Ranking Italy's Players Following Their Euro 2016 Exit

Italy's run at the 2016 UEFA European Championship is over.

It may not have been the kind of fairytale run that Wales and Iceland have been on, but Italy's path to the quarterfinals certainly exceeded all expectations.

Going into the competition, most considered this Italy team to be the worst that had ever been sent to a major tournament.  On a talent level, they might have been right.  

Injuries to top midfielders Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti stripped the midfield of a huge portion of its quality, and the forward line had a less-than-impressive pedigree.  Only the defense and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon were considered to be high international quality.

But manager Antonio Conte instilled an immense sense of unity in his squad, and they made up for their lack of individual talent with a display of team play that hasn't been seen in a long time.  Combined with Conte's tactical nous, the Azzurri were able to comprehensively beat Belgium, second in the FIFA World Rankings, and Spain, the two-time defending European champions, en route to the quarters.

Then they took world champions Germany to the absolute brink, only falling after a tournament-record nine-round penalty shootout.  They had an excellent campaign and were right to hold their heads high when they arrived at Milan's Malpensa Airport on Sunday.

Today, we'll look at the heroes and villains of Italy's Euro 2016 run.  We'll rank each player, from the worst to the very best.

Who were the heroes of Italy in France?  Who underperformed?  Read on to find out.

Conte managed to use 22 of his 23 players at Euro 2016—a pretty astonishing feat in short tournament play.  That means this article will be longer than the usual ones of this type.

That being said, it's obvious that the one player who didn't see the field, third goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, will not be rated here.

Additionally, Stephan El Shaarawy will not be ranked, as it has been deemed unfair to give him any kind of grade or ranking after only spending eight minutes on the field.

Young Fiorentina forward Federico Bernardeschi was always a rough fit into Conte's 3-5-2 system.  He's capable of playing as a wing-back, but he's best as a pure winger, which isn't a position that often fits in with Conte's tactics.

Bernardeschi only played once in France, in the group-stage finale against the Republic of Ireland.  Wins in the first two games had turned that game into a dead rubber, allowing Conte to rotate almost his entire team.

Bernardeschi started on the right wing and spent an hour on the field, but he spend most of his time defending and wasn't able to impact the game much going forward—which is what his main job is.  

Despite making two tackles and two interceptions, his play didn't do much to make Conte consider him as an injury replacement for Antonio Candreva in his position.

The entire team looked uninspired against Ireland, as the game meant nothing, but Bernardeschi was especially disappointing given his potential as an attacker.

With the Ireland game meaningless and Buffon suffering from an illness, No. 2 goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu was called on to play between the sticks for the game.

Sirigu has historically been an excellent deputy.  Two years ago, he turned in an impressive display in Italy's lone win at the World Cup in Brazil while Buffon dealt with a minor injury.  But this time around, things were different.

Sirigu was replaced as the starter at Paris Saint-Germain this year by young German Kevin Trapp.  He only played three times in Ligue 1 and not at all in the UEFA Champions League.  Ten matches in the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue were his only other outings all year.

Much like Iker Casillas with Spain at Brazil 2014, his lack of playing time caused evident rust.  He hesitated to come out for several crosses, and a miscommunication with Leonardo Bonucci allowed Robbie Brady's winning goal five minutes from time.

Sirigu could still be an effective backup for the Azzurri, but he needs to get out of Paris and start playing regularly again.  It's clear that his long layoffs between games harmed his play.

A lot of ridicule greeted the announcement that Thiago Motta would wear the No. 10 shirt at this tournament.

He certainly isn't the prototypical No. 10, but its not like he managed to play his own game to much effect, either.

Motta played four games in the tournament, three as a sub and one as a starter.  But regardless of whether he played from the beginning or from the bench, his inability to keep the Italian midfield together the way Daniele De Rossi did destabilized the team.  

He completed 85.3 percent of his passes, but few of them were able to dictate the game and initiate attacking moves.

