The Serie A, also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship reasons, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa Campioni d’Italia
From the 1980s to the 1990s, the Italian league was the focal point for football on the European continent. Top teams like AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus had their share of European dominance.
Although the league remains a potent force, competition from other leagues has made it more of a battle with other exciting leagues.
Top questions
Who is the highest goal scorer in football history? Italian footballer Silvio Piola is the all-time top scorer in the Italian Serie A with 274 goals in 537 appearances playing for Pro Vercelli, Lazio, Torino, Juventus, and Novara.
Established in 1898, the Italian Serie A has produced some of the greatest football top scorers historically.
Italian Serie A Top scorers of all time
14. Fabio Quagliarella – 178 Goals
Fabio Quagliarella was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He’s one of the longest-serving platters in the league
Fabio Quagliarella began his professional football career at Torino in 1999. He spent over six years with Torino, playing 39 league games and scoring seven goals.
He moved to Udinese and was immediately transferred to Ascoli. He played for Ascoli for one season, scoring three times in 33 appearances. At the end of his stay at Ascoli, he returned to Udinese.
Once again, Fabio Quagliarella moved to Sampdoria, where he had the breakout season that attracted high-profile teams on himself. But later on, he returned to Udinese to continue his career.
Although he started slowly, he was able to find the initial form in his breakout season with Sampdoria in the previous camping. Returning to his best state, he earned a call up to the Italian Men’s National Team ahead of the Euros in 2008.
Fabio Quagliarella later moved to Juventus, where he won three consecutive Série A titles from the 2011–2012 to 2013–14 season. The Italian has represented eight different Italian clubs.
13. Giampiero Boniperti – 178 Goals
Giampiero Boniperti played his entire 15-season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961. He is one of the top names in the early years of the Série A that played for just one club.
At Juventus, Giampiero won five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He was consistent. He is one of Italy’s greatest ever players. The solid forward was also the Italian Serie A top scorer in the 1947–48 season.
He became part of the Juve youth system at age 16 and passed through the various age grades. The forward could use both feet effectively. He was officially invited to play alongside the first team against AC Milan.
Despite switching to the professional team as a youngster, he finished his first season in the Italian Serie A with five goals in six games.
In his second season, Giampiero Boniperti finished as Série, A top scorer with 27 goals at just 20 years old. He became one of the fastest players under 25 to score 100 goals at 24.
12. Gabriel Batistuta – 184 Goals
Argentine former professional footballer Batigol played for three Italian Serie A clubs, including Fiorentina, AS Roma, and Inter Milan on loan.
Gabriel Batistuta scored 184 goals in 334 appearances across the three clubs he represented in the Italian top-flight from 1991 to 2003.
From Boca Juniors, Fiorentina announced the signing of the impressive forward, who continued to make headlines across the South American continent with Boca Juniors in continental competitions like the Copa Libertadores and the Argentine Primera División.
At Boca Juniors, Batistuta was one of the most prolific strikers at the time.
He moved to Fiorentina and became the club’s top scorer in the Italian Serie A. He was loyal and remained with them following their relegation to the Série B and helped them return to the top flight.
He played most of his career with Fiorentina, winning one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana, and one Serie B.
After nine years at Fiorentina, Batistuta joined AS Roma and won one Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, respectively.
11. Alberto Gilardino – 188 Goals
Alberto Gilardino is a former Italian footballer who played as a striker. In total, he played for twelve Italian football clubs.
He won most of his major career trophies with AC Milan. Alberto Gilardino was part of the Milan squad that won UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup in 2007.
10. Alessandro Del Piero – 188 Goals
Alessandro Del Piero is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward. Del Piero is one of the greatest players of his generation.
He spent almost the entirety of his professional football career at Juventus, winning six Série A titles, one Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana, one Champions League, one Intercontinental Cup, etc.
In the early years of his Juventus career, he scored eight goals to help the club secure the Série A title after eight years.
9. Giuseppe Signori – 188 Goals
Giuseppe was an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for some top Série Asides like Sampdoria, Bologna, and Lazio.
He began his professional career at Leffe in 1984 and spent just two seasons before switching to Piacenza.
He moved to Lazio in 1992, scoring the most goals of his career in a single club in the Italian division, which stood at 107 goals in 157 Série A appearances for the club.
Giuseppe Signori spent five seasons of Lazio, winning three Italian Serie A top scorer awards and a Coppa Italia top scorer trophy. The only thing missing during Signori’s successful years at Lazio was silverware.
In 1998, the Italian ended his five-year association with Lazio and switched to Sampdoria. However, his exploits at Lazio didn’t come as expected. He spent barely one season, scoring three times in 17 league appearances.
At the end of his stay at Sampdoria, he moved to Bologna, where he returned to his best form at Lazio. Giuseppe Signori’s effort helped the club qualify for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup by winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup that season.
8. Kurt Hamrin – 190 Goals
Kurt Roland is a former Swedish professional footballer who played as a winger. He spent most of his professional football career in Italy, playing for Juventus, Fiorentina, AC Milan, Napoli, etc
He started his career in the Swedish league with AIK Fotboll, and he was an immediate impact. He was consistent at scoring goals. He scored 54 goals in 62 league appearances across the three seasons he spent at the club.
