Four of the five leading goalscorers in Italian football comes from an era that was dominated by tough-tackling defence. In this list one name, Franceso Totti, towers over the rest due to the respect he commanded from his teammates and the opposition.
Here are the top 5 leading goalscorers in Italian football.
Here are the top 5 leading goalscorers in Italian football.
5. Jose Altafini - 216 goals
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| One of the key member in AC Milan's first European Cup-winning campaign |
The striker is one of the very few players who have represented two different nations in the World Cup. Jose Altafini started his career in Brazil with Palmeiras in 1956 before moving to Europe to join AC Milan in 1958.
Nicknamed 'Mazzola', Altafini enjoyed a hugely successful career in Milan. Regarded as one of the greatest ever to don the jersey for the Rossoneri, Mazzola played a huge role in bringing the European Cup to Milan for the very first time. The striker's tally of 14 Champions League goals in a single campaign was unbroken for more than 50 years before Cristiano Ronaldo broke it a couple of years back. Altafini spent seven seasons in Milan, winning two league titles and a European Cup before moving to Napoli in 1965 following disagreements with some of his teammates.
The Brazilian-born striker formed a devastating partnership with Italian striker Omar Sivori but could never guide the Naples team to their first league title despite playing seven years at the Southern Italian club. Altafini left the Gli Azzurri in 1972 after failing to win any major silverware with the club.
A long way past his prime, a 34-year old Altafini joined Juventus in 1972 and helped the Turin giants to two Serie A titles before moving to Canada in 1976 for a brief spell with National Soccer League side Toronto Italia. The striker returned to Europe the same year, joining Swiss club Chiasso. Altafini would move one more last move, joining Swiss side Mendrisiostar, before retiring from the game in 1980 at the age of 42.
Born in Brazil, Altafini was part of the famous 1958 World Cup-winning side of Brazil that introduced the 'Samba' style of football. The striker would never play for the Latin American side, joining the Italian national team in 1961.
A prolific striker throughout his career, Jose 'Mazzola' Altafini scored an incredible 216 goals in 459 Serie A appearances. The striker was inducted into AC Milan hall of fame in 2019 and is widely considered as one the greatest ever to play in the Italian league.
4. Giuseppe Meazza - 216 goals
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| One of the greatest ever to don the jersey for the Nerazzurri |
Many believe he is the greatest-ever player to play for Italy despite playing his last game over 50 years ago. Giuseppe Meazza played most of his career at Milan, he started his journey with Internazionale in 1927.
A prolific striker throughout his career, Meazza finished as the top scorer in the Serie A for three seasons and helped the Nerazzurri to three Serie A titles and one Coppa Italia before moving to the other Milan club in 1940.
The Milan-born striker spent two more seasons at his hometown with AC Milan before moving to Turing to join Juventus in 1942. Meazza would just spend one season at Turin before a brief stint with Varese in 1944 and Atalanta in 1945 before finally ending his career with his boyhood club Internazionale in 1947.
Meazza was part of two World Cup-winning Italian sides and remains the second-highest goalscorer for his nation. He still remains the fastest player ever to reach 100 goals in the Serie A. Meazza scored an impressive 216 goals in 367 Serie A appearances.
The striker sadly passed away in 1979 at the age of 68. Meazza was inducted into the Italian Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Inter Milan Hall of Fame in 2019. The San Siro is famously named in honour of Giuseppe Meazza.
3. Gunnar Nordahl - 225 goals
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| The most efficient striker in the history of Serie A |
One of the greatest strikers ever to play the game, Gunnar Nordahl is arguably the best player to come out of Sweden (Yes, there are players that were off the same calibre of Zlatan Ibrahimovic or more than that). Gunnar Nordahl started his career in his home country with Hornefors IF in 1937 and played for the Swedish side before moving to Degerfors IF in 1940. Four seasons with Degerfors was followed by five seasons with IFK Norrkoping before Nordahl made his entry into Serie A with Italian giants AC Milan.
