Da Costa, Dino (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1/8/31)
An attacking midfielder, he burst on to the scene at Roma in the 1950s with 70 Serie A goals in the space of just five seasons. This convinced Italy to give him a cap thanks to some dubious Italian background, but he played just one game for the Azzurri against Northern Ireland in 1958 - and scored.
David, Mario (Udine, 3/1/34)
A defensive midfielder who enjoyed his most successful days at Milan, he is most famous for being one of the players sent off during the Battle of Santiago against Chile in 1962 - the last of his three caps for his country.
Davids, Edgar (Paramaribo, Surinam, 13/3/73)
A real pitbull at the heart of the Ajax midfield, he was brought to Italy by Milan but failed to make an impact. In 1997 he moved to Juve and immediately won the first of his three Scudetti with the Bianconeri. A brief move to Barcelona was followed by a return to Italy - this time with Inter - in 2004.
De Agostini, Luigi (Udine, 7/4/61)
An efficient and well organised full-back who spent five seasons with Juve and one with Inter but never won a League title. Capped 36 times by Italy, including appearances at the 1990 World Cup.
Della Valle, Giuseppe (Bologna, 1899 - Died 1975)
One of Bologna’s stars of the 1920s, Della Valle scored 66 goals in 144 games and has a couple of League titles to his credit. The imposing striker also scored half a dozen goals for the Azzurri in 17 matches.
Del Piero, Alessandro (Conegliano, 9/11/74)
A real golden boy for Juve, he was brought in from Padova in 1993 as a talented youngster and soon became an idol of the Turin faithful with three League titles in his first four full seasons. But a serious knee injury ruled him out for most of 1998-99 season and he never quite returned to his previous level. Two more titles came his way but the unconditional love of both club and supporters seemed to be lost forever.
Del Sol, Luis (Arcus de Qalon, Spain, 6/4/35)
Del Sol was probably second only to Luis Suarez as the most influential Spaniard to play in Serie A. He arrived at Juventus in 1962 just before the barriers closed to foreign players and stayed with the Turin giants for eight good years. And Roma were happy to take him for a couple of years, even at the age of 35.
Delvecchio, Marco (Milan, 7/4/73)
Although he won the Scudetto with Roma in 2001, Delvecchio will mostly be remembered for scoring the opening goal of Italy’s European Championship Final defeat to France in 2000. Never a prolific scorer, he still manages to chip in with his fair share of goals and is currently aiding Brescia’s bid to avoid relegation.
Demaria, Attilio (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 19/3/09)
Spotted by Inter at the first World Cup, who promptly snapped him up to join the growing band of oriundi – meaning foreign stars of Italian descent – in Serie A. This attacking midfielder was an instant hit with more than 50 goals in his first five-season spell with the Milanese giants. At the same time he helped Italy to the World Cup with three goals in the 1934 campaign. Briefly returned to Argentina but Inter brought him back for another five years in his ‘30s and his only Scudetto in 1940.
De Napoli, Fernando (Chiusano San Domenico, 15/3/64)
Appropriately named for a player whose finest moments came in the sky blue of Napoli. This tireless midfielder was also a permanent fixture in the Italy team throughout the 1990 World Cup, although winning two Scudetti in Naples was the high point of his career.
Depetrini, Teobaldo (Vercelli, 12/3/13)
A right-sided defensive midfielder, he was a Juve star from 1933 to 1949 and played over 330 League games. He joined at the tail end of the great five in a row years and picked up two League titles in 1934 and 1935. He was also capped by Italy for a dozen games.
Desailly, Marcel (Accra, Ghana, 7/9/68)
Introduced to Serie A by Milan this one-time defender with Marseille made his impact at the heart of the Rossoneri midfield with a couple of titles and a European Cup before moving on to Chelsea. He was also a World Cup winner during his time at the San Siro.
De Sisti, Giancarlo (Rome, 13/3/43)
The heart of Fiorentina’s second title win in 1969, Picchio – meaning The Woodpecker – made 477 League appearances in almost 20 years. He started at Roma but a transfer to Florence in 1965 helped him find his spiritual home and he conducted the midfield for the Viola throughout nine memorable seasons and also helped Italy to their European Championship triumph in 1968. He returned to Florence as Coach and almost took them to the title in 1982.
