Ballon d'Or: Ranking the 3 defenders to have won the award

#1 Franz Beckenbauer (1972, 1976)

Beckenbauer won the Ballon d'Or on two occasions

Franz Beckenbauer was a true revolutionary of the game. Rather than be classified as one of the best defenders of all time, the German is regarded as one of the very best players in history.

In an era where defenders functioned primarily as man-markers and almost had no business with their team's attacking play, Beckenbauer reinvented what it meant to be a sweeper defender. His range and precision of passing played a key role in his teams' tactics.

In essence, Beckenbauer was the first to propagate that widely used term today; 'ball-playing center-back'. He set the template for future stalwarts like Gerard Pique, Leonardo Bonucci, Aymeric Laporte and Virgil van Dijk to follow.

In what was an extremely successful career, Beckenbauer won everything winnable in his time with Bayern Munich and West Germany including three consecutive European Cups, the World Cup and the European Championship.

In addition to his talent on the field, he also possessed exceptional leadership skills and was nicknamed 'Die Kaiser' (The Chief) in recognition of that.

Beckenbauer had numerous standout moments in his iconic career. The image of him wearing a sling after dislocating his shoulder in the 'game of the century' semifinal clash with Italy at the 1970 World Cup is one that would live forever.

He was appointed national team captain in 1971, and this preceded what was to become the most successful period in German football history. They won the 1972 Euro and 1974 World Cup while narrowly failing to defend their European title in the final in 1976.

With Pele and Eusebio defining football in the 1960s, Beckenbauer was the standout figure from the 1970s alongside Johan Cruyff. He scored over 100 career goals despite playing as a defender.

Beckenbauer won the Ballon d'Or on two occasions (1972 and 1976), while also finishing runner-up in 1974 and 1975 and third in 1966.