# List of Italy national football team captains

This is a list of all the captains who played for the Italy national football team.
Francesco Calì was the first captain of the Italy national football team.
The only players who were captains in all matches they have played in the national team were Giuseppe Milano (11 appearances), Francesco Calì (2 caps) and Giulio Cappelli (2 caps).
Gianluigi Buffon wore the captain band the most times: 80.
Gianluigi Buffon is also the goalkeeper who has worn the captain band the most times: 80.
Valentino Mazzola and Sandro Mazzola as well as Cesare Maldini and Paolo Maldini are the only cases of father and son who have worn the captain band during their respective times on the national team. Goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon and Lorenzo Buffon are distant cousins. Attilio Ferraris and Pietro Ferraris, despite the same surname, are not relatives.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is the current captain of the national team.

## List of captains by appearances

Updated as of 17 November 2024.
Players in bold are still active. Players in italics served as the designated captain for his captaincy period.
| # | Name | Captain | Appearances | Goals | National years | Captaincy years |
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | 80 | 176 | 0 | 1997–2018 | 2010–2018 |
| 2 | Fabio Cannavaro | 79 | 136 | 2 | 1997–2010 | 2002–2010 |
| 3 | Paolo Maldini | 74 | 126 | 7 | 1988–2002 | 1994–2002 |
| 4 | Giacinto Facchetti | 70 | 94 | 3 | 1963–1977 | 1966–1977 |
| 5 | Dino Zoff | 59 | 112 | 0 | 1968–1983 | 1977–1983 |
| 6 | Giuseppe Bergomi | 33 | 81 | 6 | 1982–1998 | 1988–1991 |
| 7 | Franco Baresi | 31 | 81 | 1 | 1982–1994 | 1991–1994 |
| 8 | Adolfo Baloncieri | 27 | 47 | 25 | 1920–1930 | 1927–1930 |
| 9 | Renzo De Vecchi | 26 | 43 | 0 | 1910–1925 | 1920–1925 |
| 9 | Leonardo Bonucci | 26 | 121 | 8 | 2010–2023 | 2014–2023 |
| 11 | Giampiero Boniperti | 24 | 38 | 7 | 1947–1960 | 1952–1960 |
| 12 | Giorgio Chiellini | 22 | 117 | 8 | 2004–2022 | 2012–2022 |
| 13 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | 21 | 70 | 0 | 2016– | 2021– |
| 14 | Giuseppe Meazza | 17 | 53 | 33 | 1930–1939 | 1937–1939 |
| 14 | Sandro Salvadore | 17 | 36 | 2 | 1960–1970 | 1963–1966 |
| 16 | Umberto Caligaris | 16 | 59 | 0 | 1922–1934 | 1931–1934 |
| 17 | Giuseppe Milano | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1911–1914 | 1911–1914 |
| 18 | Gaetano Scirea | 10 | 78 | 2 | 1975–1986 | 1984–1986 |
| 19 | Luigi Allemandi | 9 | 24 | 0 | 1925–1936 | 1934–1936 |
| 19 | Silvio Piola | 9 | 34 | 30 | 1935–1952 | 1940–1952 |
| 19 | Marco Tardelli | 9 | 81 | 6 | 1976–1985 | 1983–1985 |
| 19 | Antonio Cabrini | 9 | 73 | 9 | 1978–1987 | 1983–1987 |
| 19 | Andrea Pirlo | 9 | 116 | 13 | 2002–2015 | 2010–2015 |
| 24 | Alessandro Altobelli | 8 | 61 | 25 | 1980–1988 | 1986–1987 |
| 24 | Virginio Rosetta | 8 | 52 | 0 | 1920–1934 | 1929–1934 |
| 26 | Riccardo Carapellese | 7 | 16 | 10 | 1947–1956 | 1949–1950 |
| 26 | Luigi Cevenini | 7 | 29 | 11 | 1915–1929 | 1925–1929 |
| 26 | Alessandro Del Piero | 7 | 91 | 27 | 1995–2008 | 2004–2008 |
| 29 | Demetrio Albertini | 6 | 79 | 3 | 1991–2002 | 1996–2000 |
| 29 | Carlo Annovazzi | 6 | 17 | 0 | 1947–1952 | 1951–1952 |
| 29 | Lorenzo Buffon | 6 | 15 | 0 | 1958–1962 | 1961–1962 |
| 29 | Sergio Cervato | 6 | 28 | 4 | 1951–1960 | 1955–1959 |
| 29 | Daniele De Rossi | 6 | 117 | 21 | 2004–2017 | 2007–2017 |
| 29 | Virgilio Fossati | 6 | 12 | 1 | 1910–1915 | 1912–1915 |
| 29 | Cesare Maldini | 6 | 14 | 0 | 1960–1963 | 1962–1963 |
| 36 | Gianpiero Combi | 5 | 47 | 0 | 1924–1934 | 1931–1934 |
| 36 | Alessandro Mazzola | 5 | 70 | 22 | 1963–1974 | 1972 |
| 36 | Valentino Mazzola | 5 | 12 | 4 | 1942–1949 | 1947–1949 |
| 36 | Egisto Pandolfini | 5 | 21 | 9 | 1950–1957 | 1952–1955 |
