The 50 Greatest Defenders Of All Time Have Been Named And Ranked By Fans

Football fans have ranked the 20 greatest defenders of all time and it is Italian legend Paolo Maldini who comes out on top. The former AC Milan star spent a staggering 25 years at the San Siro, winning 7 Serie A titles and 5 European Cups. He dominates the rankings earning over 3000 more upvotes than former teammate Franco Baresi. Check out the top 50 courtesy of Ranker below. 50. Diego Godin 49. Ciro Ferrara 48. Javier Zanetti 47. Hans-Peter Briegel 46. Jamie Carragher 45. Jaap Stam 44. Morten Olsen 43. Manfred Kaltz 42. Emlyn Hughes 41. Andreas Brehme 40. Gerard Pique 39. Maicon 38. Aldair 37. Dani Alves 36. Philipp Lahm 35. Antonio Cabrini 34. Paul Breitner 33. Nilton Santos 32. Carles Puyol 31. Gary Neville 30. Marcelo 29. Fabio Cannavaro 28. Virgil van Dijk 27. Roberto Carlos 26. Jurgen Kohler 25. Sol Campbell 24. Phil Neal 23. Ruud Krol 22. Wim Suurbier 21. Claudio Gentile 20. Thiago Silva 19. Lucio 18. Giuseppe Bergomi 17. Alan Hansen 16. Sergio Ramos 15. Luis Pereira 14. Lilian Thuram 13. Fulvio Collovati 12. Mauro Tassotti 11. Alessandro Nesta 10. Alessandro Costacurta 9. Giacinto Facchetti 8. Daniel Passarella 7. Frank Rijkaard 6. Bobby Moore 5. Cesare Maldini 4. Cafu 3. Franz Beckenbauer 2. Franco Baresi 1. Paolo Maldini The list belongs to Maldini and if you ever watched him play, you can understand why. He played 902 games for AC Milan in his career as well as 126 times for Italy, meaning he is the true definition of consistency. ‘Il Capitano’ taught an entire generation that defending could be as breathtaking as attacking if you were one of the best. Maldini and runner-up on the list Baresi were part of the famous Milan side that went 58 games unbeaten from 1991 to 1993. The pair played together 196 times and conceded only 23 goals; that’s a goal every 8.5 games. It’s clear to see why many fans think Maldini is the true ‘GOAT’ when it comes to defending.