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Footy Factor's Best of the Decade: Captain

Posted by Trevor Cassidy on Dec 18, 2009 in Best of the Decade, Featured, Featured Articles, Players | 0 comments

2010 is on the horizon and it’s safe to say that it’s been a wonderful decade for football. We here at Footy Factor have taken the opportunity to celebrate the greatest teams, players, and matches of the past 10 years. Our next award is…

Captain of the Decade

PaoloMaldini

Winner: Paolo Maldini. Could there really be anyone else? AC Milan‘s most loyal servant and widely recognized as the greatest left-back of all time, Maldini had the pace of a panther, the strength of a bull and an unflappable elegance in everything he did. As AC‘s captain, Maldini led by example inspiring his teammates with every pin-point pass or dribble out of a sticky situation. He was the ultimate master of his art whose brilliance, the likes of which had never been seen before, may never be seen again. Did we mention he also managed to land a remarkable seven Serie A titles and five UEFA Champions League medals… as well as amassing a staggering 902 appearances for his boyhood club.

Runners Up: Steven Gerrard. Narrowly edging out John Terry whose tears in Moscow see the Chelsea captain’s efforts this decade fall just short of the mark. Steven Gerrard is Liverpool‘s all-action, goal-grabbing, badge-kissing, captain courageous. His superhuman displays have saved Liverpool‘s blushes on countless occasions with the Kop idol scoring crucial goals in the 2005 Champions League final win over AC Milan and victory in the 2006 FA Cup final against West Ham. Javier Zanetti. Paolo Maldini wasn’t the only class act at the San Siro. Argentina’s most capped player of all-time, Zanetti made his name with Maldini‘s intra-city rivals Inter. A stalwart of the Nerazzurri back-line since joining in 1996, “Il Capitano”, as now commonly to referred to by Italian supporters and media, took over the captain’s armband in 1999 and has led the side to four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia trophies and three Italian Super Cups.