De Vecchi, Renzo (Milan, 3/2/1894 - Died 1967)
One of the first superstars of Italian football, De Vecchi moved from Milan to Genoa as a teenager and never looked back. Although an enterprising left-back, he let few players get past him and was given the name ‘Figlio di Dio’ – which means ‘Son of God’ – such was the quality of his play. He helped the Rossoblu to three League titles between 1913 and 1929 and played some 240 times for them. He was also catapulted into the national team where he appeared 43 times in the famous blue shirt between 1910 and 1925. An outrageously talented ball player and tenacious tackler, when he finally decided to hang up his boots he turned his hand to journalism and was heavily involved in the creation of the Almanacco del Calcio which has remained the bible for football pundits in Italy to this very day.
Diaz, Ramon (La Rioja, Argentina, 29/8/59)
Napoli, Avellino, Fiorentina and Inter were the four clubs of Diaz’s Italian career from 1982 to 1989. A penalty-box striker, he got goals wherever he went but his last season was his most productive with 12 Serie A strikes for the Nerazzurri. Now bizarrely plying his trade at the helm of Oxford United.
Di Bartolomei, Agostino (Rome, 8/4/55)
The midfield architect of Roma’s title success in 1983 although he was never capped by Italy despite a promising youth career. The world of Italian football was stunned by his tragic suicide in 1994.
Di Canio, Paolo (Rome, 9/7/68)
Love him or loathe him, nobody could ignore Paolo Di Canio. He started out as a talented youngster with boyhood heroes Lazio before heading to Juve, Napoli and Milan, where he never quite delivered his promise. Instead, his skills found a better home in Britain where he achieved legendary status at Celtic and West Ham. In 2004, however, the call of his first club was too strong and he returned to Lazio in Serie A to help rebuild the side.
Dida (Irara, Brazil, 7/10/73)
Initially found it hard to find his feet in Italy and many felt Milan had made a blunder signing him in 2000. But a couple of years later he came on strong with a Scudetto and Champions’ League as he turned into one of the most assured goalkeepers in the world.
Di Gennaro, Antonio (Florence, 5/10/58)
Although he started with hometown Fiorentina his name is most associated with Verona’s only League triumph in 1985. A quality midfielder with an eye for goal, he was capped 15 times by Italy and scored four goals. His other clubs included Perugia and Bari.
Di Livio, Angelo (Rome, 26/7/66)
It took the dependable midfielder nearly 10 years to reach Serie A but, when he finally did, Il Soldatino - meaning Little Soldier - was at the heart of Marcello Lippi’s Juve which won three League titles and a Champions’ League. Di Livio moved to Fiorentina and became an amazing example of loyalty as he accepted a huge pay cut to help bring the club back from Serie C2 to Serie A.
Domenghini, Angelo (Lallio, 25/8/41)
An Inter star of the 1960s, this right-winger also had the pleasure to be part of Cagliari’s historic Scudetto win of 1970. A European Cup and World Club Cup winner while at Inter, he was also part of Italy’s European Championship win in 1968 and picked up 33 caps for his country, scoring seven goals.
Donadoni, Roberto (Cisano Bergamasco, 9/9/63)
One of the unsung heroes of Milan’s glorious years of the late 1980s, his midfield talents should not be underestimated. A natural dribbler who started playing at Atalanta, he was rarely robbed of the ball and could cover some important defensive duties despite his creative nature. Capped 59 times by his country, Donadoni also possessed a rifling shot which gave him five goals at international level. By his final season with Milan in 1995-96 he had won honours across Italy and Europe and so decided to accept the challenge of a move to the Metro All Stars in New York. Now trying his hand at management with Livorno in Serie A.
Dossena, Giuseppe (Milan, 2/5/58)
An outstanding creative midfielder, he played a vital role in Italy’s World Cup qualification campaign of 1982 without featuring in the Finals themselves. A long career included spells at Pistoiese, Cesena, Bologna, Torino and Udinese but he concluded his days in the top flight at Sampdoria where he won the Italian Cup in 1989.
Dunga, Carlos (Ijui, Brazil, 31/10/63)
Signed by Pisa from Vasco Da Gama in 1987 it soon became clear that his talents needed a bigger stage and he moved to Fiorentina the following year. A powerful midfielder capable of making some long, raking passes, he also had a powerful free-kick at his disposal. However, disputes with the club made him surplus to requirements in the summer of 1992 and it was perhaps not such a coincidence that Fiorentina got relegated in the same season. As he was to prove at the World Cup in 1994, Dunga still had a lot to offer at the very highest level.
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