On top of that, he garnered a yellow-card suspension that kept him out of the quarterfinal against Germany, which combined with De Rossi's injury saw Conte scraping the bottom of his depth chart in midfield.  Motta really didn't make any positive contribution to Italy's efforts in France.

Ciro Immobile's turn up front during the Ireland game is what drags him down here.  True, he didn't get much in the way of service, but he was unable to cause trouble for the Irish defense.

When he came off on 74 minutes, his replacement Lorenzo Insigne almost immediately dribbled through the back line and threatened the goal, showing just how little Immobile had been able to do.

His previous outing, a 15-minute cameo against Belgium, was a bit more productive.  He very nearly scored late in the game with a pile driver from range, only to be acrobatically denied by Thibaut Courtois.  He also showed some decent on-ball ability, carrying the ball forward on late counters and looking to set up an insurance goal.

If he'd managed to replicate that against Ireland, he'd have been higher up on this list, but that display drops him down.

Angelo Ogbonna didn't play badly in his one start against Ireland.  He made a pair of tackles and four clearances, replacing a resting Giorgio Chiellini fairly well.

If he had played more games, he may have had a chance to move up the list, but he ended up serving his purpose as back-line depth well.  

Given the quality of the back line, it was probably a good thing that he only played in a meaningless game, but Ogbonna would probably have been able to fill in in a bigger game if absolutely needed with minimal drop-off.

Matteo Darmian saw four appearances in the tournament, three of them from the bench.

He hasn't been able to fully capitalize on his breakout performance under Cesare Prandelli at the World Cup in Brazil, but he's still been an excellent piece for the Azzurri, capable of manning either flank as a traditional full-back or a wing-back.

Darmian scored the goal that sealed Italy's qualification as group winners in October of 2015, and he was generally considered a lock for the roster in France.

Darmian started the opener against Belgium, but he failed to impress and was relegated to the bench for the rest of the tournament.  He came on as a sub against Ireland for the last half-hour and then finished the last six minutes of the match against Spain.

He came on in the quarterfinal for an ailing Alessandro Florenzi three minutes before the end of normal time and defended fairly well, but he couldn't get anything going forward, completing only 42.9 percent of his passes and failing to do much of anything in terms of attacking.

Stepping up as Italy's ninth penalty taker, Darmian looked like he would rather have been anywhere but Bordeaux.  His penalty was soft, low and easily saved.  The kick of disgust he gave the ball was much better than the one that counted.

Darmian didn't play this tournament at his full potential.  It was the end of a rough year for the 26-year-old, but he could still rebound, especially with his former Torino coach Giampiero Ventura taking over from Conte.

His place in the team is probably safe for now given the dearth of good Italian full-backs, but he'll need to improve in order to keep his spot for the long term.

Stefano Sturaro was a surprising choice for the roster.  He'd never been capped before Italy's final pre-tournament friendly against Finland, and with so little creativity in the squad, it was thought that Napoli regista Jorginho would've been a better choice.

Sturaro didn't exactly cover himself in glory in his three appearances in the tournament, but he could certainly have played worse.

He only played five minutes in Italy's second game against Sweden, then he started against Ireland.  That game was undoubtedly his worst.  He tried to play far beyond himself and had a terrible match, often losing possession and playing bad passes.

Forced into the starting lineup against Germany due to injuries and suspensions, it was hoped that his tendency to come up big in important games for Juventus—he'd done so in Champions League games against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the last few years—would crop up for the national team.

He wasn't a game-changing presence against Die Mannschaft, but he certainly played better than he did against Ireland.  He did lose Jonas Hector in the buildup to the opening goal, but that he stayed on the field at all was a testament to his "grinta"—he sprained his knee in the first half but kept going through extra time.

Sturaro's game is perfect for what the Azzurri will need in the coming years.  Think of him as Gennaro Gattuso with better ball skills.  This was only his first international tournament, but as he matures at Juve, he could end up being a key cog in Italy's midfield.  Just not now.

Let's get this out of the way now: Simone Zaza, what were you thinking?

