10 greatest Italian defenders of the last 50 years

#5 Giacinto Facchetti

Facchetti clearing the ball away

'Mr Inter Milan', Facchetti was the quintessential one-club man, and set the template for future Italian club-loyal players likes Guiseppe Bergomi, Franco Baresi, Paulo Maldini, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero to follow.

Facchetti was handed his Inter Milan debut in 1961 by the legendary Helenio Herrera and later as captain of the side was extremely influential in the achievements of the 'Grande Inter' side of the 1960s.

Facchetti was one of the first attacking full-backs in Europe, and his hard defending combined with his innovative prowess going forward was crucial in the success of the 'catenaccio' system deployed by Herrera which focused on defensive solidity together with efficient counter-attacking.

Strong, adept at reading the game, and a solid defender, Facchetti formed one of the greatest full-back partnerships with Tarcisio Burgnich. His explosive forays down the Inter Milan left-flank was important in helping Inter conquer Italy, Europe and the rest of the world during those glory years and he scored 10 goals in Serie A season of 1966 (which was the record number for most goals scored by a defender for almost 40 years until it was broken by Materazzi in 2001).

He retired from football with his beloved Inter Milan at the end of the 1977/1978 season with 679 appearances across all competitions, scoring 75 goals and winning a total of nine trophies.

On the international scene, Facchetti represented Italy for 14 years between 1963 and 1977, appearing at three FIFA World Cups. He captained the Azzurri for many years, including to their EURO triumph in 1968 on home soil and their runners-up finish at the World Cup two years later in Mexico, being elected into the All-Star teams of both tournaments. He made a total of 94 caps for Italy, which was a national record until it was overtaken by legendary goalkeeper Dino Zoff.

Facchetti was an exemplary footballer despite his tough tackling on the pitch and was incredibly sent off just once in his career (for sarcastically clapping at the referee) and earned the respect of both teammates and opponents. He narrowly missed out on becoming the first defender to win the Ballon d'Or in 1965, finishing second to Eusebio as he almost guided Inter to a then-unprecedented treble (only losing out in the final of the Coppa Italia to Juventus). He was elected by Pele as part of the FIFA 100 list of greatest living players in 2004.

His dedication and service to Inter Milan will forever be remembered, and he had his jersey number 3 retired forever on his passing away in 2006 (the only Inter player accorded this honor). He also has numerous monuments in Milanese football and streets named after him and was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

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#4 Fabio Cannavaro

Cannavaro lifts the 2006 World Cup as captain of Italy

Starting out in the Pertenopei's youth set-up, Cannavaro's brilliance caught the eyes of the first team coaches and he was invited to train together with his idols in the first team. The only defender to have won the FIFA World Best award and the third to win the Ballon d'or (after Franz Beckenbauer and Mathias Sammer) having captained Italy to World Cup glory, Cannavaro is one of the greatest defenders in history.

Nicknamed "Il Muro di Berlino" ("The Berlin Wall'') due to his defensive performances, Fabio Cannavaro began his professional career with his hometown and favorite childhood club Napoli in 1992.

He came to prominence during one of the training sessions when he won the ball off Diego Maradona who was the team's star player in a sliding tackle much to the consternation of the coaches and players, but Maradona encouraged him to continue playing aggressively and gave the youngster his boot as a souvenir.

Cannavaro became a regular in the Napoli defense at the start of the 1993/1994 season as his brilliant anticipation and tackling made him excel in defense for Napoli. However, despite his promising performances, Cannavaro was sold to Parma in 1995 due to the club's financial difficulties.

At Parma, Fabio went on to cement his reputation as one of the best defenders in a very defensive Serie A. He became team captain of the club and led it to numerous titles and achievements during this glorious period of the club's history.

Alongside other star players like Hernan Crespo, Gianluigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram, Cannavaro helped Parma become an Italian football force, constantly challenging for domestic and continental honors.

He left Parma in 2002 for Internazionale, having played over 250 goals in all competitions, scoring 5 goals and winning multiple personal accolades.

His two season stay at Inter was not too successful, as the club were trying to rebuild following Ronaldo's sale to Real Madrid and despite challenging for honors, the club failed to win any title during his stay there. Cannavaro left Inter for Juventus in 2004 after just 50 appearances for the Nerrazzurri.

At Juventus, Cannavaro won the first Scudetto of his career in back to back league triumphs in 2005 and 2006, although the latter one was revoked and Juventus demoted to Serie B due to their involvement in the Calciopolli scandal of 2006.

He transferred to Real Madrid as a result of the demotion and was a starter in consecutive league victories in 2007 and 2008, although he lost his starting place in the team as age began to catch up with him, leading to his loss of pace.

He returned to Juventus in 2009, but left just a season later for Saudi Arabia where injuries ended his career at Al Ain.

On the international scene, Cannavaro represented the Azurri for 13 years between 1997 and 2010 and is the second highest appearance maker in his country's history (136 caps), behind only Gianluigi Buffon on 176 caps. He also captained his country for eight years following Paulo Maldini's international retirement after the 2002 World Cup.

He became an international regular in the build up to the 1998 World Cup and put up impressive performances in the tournament itself alongside veterans like Guisseppe Bergomi and Paulo Maldini.

He partnered Nesta together with either Maldini or Mark Luliano in the centre of Italy's 3-man defense at EURO 2000 as the Azurri put up a defensive masterclass en route their final defeat to France. Cannavaro was selected in the team of the tournament for his performances.

At the 2002 World Cup, he was equally impressive but missed the second-round controversial elimination to South Korea due to suspension. He was also a part of the team that disappointingly exited EURO 2004 at the group stage.

His finest moment as a footballer came when he led his team to World Cup glory on his 100th cap in 2006, earning plaudits for successfully marshalling the defense in Nesta's absence as Italy conceded just two goals (and none from open play) to lift her fourth World Cup title in Germany.

Cannavaro alongside Buffon were the only two Italian players to feature in all minutes of every match during the 2006 World Cup, and his performances led to him being named in the team of the tournament as well as finishing as runner-up behind Zidane in the award of the World Cup Golden Ball (given to the tournament's best player).

He was also awarded the Ballon d'or and FIFA World Best Player of 2006 on the back of his World Cup performance, in addition to being voted into the UEFA and FIFPRO Teams of the Year.

Extremely versatile and dominant in the air(despite his small stature for a defender), Cannavaro was capable of playing across the defense and earned widespread acclaim for his man-marking, reading of the game and anticipation. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2014.