Gianluca Zambrotta

A fantastically versatile Italian player, Zambrotta spent a large part of his early career as a winger or wide midfielder, able to operate effectively on either flank.

It was only after the 2002 World Cup, where he'd played as a right-sided midfielder for Giovanni Trapattoni's Azzuri team, that he was moved to full-back at club level by Juventus manager Marcello Lippi. Lippi deployed Zambrotta as a left-back to start with, before switching him to right-back. His background as a winger obviously gave him fantastic attacking attributes in the role, and he soon started to become known as one of the world's finest attacking fullbacks. His reputation and a place in football history was sealed when he was part of that fantastic Italian defence that helped the Azzurri to World Cup glory in 2006.

As well as his obvious attacking talent, Zambrotta was also extremely strong defensively, with a tenacious style and a hard-working, determined character that made him a really tough opponent for anyone who faced him.