The approach he took to his penalty kick in the shootout against Germany, which went soaring over the crossbar, has already become an internet meme. And considering the fact that he was put on in the dying second specifically to take a kick in the shootout, that kind of miss was unforgivable.  You at least have to hit the target with a shot like that.

But Zaza gets a higher rating than the likes of Sturaro and Darmian for what he did earlier in the tournament.  He got his first action in the second group game against Sweden, replacing Graziano Pelle.  Possessed of quite a bit more pace than the Southampton man, Zaza helped Italy pry open the Swedish defense a tiny bit more, and his headed pass off a Chiellini throw-in set up Eder for the game's only goal.

He was the better of the experimental strike pairing in the group finale against Ireland, although few Italians garnered much glory from that match.

Zaza paid for getting too cute, but he was decent before then.  He still needs to develop and mature a bit more, and he showed in the early phases of the tournament that he should have a future in the national team if he does.  Just...that penalty!

Insigne only played 36 minutes in this tournament.  One of the few true mistakes Conte made was not giving him more.

The relationship between Conte and Insigne is a curious one.  He has barely called him up over the course of his two-year tenure.  Part of that decision probably had to do with the fact that as a natural winger he wasn't a natural fit for Conte's systems.  He could also have been angry at Napoli's withholding of the player for a set of qualifiers this fall for an injury that he probably could have dealt with and played through if needed.

Whatever it was, Insigne should've seen the field more.  He didn't make his tournament debut until the Ireland game—and he hit the post with a curling 18-yard shot within three minutes of his introduction.  

Against Spain, he dribbled through the defense and barely missed with another shot, and he was involved in Pelle's stoppage-time sealer.

Against Germany, he was again influential, sneaking through the offside trap in the 113th minute only to fire right at Manuel Neuer.  He then stepped up to take the first penalty of the shootout and confidently sent Neuer the wrong way.

The question was why he didn't get more time on the field.  Conte only inserted him for a cramping Eder two minutes into the second period of extra time.  If he had had more minutes, he could have been a real threat to a tiring German back three.

Insigne could have been higher on this list if he'd played more.  Hopefully he'll do exactly that in the future.

Now we start getting into the segment of the list were players can be placed lower not because they performed badly, but because someone else was simply better.  Such is the case of Eder.

He was one of the most controversial selections in the squad, having only scored once since his January move from Sampdoria to Inter Milan, but he had become a favorite of Conte's during qualifying.  He had scored twice in 2015, including an 84th minute equalizer over hosts Bulgaria in Sofia that, at the time, maintained Italy's position in the table in second place.

The Brazilian-born "oriundo" repaid Conte's faith in him.  He was in constant motion, pressing opposing midfielders and defenders and receiving knockdowns from Pelle to turn forward.

He could have had even more goals than the curler that beat Sweden.  His one-on-one run past Spain's Gerard Pique early in the second half really should have been converted, but he hit David De Gea straight in the chest.  But by that point he had already made his contribution to the game, hitting the free kick that De Gea spilled into the path of Chiellini for Italy's opener.

Eder didn't do anything flashing or attention-grabbing, but he deserves praise for the grunt work he put in out of possession and for posing a danger when he did get the ball at his feet.  If he were to have gotten better service from a stronger midfield, he could have made a star turn at this tournament.

Florenzi didn't figure in Italy's opening win over Belgium, but he started the next four games.

He played mostly as a wing-back, first to replace an ineffective Darmian and then as an injury replacement for Candreva, although he also spent the Ireland game in central midfield.

It's that game that drives him down this list a bit.  There were some hopes that he'd be able to provide at least some of the creative force that the Italians were so lacking in the midfield.  He ended up unable to do that, only completing 69 percent of his passes and failing to contribute a key pass.

As a wing-back he was more effective, especially when he moved to his natural right side.  But stamina became an issue, especially against Germany.  He visibly tired as the game wore on, which led to a couple of mistakes in defense.  That included a wayward header that allowed Mario Gomez to claim a long ball from Neuer and start the move that eventually led to Germany's goal.

