7 greatest Brazilian defenders of all time

#4 Nilton Santos

Nilton Santos represented Brazil playing in 1954, 1958 and 1962 World Cups and was a member of the 1958 and 1962 Brazil World Cup winning squads

Before Marcelo and Roberto Carlos made a name for themselves as marauding Brazilian left-backs contributing to attacks, there was a Nilton Santos who was one of the first full-backs to push forward in support of attacks for his team in the 1950s.

A converted forward, Nilton Santos is considered one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game and was part of the Brazilian squads in four consecutive World Cups between 1950 and 1962 (he failed to make an appearance at the 1950 edition), winning the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1958 and 1962.

The late Nilton Santos (he passed on in November 2013 aged 88, few months to the commencement of the 2014 World Cup in his native Brazil) spent the entirety of his club career with Botafogo, making 723 appearances and won six titles with his hometown club.

'The Encyclopedia' as he was called due to his extensive knowledge of sports reinvented the fullback role and regularly contributed to attacks with his runs down the wing and scored a memorable goal in the 1958 World Cup against Austria after dribbling across the field before unleashing a shot into the Austrian goal. He also had an impact on Brazilian football history by being a mentor to Botafogo teammate Garrincha who was the star of Brazil's World Cup triumph in 1962, helping guide the prodigiously talented but undisciplined Garrincha on the right path.

Adept at both defending an attacking, Nilton won 75 caps for Brazil between 1949 and 1962, scoring three goals and was voted in the 1958 World Cup All-Star Team as well as the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998 and was included in Pele's FIFA 100 Greatest living players of all time in 2004. He is also a member of Brazil's Football Museum Hall of Fame.