26: Liam Brady (Republic of
Ireland)
The Irish international has the honour of being the first foreigner to win back to back Scudetti after re-opening of borders for foreign players in Italy. The Irishman was sacrificed only to accommodate for another foreign legend Michel Platini as Italian
ruling allowed only three foreigners in a team at that time. Liam Brady came to know about it on the last day of his season but the Irishman converted a penalty that gave Juventus the title. After leaving Juventus, Brady stayed in Italy and played for Sampdoria,
Inter Milan and Ascoli.
25: Zvonimir Boban (Croatia)
‘Zorro’ was sent by Milan on loan to Bari in 1991 initially but returned to AC Milan a year later and then spent a decade at San Siro, usually used as a luxury substitute. The Croatian was a part of 1994 Champions League winning side and won 4 Scudetti with
Milan.
24: Zbigniew Boniek (Poland)
The Polish counter attacking expert was used well first by Juventus and then Roma. Boniek was the first Polish player to play in the Serie A. Gianni Agnelli baptised the Pole II Bello Di Notte (Beauty of the night) owing to Boniek’s ability to score decisive
goals in European evening matches. The Polish international won a lot of honours and trophies with Juventus but says that he had the best of times when he was at Roma.
23: Dejan Savicevic (Montenegro)
The truly gifted ‘II Genio’ was Fabio Capello’s indispensable card who was vital to his plans. The Montenegrin was the architect of the 4-0 massacre of Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final and went on to play 150 matches for AC Milan during his 6-year
tenure at the club.
22: Lilian Thuram (France)
Along with Fabio Cannavaro and Gigi Buffon, the Frenchman was one of the best defensive units in European game during his time at Parma. The trio later reformed at Juventus and formed one of the best defensive triad in Europe. The World Cup and European
Championship winner with France was initially a centre back but started showing even better results after playing in the right.
21: Edgar Davids (Holland)
The Dutch international was practically thrown away by AC Milan after he struggled to settle down at San Siro. Davids then became the first Dutchman to play for Juventus when he signed for the Turin giants in December 1998 and was immediately inserted in
the Juve first team. The Dutchman stayed at Juventus for 7 years during which he made 235 appearances before a contract dispute put an end to his spell in Italy. The Dutchman suffered from Glaucoma and the eye disease prompted him to wear shades that became
iconic throughout Holland.
20: Lothar Matthaus (Germany)
The German international was the chief catalyst of Giovanni Trapattoni’s record breaking and Scudetto winning Inter Milan side of 1989. The World Cup and Golden Ball winning German international spent 3 years in Italy before returning to Bayern Munich in
1992 following a knee injury.
19: Antonio Careca (Brazil)
The Brazilian formed the legendary and mythical ‘MA-GI-CA’ at Napoli with Diego Maradona and Bruno Giordano as Napoli won the Scudetto and the UEFA cup. The exciting Brazilian was technically gifted and closed the doors on his Serie A career with 73 goals
in 164 appearances but the Capocannoniere crown eluded the Brazilian two times in his first two season with Napoli.
18: Marcel Desailly (France)
The 1998 World Cup winner with France was signed by AC Milan as a defender in 1993 but was converted into a great central midfielder by Fabio Capello. Upon his arrival, Desailly won the Scudetto and the champion’s league. The muscular Frenchman of Senegalese
origin was a wall in front of the defence and during the last stages of his playing career, moved to English side Chelsea.
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