Ranking 5 greatest defenders who never won the Champions League

#3 Giorgio Chiellini

Giorgio Chiellini, in action for Juventus

The Champions League is the only major club trophy missing from Giorgio Chiellini’s collection of medals. While Chiellini is still active, there is always a tiny chance that he could win the Champions League in the future emerging victorious. However, given how intense the competition is, it looks unlikely.

Chiellini is a serial winner at club level with Juventus. He was at the heart of The Old Lady’s defence when they won nine consecutive Serie A titles. Despite their domestic dominance, clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid prevented them from winning the UCL.

Keyser Giorgio’s Juventus side came runners-up in the UCL twice, once each in 2015-16 and 2017-18. Some of his counterparts have regressed in quality. However, Chiellini formed a rock-solid partnership with fellow veteran Leonardo Bonucci in last year’s Euro 2020 tournament.

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#2 Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro, in action for Real Madrid

Fabio Cannavaro is the third Italian defender on this list who failed to win the Champions League.This is a clear pattern as Lilian Thuram also played in Serie A. Serie A clubs have underperformed in the Champions League over the last 25 years.

Cannavaro was a splendid centre-back who played for several top Italian clubs including Napoli, Inter Milan and Juventus. In fact, he also had a three-year stint with Real Madrid. Despite spending his entire career at some of Europe’s best clubs, he didn’t win the UCL.

Il Muro di Berlino had a below-average time in Serie A, failing to win a single Scudetto. With that being said, his international career was exemplary. The veteran defender was influential in Italy’s success in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, for which he was awarded the Ballon d’Or award.

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#1 Bobby Moore

Bobby Moore, in action for West Ham United

Bobby Moore is arguably the greatest centre-back of all time. While the defenders rivaling him for the title, such as Franz Beckenbauer, Paulo Maldini and Franco Baresi, have won the Champions League multiple times, Moore failed to win even once.

Moore was part of the famous England team that won the FIFA World Cup in 1966. The West Ham icon, aged just 25 at the time, captained The Three Lions to glory. Despite his exploits for England, he didn’t have an equally fruitful club career.

Moore neither won a league title nor won a European Cup. He spent 16 years at his boyhood club West Ham United, who were not well equipped to compete with European heavyweights in 1960s. Regardless, 'Tubby' will go down as the best centre-back to not win the European Cup.