The Beautiful Game

The tradition of great Italian defenders is a long one. In general, midfielders and strikers tend to stir the imagination. But the first rule of football is to stop the opponent scoring goals; Italy has raised this principle to a high art. In so doing, it has shown the world the glory of the great defender: Giacinto Facchetti, Gaetano Scirea, Antonio Cabrini, Franco Baresi and Paulo Maldini all belong in football’s firmament. Now add another name to that list: Fabio Cannavaro.