He had made a positive contribution as well, putting a shot on target and making one of the highlights of the tournament when he acrobatically backheeled a shot by Thomas Muller off the line.  He ran with every fiber of his being—by the time he was taken off in the 87th minute, he could barely stand.

Florenzi is a versatile piece that will likely be part of the Italian setup for years to come.

True No. 9s have been hard to come by at Euro 2016.  Pelle has been one of the best of them.

It's incredible to comprehend given Pelle's career path.  He washed out of Italian football twice and had to make his name in the Dutch Eredivisie, and he only earned his first Italy call-up two years ago after moving to Southampton.

He quickly became a favorite of Conte's and led the Azzurri with three goals in qualifying.  He's not the kind of striker who can make his own shots, but when he gets the right service, he's a dead-eye.

Pelle scored twice in France in astonishingly similar fashion.  Both were short-range volleys in stoppage time that sealed 2-0 wins over opposition—Belgium and Spain, respectively—that were favorites coming into the game.

He could have had more.  In both of those games he had strong headers denied by acrobatic one-handed saves.

Beyond his goalscoring, he served as an excellent target for downfield clearances, using both his head and chest passes—a Pelle speciality—to get balls to Eder and his midfielders.  He also pressed hard in defense and was especially effective marking Cesc Fabregas out of the round-of-16 game against Spain.

His ranking dropped a tiny bit after the shootout, when he stepped up with the chance to consolidate an Italian lead and rolled the ball yards wide after appearing to either showboat or play mind games with Neuer before his run-up.

But Pelle's goals came at critical times, and his defensive effort against Spain was key to keeping La Roja in check.  He was a key contributor to Italy's efforts in the tournament.

Mattia De Sciglio's star has fallen since his breakout season in 2012-13.  Hailed then as the heir to Paolo Maldini at AC Milan, the pressure and an inconsistent playing situation had dropped his stock so badly that there were calls this season for him to be dropped on the depth chart for 19-year-old Davide Calabria.

Over the last three weeks, De Sciglio may have reversed that slide.  Playing on the left wing, he took over for an underwhelming Darmian against Belgium, then he started the last three games, turning in some of his best performances since that breakout year with the Rossoneri.

De Sciglio was a menace in attack, getting onto the wing and firing in some tempting crosses that again reminded observers of his play as a youngster.  He averaged a key pass per match, and his defense was excellent. He also averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per match and was a key stopper on the flank.

Against Spain—who rely on their own full-backs for width in attack—De Sciglio had total mastery of his opposite number, Juanfran, not letting anything get down his side of the field and severely hampering Spain's attempts to get forward.

If we were to write a "winners and losers" piece for Italy's tournament, De Sciglio would be one of the chief winners.  He played a fantastic tournament, and if he continues to play the way he played in France, he may well have resurrected his career.

Marco Parolo's efforts with the national team have almost always ranged from disappointing to downright bad.  Thrown into a starting role after Italy's midfield injuries, Parolo turned in some of the best performances of his international career at Euro 2016.

Parolo's pass completion percentage was a somewhat lackluster 77.1, but he averaged 1.3 key passes per game and put in excellent defensive work.  He also averaged 2.8 tackles per game and 2.5 interceptions per match.  

The 31-year-old worked well for his teammates, often being one of the first to show up as an outlet when another Italian player was under pressure and needed a passing option.

Totally willing to sacrifice himself and play for the team, Parolo left everything on the field and deserves great praise for his play.

It's a shame that Candreva only played twice in this tournament.  A thigh injury kept him out after the Sweden game, and Italy suffered without his pace and creativity on the right wing.

When he was in the game, he made Italy much more dangerous.  He assisted on the second goal against Belgium and averaged 1.5 key passes per game.  He was quick to get over to help any teammate who was under pressure and created some dangerous situations with his crosses.

