New coach Sven-Göran Eriksson was soon to get to grips with Italian football, with Roma improving the next year to be a force for the title.
Associazione Sportiva Roma had a successful season, in which Sven-Göran Eriksson's typical Scandinavian tactical approach was able to improve Roma's fortunes to a level where they once again fought for the league title. They also won the Coppa Italia, but the chance of a double disappeared in a 3–2 loss at home to bottom side Lecce, which all but secured Juventus's title. The most important part in Roma's revival was an efficient midfield with several top-class players in addition to striker Roberto Pruzzo, with several playmakers providing multiple assists to league topscorer Pruzzo.
A.S. Roma dropped off the pace of the top teams during the 1986–87 season, which ended Sven-Göran Eriksson's first Italian employment prematurely. From being the top scoring team in the season before, Roma struggled with finding the back of the net, resulting in worsened results.
A.S. Roma returned to prominence with a 3rd place in Serie A under returning coach Nils Liedholm. With new signings such as Rudi Völler and Lionello Manfredonia, Roma was able to qualify for international football once again, with playmaker Giuseppe Giannini arguably playing at his very peak, setting a career record 11 league goals from attacking midfield.
Associazione Sportiva Roma finished 7th in Serie A, dropping four places from the season before, even firing coach Nils Liedholm for just a few weeks. It also crashed out of the UEFA Cup against comparatively minnows Dynamo Dresden in the Last 16.
Associazione Sportiva Roma had a rather average season, but finished solidly inside the top half of Serie A with a sixth place. German striker Rudi Völler had his best season at Roma, scoring 14 league goals, whilst Stefano Desideri hit 10 goals. The greatest success of Roma's season was the Primavera team winning the national championship.
The ACF Fiorentina–Juventus F.C. rivalry is an inter-city football rivalry contested between Florence-based Fiorentina and Turin-based Juventus. Unlike most other football derbies, this one is borne not out of geographical proximity ; political differences ; or longstanding competitiveness, but rather is a development from the latter decades of the 20th century based on local patriotism, or campanilismo, bitterness and accusations of 'thievery'.
