Across tennis, motorsport, cycling, skiing, swimming and the track, Italy has produced champions who became national icons. Which azzurro stands tallest of all? Cast your vote!
1Valentino RossiNine-time Grand Prix motorcycling world champion and one of MotoGP's most iconic figures.1000pts
2Marcell JacobsOlympic 100m champion who stunned the world with sprint gold at Tokyo 2020.718pts
3Federica PellegriniOlympic champion swimmer and long-time world-record holder in the 200m freestyle.621pts
4Jannik SinnerTennis world No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam champion, the standout Italian sportsman of his generation.440pts
5Marco PantaniCharismatic climber who won the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the same 1998 season.440pts
6Pietro MenneaOlympic 200m champion whose sprint world record stood for almost 17 years.440pts
7Francesco TottiOne-club football icon of AS Roma and a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006.440pts
8Gino BartaliCycling great and multiple Grand Tour winner, later honoured for wartime heroism.440pts
9Alberto TombaAlpine skiing legend with three Olympic golds who dominated slalom in the late 1980s and 1990s.440pts
10Sara SimeoniOlympic high-jump champion and former world-record holder of the 1970s and 80s.0pts
11Fausto CoppiIl Campionissimo, who won five Giros d'Italia and two Tours de France and completed the Giro-Tour double in both 1949 and 1952.
12Paolo MaldiniAC Milan defender for 25 seasons who lifted five European Cups and won 126 caps for Italy as one of football's finest defenders.
13Roberto BaggioIl Divin Codino, the 1993 Ballon d'Or winner who carried Italy to the 1994 World Cup final with five goals in the knockout rounds.
14Gianluigi BuffonGoalkeeper who won the 2006 World Cup, ten Serie A titles with Juventus and an Italian record 176 caps for his country.
15Dino ZoffGoalkeeper who captained Italy to the 1982 World Cup at the age of 40 and won six league titles with Juventus.
16Giuseppe MeazzaInter striker and two-time World Cup winner in 1934 and 1938, after whom Milan's San Siro stadium is officially named.
17Paolo RossiStriker whose six goals, including a hat-trick against Brazil, won Italy the 1982 World Cup and earned him the Ballon d'Or.
18Fabio CannavaroCaptain of Italy's 2006 World Cup winners and the last defender to win the Ballon d'Or, which he collected that same year.
19Gianni RiveraAC Milan playmaker who became the first Italian-born winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1969 and lifted two European Cups.
20Alessandro Del PieroJuventus' all-time leading scorer and appearance maker, a 2006 World Cup winner and 1996 Champions League champion.
21Giacomo AgostiniMotorcycle racer who won a record 15 Grand Prix world titles and 122 Grand Prix races, both still records in motorcycle racing.
22Alberto AscariFerrari driver who won the Formula One world championship in 1952 and 1953, Italy's only two-time F1 world champion.
23Tazio NuvolariPre-war racing legend who beat the German Silver Arrows at the 1935 German Grand Prix and won the Mille Miglia twice.
24Primo CarneraGiant heavyweight who became Italy's first world heavyweight boxing champion by knocking out Jack Sharkey in 1933.
25Nino Benvenuti1960 Olympic champion boxer who later won world titles at light middleweight and middleweight, beating Emile Griffith in 1967.
26Deborah CompagnoniAlpine skier who won Olympic gold at three consecutive Winter Games, in 1992, 1994 and 1998.
27Stefania BelmondoCross-country skier who won ten Olympic medals, including gold at Albertville 1992 and Salt Lake City 2002.
28Manuela Di CentaCross-country skier who won five medals at Lillehammer 1994, including golds in the 15 km and 30 km races.
29Valentina VezzaliFoil fencer who won six Olympic golds, including three straight individual titles in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
30Edoardo MangiarottiFencer who won 13 Olympic medals, six of them gold, between 1936 and 1960, the most by any fencer in history.
31Arianna FontanaShort-track speed skater with more Winter Olympic medals than any other Italian, including 500 m golds in 2018 and 2022.
32Federica BrignoneAlpine skier who won the overall World Cup in 2020 and 2025, the first Italian woman ever to take the big crystal globe.
33Sofia GoggiaDownhill specialist who won Olympic downhill gold at PyeongChang 2018 and four World Cup downhill titles.
34Gianmarco TamberiHigh jumper who shared Olympic gold with Mutaz Barshim at Tokyo 2020 and also won world and European titles.
35Gregorio PaltrinieriDistance swimmer who won the 1500 m freestyle at Rio 2016 and collected world titles in both the pool and open water.
36Vincenzo NibaliOne of only seven riders to win all three Grand Tours, taking the 2014 Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia twice.
37Felice GimondiCyclist who won all three Grand Tours, including the 1965 Tour de France, and the 1973 world road race title.
38Alex ZanardiTwo-time CART champion who lost both legs in a 2001 crash and returned to win four Paralympic gold medals in handcycling.
39Bebe VioWheelchair fencer who won Paralympic foil gold in 2016 and 2020 after losing her limbs to meningitis as a child.
40Dino MeneghinBasketball centre who won seven EuroLeague titles with Varese and Olimpia Milano and an Olympic silver medal in 1980.
41Adriano PanattaWon Roland Garros and the Italian Open in 1976 and led Italy to its first Davis Cup title the same year.
42Klaus DibiasiPlatform diver who won Olympic gold three times in a row, at Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976.
43Max BiaggiWon four consecutive 250cc world titles from 1994 to 1997 and later became a two-time World Superbike champion.
44Gustav ThöniAlpine skier who won four overall World Cup titles in the early 1970s and Olympic giant slalom gold at Sapporo 1972.
45Livio BerrutiSprinter who won the 200 m at the 1960 Rome Olympics in a time that equalled the world record.
46Armin ZöggelerLuger who won medals at six consecutive Winter Olympics from 1994 to 2014, including golds in 2002 and 2006.
Photo credits
- Valentino Rossi — Morio, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Marcell Jacobs — Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY 3.0
- Federica Pellegrini — Bill william compton, CC BY 2.0
- Marco Pantani — Hein Ciere, CC BY 3.0
- Fausto Coppi — J.D, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Paolo Maldini — GOAL TV, CC BY 3.0
- Gianluigi Buffon — Alza08, CC BY 2.0
- Dino Zoff — Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Fabio Cannavaro — Original: Mech867 / Derivative work: Danyele, CC BY 4.0
- Alessandro Del Piero — Barcex, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Giacomo Agostini — Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Deborah Compagnoni — Original: Luca Viscardi from milano, italy / Derivative work: Danyele, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Manuela Di Centa — Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Valentina Vezzali — Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 3.0
- Arianna Fontana — Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Korean Olympic Committee), CC BY-SA 2.0
- Federica Brignone — Gruppo Matou, CC BY 3.0
- Sofia Goggia — Palazzo Chigi, CC BY 3.0
- Gianmarco Tamberi — filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, CC BY 2.0
- Vincenzo Nibali — filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, CC BY 2.0
- Alex Zanardi — Brunhild Media, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bebe Vio — Scott335, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Dino Meneghin — Associazione Amici di Piero Chiara, CC BY 2.0
- Armin Zöggeler — Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments 2
Davis Cups in 2023, 2024 and 2025 are the team trophy he brings to a field of Rossi, Tomba and Pantani: https://youpick.best/articles/jannik-sinner-ranked-many-ways
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ypb-teamAug 21Totti is the only footballer here, and his one World Cup medal was shared with 22 teammates: https://youpick.best/articles/totti-at-50-rankings
YP
ypb-teamSep 27