It's useless to wonder what could have been, but Italy's tournament could've been very different had he been healthy enough to continue on.  As it stands, his solid contribution in the first two games, which earned the Azzurri an early spot in the knockout rounds, deserves praise.

The first member of the BBC defense to appear on the list, Andrea Barzagli was participating in what, by his own admission, was his last international tournament.

Barzagli played in all five games Italy played, one of only two players to do so, and he turned in vintage performances.  He's always been more about stopping the supply than hard-nosed tackling, and his numbers were quite close to what he did in Serie A this year—0.6 tackles per game, two interceptions and five clearances.

There were a few cracks in Barzagli's game, however, especially in the later rounds.  Against Germany, a few of his attempts at clearances or passes ended up coming right back at the Italians.  

His overzealous attempt to keep the ball in the German half in the 109th minute allowed Julian Draxler to go flying the other way.  The veteran was lucky that his mistake didn't end in a winning goal for the Germans when Draxler fluffed a fairly simple pass to Muller.

Barzagli didn't play badly by any stretch.  In an area where hairs need to start being split, saying Barzagli was the worst of the back three is like saying he's your third-favorite ice cream flavor—ice cream is still ice cream.

At the end of the day, Barzagli acquitted himself well in his last international tournament.  He couldn't add to the World Cup winner's medal he earned in 2006, but his Italy career certainly has not ended in disgrace.

Another Conte favorite that the world at large didn't quite get, Emanuele Giaccherini exemplifies everything Conte stands for.  He runs like a madman, he does everything he's instructed to do without question, and when he's in the right system, like he always is in Conte's teams, he excels.

Giaccherini's tournament started terribly.  In the first half-hour against Belgium, he misplaced passes, was dispossessed and generally looked awful.  It seemed he was going to get hauled off at halftime.

Then he made an excellent run between two Belgian defenders and took down a fantastic long ball from Bonucci.  His first touch kept it just close enough that Thibaut Courtois wasn't able to smother it, and a single stroke put Italy up 1-0.

From that point on, he was one of the best guys on the field.  Often pressed up against the sideline by Conte to overload the opposing full-back, Giaccherini would cycle between trying to run the channels in the middle and getting to the left wing to assist the wing-back in adding width to the team.

He ran like a man on fire and was often the first to loose balls—especially against Spain, when he tipped Eder's spilled free kick to Chielini for the assist on the opening goal.

Giaccherini is never going to be the most talented player on the field, but he is an excellent soldier, and a coach like Conte can magnify his natural abilities with excellent tactical play.  

Whether or not he stays in the team under Ventura is anyone's guess, but his contribution to Euro 2016, especially in the absence of Marchisio and Verratti, cannot be denied.

If not for the injuries to Marchisio and Verratti, its debatable whether De Rossi would have even been in France.  The 32-year-old battled injuries this year and was out of form when he was on the field.  His presence at the Euros was far from assured.

But with his top choices out, De Rossi was brought in to play the regista role in front of the defense.  He didn't do anything flashy, but he proved to be one of the most important players on the team.

De Rossi's distribution was excellent, allowing Italy to spend long periods of time in possession against teams like Belgium and Spain, who were expected to pin them back.  

His usual defensive steel was ever-present, delivering crunching tackles and stiff challenges that took the ball back from players and had them thinking twice before going in so hard the next time.

When De Rossi wasn't on the field, Italy were a different team.  They couldn't get passes into the same areas to trigger the attack, and the team play in general was slightly out of sync compared to the finely tuned machine that Conte's preferred XI was.

The best example of the contrast was the Spain game.  When De Rossi came off in the 53rd minute for Motta, Spain managed to start exerting more pressure on the Italians.  The defense still managed to fend them off, but the Spaniards had more space to operate, and the Italians had far less impetus going forward.

What's next for De Rossi with the national team is anyone's guess, but he justified his selection for this tournament and then some by being a such a key contributor to their success.

