10 greatest Italian defenders of the last 50 years

#8 Guiseppe Bergomi

Guiseppe Bergomi in action for Inter as captain in the UEFA Cup

The first of four one-club men to feature on the list, Bergomi played for only Internazionale throughout his career and held the record of most appearances for Inter Milan for many years until he was surpassed by Javier Zanetti in September of 2011.

'Lo Zio' or 'The Uncle' as he was fondly called (due to the moustache he wore as a young player) made his debut for Inter Milan in 1979 aged only 16 and won the Coppa Italia just a season later.

He would go on to spend the next twenty seasons in Serie A with Inter, although he won just one Scudetto (as his Inter side played second fiddle to the great Milan teams of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello).

He later became captain of Internazionale and won the UEFA Cup on three occasions, holding the record for most appearances in the tournament's history (96).

With the Italian national team, Bergomi made 81 appearances in a 16-year spell between 1982 to 1998 and made his debut in 1982 aged just 18 years and 3 months (the youngest player to represent Italy post-World War 2).

He was a member of the victorious World Cup squad in 1982, making three appearances including the full 120 minutes in the final. He also participated at the 1986, 1990 and 1998 tournaments, captaining his country to a third-place finish on home soil in 1990.

Tough tackling, quick, strong and agile, Bergomi was a versatile defender capable of playing anywhere across the back line, although he was primarily a right-back where his impressive technique going forward aided in his team's attacks.

He was an excellent man-marker and distinguished himself in zonal marking systems. His professionalism and silent leadership earned him the admiration of both teammates and opponents and he was named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list of greatest living footballers in 2004 as well as being inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

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#7 Claudio Gentile

Gentile during training

A tough, strong, tenacious, ruthless, and uncompromising defender, Gentile was the hard man in the Italian and Juventus watertight defences of the 1970s and 1980s, capable of playing at centre-back and full-back.

Gentile started his professional career at Arona and Varese, spending a season at each club before his transfer to Juventus in 1973, where he went on to spend 13 highly successful and prominent seasons.

With the Bianconerri, Gentile won a plethora of club honors including six Serie A titles, two Coppa Italias, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Cup Winner's Cup. He then transferred to Fiorentina in 1984 where he spent the next three seasons before his retirement at Piacenza a year later in 1988.

On the international scene, Gentile played 71 times for the Azzurri between 1975 and 1984, playing a leading role at the 1980 European Championship. He was named into the team of the tournament and went on to play in two World Cups in 1978 and the victory of 1982 where Gentile was again named in the team of the tournament.

A hard tackler and physical defender, Gentile was well-known for his aggressive man-marking and infamously marked out a young Diego Maradona in the 1982 World Cup, fouling the Argentine 11 times in the first half alone. He was also assigned to man-mark another genius in Zico and efficiently nullified the Brazilian's threat, earning a yellow card for his efforts which ruled him out for the semi-final victory over Poland, but he returned for the final against West Germany and was voted into the team of the tournament for his impressive efforts.