Nordahl impact on AC Milan was instantaneous, the Rossoneri won the Serie A title in the second season after the arrival of the Swede. The striker would go on to add one title for the Rossoneri before moving. The Hornefors-born striker spent seven seasons at Milan, finishing as the top scorer of the Serie A on five occasions (a record he still holds today) and helping the Milan giants to two titles.
The striker ended his Milan career in 1956, joining AS Roma. Nordahl spent two seasons at the Eternal City before retiring from the game in 1958. Nicknamed 'Cannoniere', Nordahl is the leading non-Italian goalscorer in the Serie A and is one of the most efficient goalscorers of all time.
During his nine seasons in Italy, Nordahl scored an impressive 225 goals in just 291 appearances. The striker sadly passed away at the age of 73 in 1997. He was honoured by AC Milan and inducted into their hall of fame.
2. Francesco Totti - 250 goals
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| The Gladiator |
One of the most loyal players to have ever graced the game, Francesco Totti spent his entire professional career at his hometown club AS Roma. Nicknamed 'The Golden Boy' or 'Er Bimbo de Oro' at the start of his career, Totti came up through the AS Roma youth system before making his debut in 1993 at the age of 16.
The Italian became the captain of the team in 1998 at the age of 22, a position he would hold till the end of his career. Totti formed a formidable partnership with Gabriel Batistuta as AS Roma won their third Serie A title ending an 18-year long wait for the league, the striker though would never win the league again in his career.
Totti spent 25-years with the Giallorossi winning just one league title, 2 Coppa Italia and 2 Supercoppa Italiana. Despite the lack of success at AS Roma and constant transfer rumour linking him with a move to Real Madrid, Francesco Totti remained loyal to the club he loved and stayed.
The Romanista finally retired from the game in 2017 after playing three decades for the Giallorossi. Totti's loyalty to Roma earned him many nicknames like 'The Gladiator' and 'The Captain' during his long career.
During his career with Roma, Totti won the European Golden Shoe once and was named in FIFA 100 by Pele. Francesco Totti holds several records at Roma including the highest goalscorer and the highest appearance maker. "
Francesco Totti's crowning moment though would forever remain the 2006 FIFA World Cup he won with the national team.
In 618 appearances in the Serie A, Francesco Totti scored an impressive 250 goals. The Italian is the leading goalscorer for a single club in Serie A.
1. Silvio Piola - 274 goals
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| The only player in Serie A history to be the leading goalscorer for three different clubs |
The greatest goalscorer in the history of Serie A, Silvio Piola started his career in 1929 with yesteryear powerhouses Pro Vercelli. The striker spent five seasons at the North-west Italian club before moving to the capital city of Rome to join Lazio.
It is at Lazio that Piola showcased his goalscoring prowess. The Robbio-born striker terrorised the defenders for almost a decade as he won the Serie A top scorer award on two occasions. A lack of success saw Piola making a move to Turin to join Torino, but the move failed to produce any results which ultimately led the striker to join cross-town rivals Juventus in 1945.
Piola would go onto spent seven seasons with the Bianconeri, twice falling short on the elusive Serie A title, before moving to Novarro in 1947. The Italian would spend seven more seasons as a professional, playing for Novarro before retiring from the game in 1954.
During his 25-year long career, Piola scored 274 goals in 537 appearances but sadly never lifted the Scudetto. The striker though still remains the top-scorer in the Serie A for three different clubs (Lazio, Novaro, Pro Vercelli). Despite being trophyless in his club career, Piola was one of the key figures for Italy as the European side won the 1938 FIFA World Cup.
Silvio Piola was honoured by the Italian football federation by inducting him into the Italian Hall of Fame in 2011. The striker sadly passed away at the age of 83 in 1996.
Also Read: Top 15 leading goalscorers in Serie A: 6-11
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