10 greatest Italian defenders of the last 50 years

#6 Alessandro Nesta

Juventus FC v AC Milan - Serie A

Combining Italian ruthlessness with German efficiency and Brazilian flair, Alessandro Nesta was unarguably one of the finest defenders of the late 20th and early 21st century, and indeed one of the greatest of all time.

In a career which spanned over two decades, Nesta distinguished himself with his superb positioning, ability to read a game, excellent tackling and elegance on the ball.

Making his debut for the Lazio senior team in 1993, Nesta spent the next nine seasons with his hometown club, becoming team captain of Lazio in 1997 aged just 21. He captained his side to victory in the Coppa Italia final a year later against Milan (where he scored the winning goal with a header).

He continued to churn out impressive performances for Lazio and was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 1998 and led his club in a dogged Serie A title race which they narrowly lost by a point to AC Milan on the final day of the 1999 season. They, however, triumphed in that season's UEFA Cup and beat Manchester United in the following season's UEFA Super Cup.

A year later, Nesta captained SS Lazio to the Serie A and Coppa Italia double of 2000 as well as the Coppa Italia of 2001. His impressive performances in the colors of Lazio led to him being named Serie A Defender of the Year three consecutive times between 2000 and 2002 (an impressive feat considering the array of defenders plying their trade in the Serie A at that time). He left Lazio for AC Milan in 2002 owing to financial issues in the Rome club, ending his stay there with six trophies.

With the Rossoneri, Nesta continued from where he left off at Lazio, forming an impressive defensive partnership with Maldini, Cafu and Stam, winning the Champions League in his debut season with Milan in addition to the Coppa Italia. He was again named Serie A defender of the Year and was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year.

He spent ten successful seasons in Milan, and further enhanced his reputation as one of the world's greatest defenders, putting up impressive performances and winning numerous personal and team accolades although injury derailed the later years of his career.

Nesta ended his stay at AC Milan in 2012 with his transfer to the MLS for Montreal Impact and won 10 trophies with the Rossoneri. He added the Canadian Championship to his burgeoning trophy collection in 2013.

A full international for over a decade, Nesta won the first of his 78 caps in 1996 and went on to play leading roles in all Italy's international tournament appearances over the next decade. He started all three of Italy's group stage games at the 1998 World Cup before injury ruled him out of the rest of the tournament (a recurring theme in his career). He was also a starter as Italy conceded just two goals en route their final run at EURO 2000, where they led France for most of the second half until a Sylvian Wiltord stoppage-time equalizer and David Trezeguet extra time golden goal handed the French the title, being named in the team of the tournament for his performance.

He also played in all of Italy's 2002 World Cup group stage matches until a repeat scenario of four years earlier ruled him out of Italy's controversial second-round elimination to co-hosts South Korea. Nesta featured in all of Italy's matches in their EURO 2004 group stage elimination.

Italy finally won the World Cup in 2006 after 34 years of heartbreak, but the tournament was a bittersweet one for Nesta, not getting to play a huge part in the victory as his tournament was again ended in the group stage after injuring himself against the Czech Republic in Italy's third group stage match.

A highly technical and efficient man marker, Nesta was a complete defender who was capable of playing anywhere across the back and particularly adept at playing the ball out from defense to initiate attacks. He also possessed exceptional passing abilities and was very dominant in the air. In 2004, he was named into Pele's FIFA 100 list of greatest living footballers and was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year on four occasions and FIFPRO World XI on two occasions.