#1 Lucio
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With our national team not too well placed on the FIFA rankings and often being beaten comprehensively by Asian countries, it often evokes strong emotions if a player who has played in the World Cup, let alone won it makes an appearance in the country.
The tenacious centre-back represented a number of elite footballing clubs from across the globe in the form of Internacional, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus and Sau Paulo during his formative years, winning trophies in abundance and establishing himself as one of the greatest defenders of his generation.
He won the Bundesliga 4 times and the Serie A once during his 13 years in Europe, while also helping his numerous sides achieve footballing heights across various other competitions.
However, it is his performances for the Brazilian national team, with whom he won an incredible 105 caps that truly etched him in the glorious memoirs of the game. He was an integral part of the 2002 FIFA world cup winning Brazil side and played every single game of his side’s campaign.
While Brazil might not have won the World Cup post-2002, they have been regularly stacking up other international trophies and Lucio also played a crucial role in his side’s FIFA Confederations Cup victories in 2005 and 2009.
Lucio is currently employed by FC Goa after agreeing to join them at the start of the last campaign. While he helped his side to the final last season, where they eventually lost to Chennaiyin FC, his side’s campaign has not begun on the perfect note as they currently languish at the bottom of the league table.
However, with a player of Lucio’s quality in its ranks, don’t write off the Goan club yet as they can rapidly rise in the league table.
