Believe it or not, Italian football was once heralded as the biggest stage of them all. It was a place where proper footballers played proper football. The cauldron of your San Siro's and Stadio delle Alpi's struck fear into every European side out there. No nonsense defending and deadly finishing. That's what I remember.

On the 11th November 2000, Lazio came up against Juventus as the likes of Simeone, Nedved, Crespo and Nesta prepared for war against Zidane, Davids, Del Piero and Trezeguet. This wasn't just any Serie A tie, it was a battle of the biggest names in football - Italian football at it's peak.

Although the result was a disappointing 1-1 draw, many have agreed that this fixture gave us the greatest set of teams ever. From Ballon d'Or winners to Champions League final goalscorers. Premier League managers to La Liga bosses. The talent in both of these sides is something else - the fact that neither Gianluca Zambrotta or Filippo Inzaghi made the Juventus starting eleven is testament to this article.

Be prepared for football pornography - it really doesn't get better than this:

Juventus

Juvenus XI: Van der Sar, Ferrara, Tudor, Conte, Tacchinardi, Davids, Pessotto, Zidane, Trezeguet, Del Piero

SUBS: Rampulla, Montero, Zambrotta, Inzaghi, Paramatti, Bachini, Kovacevic.

Lazio

Lazio XI: Peruzzi, Pancaro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Favalli, Baggio, Veron, Simeone, Nedved, Crespo, Salas

SUBS: Marchegiani, Lombardo, Inzaghi, Ravanelli, Negro, Couto, Baronio

I miss Italian football from the 90's/early 00's.

Let's be honest, all of us miss Italian football from the 90's/early 00's.

Am i right?

Featured Image Credit:

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_