Serie A: 5 Players from the 1990s who Deserve More Credit
If you wanted to watch the absolute best football on offer during the 1990s, you simply had to tune in to the Italian Serie A. At that time the richest league in the world, clubs such as Juventus, Parma, Napoli, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Internazionale, Sampdoria, and Lazio were able to attract the world's top talent to the country, and what ensued was probably the greatest tactical war ever to grace modern sports, as flamboyant stars from across Europe and South America did battle against Italy's meanest, defensive-minded players and managers.
Many of the players on show during this era became household names: Zinedine Zidane, Paulo Maldini, Luis Nazario De Lima Ronaldo, Marco Van Basten, Franco Baresi, Michelle Platini, Ruud Gullit, Michel Platini, Diego Maradona, etc.
However, countless others do not receive the plaudits they deserve outside of Italy. This is mostly due to just how many exceptional players there were on show in Italy at that time, and also because it was such an incredibly tough league to score goals in, so fantastic players don't always have fantastic stats to back up their worth.
This article aims to showcase a few of those players who have slipped off the radar, giving us a chance to reflect on their brilliance together as a readership.
So, let's get into it! Here are five players from 1990s Serie A that we feel deserve much more of a mention:
#1 Zvonimir Boban, AC Milan 1991-2000
One of the most technically proficient players to ever pull on the famous l Rossoneri jersey, Zvonimir Boban could do it all with the ball at his feet. The Croatian-born technician was brought to Milan from Dinamo Zagreb in 1991 for a fee of £1.35 million.
He spent his first season on loan at Bari, where his raw-talent impressed, and he was called back into Fabio Capello's squad in time for the club's next assault on Serie A. Boban quickly cemented himself as a regular starter for the club and dazzled fans with his close-control, dribbling-skills, tenacity, and eye for a pass. He went on to help Milan to the Scudetto four-times in nine years and Champions League glories in 1994, humbling a strong Barcelona side in the final - 4-0!
An attacking-midfielder of immense quality, the man from Imoschi ended his AC Milan career having scored 21 goals in 178 matches in Serie A — a notoriously difficult division to get goals in. However, it's important not to judge this talent on his stats alone; Boban had the ability to dominate football matches, created chances galore, and inspired those around him with his gutsy and combative displays from the center of the park — a genuine player's player that isn't discussed nearly as much as he should be. All hail Zorro!