During a training session as an aspiring young centre-back at Napoli, 18-year old Cannavaro put in a crunching tackle on Diego Maradona. How about this for a maiden moment in the spotlight. Moore, who had the middle name Chelsea, played nearly 650 games for another London club, West Ham, over 16 seasons, lifting the FA Cup with the Hammers in 1964 and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup a year later. Moore was best known for his reading of the game and ability to anticipate opposition movements, distancing himself from the image of the hard-tackling, high-jumping hatchet men so prevalent during his days.ĭescribed by Pele as the greatest defender he ever played against, he was labelled the “best defender in the history of the game” by the man actually considered the best defender in the history of the game, Beckenbauer. He remains the fifth most capped England player ever. Moore captained England to their only World Cup triumph in 1966, aged only 25, and went on to feature 108 times for the Three Lions. “A man who stands half a step above all other English footballers,” is how Guardian journalist Richard Williams described Moore in 2014. Along with Paolo Maldini, the only Milan player to have his jersey number retired. Won a 1982 World Cup-winners medal with the Azzurri, with whom he finished third in 1990 and second in 1994.įinished second only to clubmate Marco van Basten in the 1989 Ballon d’Or voting. He played his entire 20-year career with the Rossoneri, lifting six Scudettos in the famous red and black shirt, as well as captaining Milan to three European Cups. He combined tenacity with elegance, vision, athleticism, immense positional sense and a brilliant reading of the game with outstanding leadership and professionalism. The Italian icon was a warrior, an excellent tackler and powerful battler who defied his 5’ 9” frame. Like Beckenbauer, Baresi – known as “Kaiser Franz” later in his career in homage to his fellow sweeper – was a trailblazer a player somewhat ahead of his time who embodied everything great and glorious about the role of centre-back. He also won three consecutive European Cups with Bayern from 1974-76. He won the 1974 World Cup as a player and guided Die Mannschaft to 1990 glory as coach – one of only three men to win it as both player and manager. He was one of the first defenders to possess an all-round game, able to break up play and spark his own team’s attacks.Ī two-time Ballon d’Or winner (1972 & 76), he was the first defender to win the award.

His grit, guile and grace was unlike anything that had been seen previously from players viewed primarily as lumbering, uncoordinated oafs.Ī midfielder in his youth, Beckenbauer made his name as a central defender and is credited with the invention of the sweeper – or Libero – role. The legendary German rules all centre-back’s that came before or after him. Few footballing nicknames have been more fitting than the one bestowed upon German and Bayern Munich behemoth, Beckenbauer – “Der Kaiser” (The Emperor).

Chris franz