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#1 Paolo Maldini (Italy)
Clubs: AC Milan.
It was an incredibly difficult decision whether to put Roberto Carlos or Paolo ‘One Club’ Maldini at number one on the list, but in the end, the Italian won it and one of the deciding factors was that he played at the highest level for just shy of twenty-five years, eventually retiring at the ripe old age of 41.
Honours: Serie A x7, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana x3, European Cup/Champions League x5, UEFA Super Cup x4, Intercontinental Cup x2, Club World Cup.
Maldini, who joined AC Milan’s youth set up at the age of ten broke into the first team squad at the age of 16 and never really looked back from there, his trophy haul speaks for itself.
Whilst he was in a backline with some greats like Franco Baresi, it was also apparent that he wasn't going to be around for much longer and when the mid-nineties arrived, Baresi retired meaning it was Maldini’s turn to step up to the plate and lead Milan.
The first few years of his captaincy were a rather transitional stage and despite winning the league title in the 1998/99 season, they were yet to reassert themselves as the dominant force within Italian football, however that changed when Carlo Ancelotti took over the reigns.
In the next few years, they would return to being a powerhouse on Europe’s main stage, winning the Champions League twice in five years and that was all built on the solid foundations of an incredibly strong back line which was spearheaded by Paolo Maldini.
He would have had another UCL winner's medal in 2007 but was on the losing end of Liverpool’s amazing come back in the 2005 final and an injury-time loss to Olympique Marseille in 1993. When Milan defeated Liverpool in 2007 final, Maldini became the oldest skipper to lift the trophy.
Over the course of his career, Maldini would feature in over an incredible 1,000 official matches, making him the first outfield player ever to do so and only the second person ever behind Peter Shilton to achieve such a feat.
Perhaps, the only regret Maldini will have, similarly to Ashley Cole is that he never quite got to lift a trophy with Italy. He got closer than Cole, though, finishing as runners-up at Euro 2000 and at the World Cup in 1994; one thing is for sure, despite his lack of international accolades, he’ll be remembered as truly the greatest left back of the last 20 yrs.
