Two of the all time great defenders, from the same era, the same country and formed one of the greatest defensive partnerships we have seen an international level.
Cannavaro was a remarkable specimen, he was 5ft9 which was very small for a centre back but he played like he had springs on him, he was outstanding aerially and he was so powerful and tough as nails, you usually see his opponent crumpled once they ran into him. Cannavaro was extremely aggressive, he played with a will to win every ball and it was an approach that rarely let him down. Not sure how much of his tackles he’d get away with these days though.
Nesta was an absolute joy to watch, his reading of the game, his positional sense, his timing of the tackle was to perfection. Nesta didn’t do mistimed tackles, he might do the odd calculated foul but if he went to win the ball he won the ball. Like Cannavaro, Nesta had outstanding agility and balance, never ever look flustered and while he was a clean defender he had no problem getting his hands dirty when he had to.
- Cannavaro
- Nesta
0 voters
I’ll have to plump for Nesta, the best defender I’ve seen. I learned lot from him when I was playing myself, most of all to always point at the ball after you go to ground, whether you won it or not.
Cannavaro’s performance at the 2006 World Cup was absolutely sensational and is probably up there with Maradona in 86 as the greatest individual contribution at a major finals.