Chiellini has had something of a snakebit international career.  On the eve of his first major tournament, he injured then-captain Fabio Cannavaro with a tackle in training, causing the World Cup hero to miss Euro 2008 and insist on a farewell run at the World Cup two years later.

By that point, the old horse wasn't good enough to play international soccer.  He was directly responsible for two of the five goals Italy conceded in their group stage crash-out in South Africa.  Also directly responsible for a goal was Chiellini, who mishandled a throw-in late and allowed Kamil Kopunek to score what would be the decisive goal in Slovakia's 3-2 group-stage win.

Two years later at Euro 2012, he limped off the field after 21 minutes, the first in a cascade of what eventually became a Murphy's Law sort of day for the Italians.  Then at the World Cup two years ago, Uruguay's Luis Suarez decided to make him lunch.

Chielo was in desperate need of a good tournament, and he finally had one.  A titan in defense, Chiellini made 1.3 tackles and three interceptions per game while averaging only a single foul.

 The fact that he went three games (not counting the Ireland game, which he didn't play in) without picking up a booking after receiving one in the first game against Belgium showed just how technical Chiellini can be when he needs to.

He still provided his trademark physical steel, at one point forcing a retake of a free kick against Germany because he was doing too much wrestling in the box.  An unlikely goalscorer, he nonetheless came up with his seventh international goal against Spain when he got to a spilled free kick before anyone else.

Barring any injuries, Chiellini will be a centurion by the time the World Cup rolls around.  He's an experienced hand and one of the best center backs in the game, and he should continue to contribute for at least the next three years or so.

What is there to say about Buffon that hasn't already been said?  He is a legend, he is a leader, and he is the best goalkeeper to ever pull on a pair of gloves.

He continued to do everything he's done for Juventus the last five years.  The quality of his defense meant that he didn't have many things to face down, but what did get through was usually handled.

This was especially evident against Spain, who had several attempts in the last 20 minutes to equalize but were rebuffed every time.  Especially impressive was a stop on Pique at the very end, parrying from point-blank range to preserve the lead.

He was also key against Germany, preventing an unlucky Chiellini own goal three minutes after Germany scored to keep the score 1-0 and set up Bonucci's equalizing penalty.  In the shootout he guessed correctly on all but two of the nine shots, although the Germans managed to put the ball just out of his reach in sudden death.

Buffon is bent on reaching the World Cup in Russia two years from now, and given the way he's playing, he's totally capable of leading the Italians through that competition before giving way to his eventual successor in goal.

Bonucci had his coming-out party in this tournament.

For the last five years Bonucci has played in the center of the BBC defense, quietly developing into the best center back in the game.

He was always a superlative ball-player, and his ability to bypass the midfield with a long bomb to the forwards was on full display in this tournament.  

He assisted on Italy's first goal of the tournament with a beautiful ball to Giaccherini, and he nearly keyed the opening goal against Germany with a ball that Giaccherini pulled across goal to Sturaro, whose shot was blocked by Jerome Boateng.

Defensively, he averaged 3.2 interceptions per match, suffocating opposing forwards and using his positioning to keep players from latching on to teammates' service in the box.

His defining moment, though, came in the quarterfinal.  When Boateng's handball in the box gave the Italians a lifeline, Bonucci was the man who took the ball and placed it on the spot.  A cool run-up with a tiny stutter-step made Neuer jump, and he calmly slotted the ball into the goal to tie the game.

He was bested by Neuer in the shootout, but he made a good shot—the German just made an excellent save.

As the youngest of the BBC trio, Bonucci will be the leader of the Italian defense as the next generation begins to transition in.  The fact that Conte gave him the armband for the Ireland game, when many senior players were resting, says a lot about what Italy can expect of him going forward.

Bonucci has flown under the radar for the most part at Juventus, but after this performance, that won't be possible anymore.  Bonucci was the best player on one of the best teams in the tournament, and one of the best players overall at the Euros.  The Azzurri defense will be in good hands while he's leading it.

All statistics are from WhoScored.com unless stated otherwise.