| 40 | Giancarlo Antognoni | 4 | 73 | 7 | 1974–1983 | 1977–1981 |
| 40 | Ciro Immobile | 4 | 57 | 17 | 2014– | 2018–2024 |
| 40 | Gianni Rivera | 4 | 60 | 14 | 1962–1974 | 1964–1965 |
| 43 | Alessandro Costacurta | 3 | 59 | 2 | 1991–1998 | 1995–1997 |
| 43 | Attilio Ferraris | 3 | 28 | 0 | 1926–1935 | 1934–1935 |
| 43 | Alessandro Florenzi | 3 | 49 | 2 | 2012–2022 | 2020–2022 |
| 43 | Alessandro Nesta | 3 | 78 | 0 | 1996–2006 | 2004 |
| 43 | Gianluca Vialli | 3 | 59 | 16 | 1985–1992 | 1989–1992 |
| 48 | Nicolò Barella | 2 | 59 | 10 | 2018– | 2024 |
| 48 | Romeo Benetti | 2 | 55 | 2 | 1971–1980 | 1978–1979 |
| 48 | Giacomo Bulgarelli | 2 | 29 | 7 | 1962–1967 | 1966 |
| 48 | Francesco Calì | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1910 | 1910 |
| 48 | Giulio Cappelli | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1936–1936 | 1936 |
| 48 | Fulvio Collovati | 2 | 50 | 3 | 1979–1986 | 1985 |
| 48 | Giovanni Ferrari | 2 | 44 | 14 | 1930–1938 | 1938 |
| 48 | Pietro Ferraris | 2 | 14 | 3 | 1935–1947 | 1947 |
| 48 | Alfredo Foni | 2 | 23 | 0 | 1936–1942 | 1936 |
| 48 | Gennaro Gattuso | 2 | 73 | 1 | 2000–2010 | 2009 |
| 48 | Alberto Gilardino | 2 | 57 | 19 | 2004–2013 | 2011–2013 |
| 48 | Jorginho | 2 | 57 | 5 | 2016– | 2021– |
| 48 | Ardico Magnini | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1953–1957 | 1956–1957 |
| 48 | Marco Materazzi | 2 | 41 | 2 | 2001–2008 | 2004–2005 |
| 48 | Riccardo Montolivo | 2 | 66 | 2 | 2007–2017 | 2013–2014 |
| 48 | Miguel Montuori | 2 | 12 | 2 | 1956–1960 | 1959–1960 |
| 48 | Maino Neri | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1948–1954 | 1948 |
| 48 | Gianluca Pagliuca | 2 | 39 | 0 | 1990–1998 | 1994–1995 |
| 48 | Pietro Rava | 2 | 30 | 0 | 1935–1946 | 1939–1942 |
| 48 | Armando Segato | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1953–1959 | 1958–1959 |
| 48 | Marco Verratti | 2 | 55 | 3 | 2012–2023 | 2019–2023 |
| 48 | Gianluca Zambrotta | 2 | 98 | 2 | 1999–2010 | 2010 |
| 70 | Massimo Ambrosini | 1 | 35 | 0 | 1999–2008 | 2006 |
| 70 | Roberto Baggio | 1 | 56 | 27 | 1988–2004 | 1992 |
| 70 | Federico Bernardeschi | 1 | 39 | 6 | 2016–2022 | 2021 |
| 70 | Fulvio Bernardini | 1 | 26 | 3 | 1925–1932 | 1932 |
| 70 | Sergio Brighenti | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1959–1961 | 1961 |
| 70 | Tarcisio Burgnich | 1 | 66 | 2 | 1963–1974 | 1973 |
| 70 | Piero Campelli | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1912–1921 | 1920 |
| 70 | Antonio Cassano | 1 | 39 | 10 | 2003–2014 | 2011 |
| 70 | Gino Colaussi | 1 | 25 | 15 | 1935–1940 | 1939 |
| 70 | Giovanni Di Lorenzo | 1 | 44 | 5 | 2019– | 2024– |
| 70 | Antonio Di Natale | 1 | 42 | 11 | 2002–2012 | 2009 |
| 70 | Stephan El Shaarawy | 1 | 32 | 7 | 2012– | 2020 |
| 70 | Ciro Ferrara | 1 | 49 | 0 | 1987–2000 | 2000 |
| 70 | Claudio Gentile | 1 | 71 | 1 | 1975–1984 | 1984 |
| 70 | Mario Gianni | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1927–1933 | 1932 |
| 70 | Lorenzo Insigne | 1 | 54 | 10 | 2012–2022 | 2018 |
| 70 | Giacomo Losi | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1960–1962 | 1962 |
| 70 | Bruno Mora | 1 | 21 | 4 | 1959–1965 | 1962 |
| 70 | Bruno Nicolè | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1958–1964 | 1961 |
| 70 | Christian Panucci | 1 | 57 | 4 | 1994–2008 | 2003 |
| 70 | Angelo Peruzzi | 1 | 31 | 0 | 1995–2006 | 2005 |
| 70 | Alfredo Pitto | 1 | 29 | 2 | 1928–1935 | 1935 |
| 70 | Giuseppe Rossi | 1 | 30 | 7 | 2008–2014 | 2010 |
| 70 | Aristodemo Santamaria | 1 | 11 | 3 | 1915–1923 | 1921 |
| 70 | Angelo Schiavio | 1 | 21 | 15 | 1925–1934 | 1933 |
| 70 | Salvatore Sirigu | 1 | 28 | 0 | 2010–2021 | 2020 |
| 70 | Luca Toni | 1 | 47 | 16 | 2004–2009 | 2005 |
| Total | 96 players | 885 | | | 1910–2024 | 1910–2024 |

