#6 Giacinto Facchetti
Often you hear stories of players moving into a different position and the positional change making them a better player, but I doubt many have been as successful as Giacinto Facchetti moving from striker to defender.
Facchetti began his career as a forward, but it wasn’t until legendary coach Helenio Herrera chose to play him in defence. In the Catenaccio style of football, the Italian excelled, with his technique setting him apart from anyone else.
Facchetti made 516 appearances for Inter in an 18-year-career and won two Champions Leagues along with four Serie A titles. Despite making his debut in 1960 at the age of 18, Facchetti will go down in history as one of the greatest defenders in Italian history and one of the pioneers of Catenaccio football.
#5 Bobby Moore
A hero in England, Bobby Moore is often recognised as one of the classiest defenders in English football history and his World Cup winning display in 1966 lives long in their history.
Even Pele admitted that Moore was the best “man marker he played against” and given some of those that have played the Brazilian, that is one heck of a compliment! Moore knew when to dive into a tackle and when to stay on his feet, and when a player has that ability you know they have something special about them.
A World Cup win and FA Cup triumph to his name, many argue that Moore should have had more medals, but sometimes talent can shine without winning everything. Almost everyone from his generation will tell you how special he was as a defender, and that says more than a league title.