Hamrin joined Juventus ahead of the 1956-57 season. He spent one season with the Italian giants, scoring eight goals in 23 league appearances.
Following his exit from Juventus, he joined Calcio Padova, where his adaptation of the Italian Serie A became the order of the day as Swede.
Hamrin quickly notched 20 goals in 30 Série A matches in one season. The Swede’s impressive performance in front of goal forced Fiorentina to negotiate a transfer from Calcio Padova.
The following season, Fiorentina confirmed the signing of Kurt Hamrin for the new season. He spent nine seasons with the Florence-based club and became a club legend.
Kurt Hamrin was one of the most outstanding players in the squad. He helped the club win three Coppa Italia titles, one UEFA Cup Winners’ and Mitropa.
The Swede who’d already established himself as one of the league’s best players had already attracted Série A giants AC Milan. Milan ensured his signing to end his nine-year spell at Fiorentina.
At Milan, he was again at his best form. Helping the club win the 1968–69 European Cup. He also won the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup with the Milan-based club.
7. Roberto Baggio – 205 Goals
Roberto Baggio is one of the most notable names in world football. The Italian mainly played as a second striker or as an attacking midfielder during his days.
He began at Vicenza, scoring 13 goals in 36 league appearances. Baggio switched to Fiorentina after three seasons with Vicenza.
At Fiorentina, he became a valuable addition to the first team even though it never resulted in any trophy for the club.
Baggio moved to league giants Juventus and became one of the club’s backbones in the forward line. He was a sensation throughout his stay at Juventus. He won one Série A, one Coppa Italia, and one UEFA Cup.
Baggio moved to AC Milan and won one Série A title with the club. With the Italian Men’s National Team, he finished third place during the 1990 World Cup hosted by Italy and was a runner-up in the 1994 USA edition.
6. Antonio Di Natale – 209 Goals
Antonio Di Natale is a former professional player who played as a forward. He began his professional career at Empoli, scoring 49 goals in 158 games.
After a loan spell with three different clubs, he finally settled at Udinese. He became an immediate impact and was a prolific forward throughout his stay at the club.
He spent 12 years at Udinese, scoring 191 goals in 385 matches.
5. José Altafini – 216 Goals
José João Altafini, also known as “Mazzola” in Brazil, is an Italian-Brazilian former footballer who played as a forward. He began his professional career in Brazil with Palmeiras.
His most successful years were at AC Milan between 1958 and 1965. He won the two Série A titles and one European Cup.
He scored 120 league goals in 205 league matches playing for AC Milan. He later moved to Juventus, winning two Série A titles with the Turin-based club.
José Altafini won the 1958 FIFA World Cup with the Brazilian men’s national team, RB Seleção, and later represented the Italian men’s national team during the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
4. Giuseppe Meazza – 216 Goals
Giuseppe Meazza played for two famous football clubs, Inter Milan and AC Milan. He was a club legend at Inter Milan and featured their neighbours AC Milan.
He spent the entirety of his career in Italy playing for some of the biggest clubs in the top flight, including Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Atalanta, etc.
At Inter Milan, Giuseppe Meazza played 384 league matches and scored 240 goals. In total, he won three Série A titles and one Coppa Italia. He was also the top scorer of the Italian Serie A on three occasions.
In 2019, Giuseppe Meazza was inducted into Inter Milan Hall of Fame. He is one of the famously celebrated Italian footballers of all time.
With the Italian Men’s National Team, Giuseppe Meazza won two FIFA World Cups in 1934 and 1938. He also won the Central European International Cup two times.
3. Gunnar Nordahl – 225 Goals
Nils Gunnar Nordahl was a Swedish professional footballer. He was one of the physically strong strikers with an eye for goal. His best years in the Italian Serie A were at AC Milan from 1949 to 1956.
Before heading for Italy, Nils Gunnar had already won significant trophies in the Swedish football top flight with IFK Norrköping. In total, he won four league titles and one Swedish Cup.
He was also the Swedish Football League top scorer for four seasons and was awarded the Swedish Footballer in 1947.
At AC Milan, the Sweden Footballer won two Série A titles and two Latin Cups.
2. Francesco Totti – 250 Goals
Francesco Totti is one of the most outstanding players in the history of AS Roma. He spent the entirety of his career at the club.
Totti is often referred to as Er Bimbo de Oro (The Golden Boy), L’Ottavo Re di Roma (The Eighth King of Rome), Er Pupone (The Big Baby), Il Capitano (The Captain), and Il Gladiatore (The Gladiator) by the Italian sports media.
Totti won a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. He is the second Italian Serie A top scorer with 250 goals.
1. Silvio Piola – 274 Goals
The Italian Serie, A top scorer, is Silvio Piola, who scored 274 goals. He played for five Italian football clubs, including Lazio, Juventus, Torino, etc.
Despite leading the Série A all-time top scorers chart, Piola missed significant trophies in the top flight. He won the Italian Serie B Novara in 1947–48 and was runner up in the Série A with Juventus and Lazio.
Piola won the 1938 France FIFA World Cup and the 1933-35 Central European International Cup.