## List of captains by captaincy period

List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.
* 1910 Francesco Calì
* 1911–1914 Giuseppe Milano
* 1914–1915 Virgilio Fossati
* 1920–1925 Renzo De Vecchi
* 1925–1927 Luigi Cevenini
* 1927–1930 Adolfo Baloncieri
* 1931–1934 Umberto Caligaris
* 1934 Gianpiero Combi
* 1935–1936 Luigi Allemandi
* 1937–1939 Giuseppe Meazza
* 1940–1947 Silvio Piola
* 1947–1949 Valentino Mazzola
* 1949–1950 Riccardo Carapellese
* 1951–1952 Carlo Annovazzi
* 1952–1960 Giampiero Boniperti
* 1961–1962 Lorenzo Buffon
* 1962–1963 Cesare Maldini
* 1963–1966 Sandro Salvadore
* 1966–1977 Giacinto Facchetti
* 1977–1983 Dino Zoff
* 1983–1985 Marco Tardelli
* 1985–1986 Gaetano Scirea
* 1986–1987 Antonio Cabrini
* 1988–1991 Giuseppe Bergomi
* 1991–1994 Franco Baresi
* 1994–2002 Paolo Maldini
* 2002–2010 Fabio Cannavaro
* 2010–2018 Gianluigi Buffon
* 2018–2022 Giorgio Chiellini
* 2022–2023 Leonardo Bonucci
* 2023 Ciro Immobile
* 2024– Gianluigi Donnarumma