Every outstanding team has always had a fantastic captain who personified the team’s spirit and motivated his colleagues to brilliance. From the courageous John Terry to the flamboyant Diego Maradona, from the brilliant Johan Cruyff to the restless Steven Gerrard, let us review the finest captains in football history.
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Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn debuted for the Karlsruhe young team, although he did not become well-known worldwide until twelve years later. Kahn arrived at Bayern Munich in 1994 for 4.6 million German marks and stayed there until his retirement in 2008.
Many team titles and personal honours made Kahn among the best goalkeepers of all time. Kahn became the first goalie in history to win the Golden Ball, the accolade for the greatest player of the World Cup, in 2002.
Carlos Alberto Torres
Apart from his superb defensive and ball handling, Brazilian Carlos Alberto Torres was a naturally born leader. Carlos Alberto guided Brazil to triumph in the World Cup 1970 and even scored a goal in the championship game.
The outstanding defender is now included into the Brazilian Football Hall of Fame. Sadly, Torres passed away in Rio de Janeiro on 25 October 2016 from a heart attack. He worked as a sports pundit on Brazilian TV in his last days.
John Terry
Originally the long-time captain of Chelsea and the England national team, John Terry returned to Chelsea as the club’s Academy coach. Leading Chelsea to five Premier League triumphs, four FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Europa League win and one UEFA Champions League trophy, the English captain guided the team.
Steven Gerrard
Almost his whole career, Steven Gerrard was Liverpool’s captain. Stevie debuted for the team in 1998 and has spent 17 seasons there so. Gerrard attended three European Championships and three World Cups representing England. In two of the events, he captained the squad.
Francesco Totti
Spending his whole career at Roma, Totti became the youngest captain in Serie A history at 22 years and 34 days old. Leading the team to the championship, Francesco also won the Italian Cup and Super Cup, rising Roma’s all-time top scorer and the Giallorossi player with most appearances.
Javier Zanetti
Inter Milan had Argentinean Javier Zanetti serving as a defender or midfielder. He made 858 Nerazzurri appearances and took home sixteen championships. Javier holds the record for most games played for the national team having participated 145 matches for Argentina. At 41, Zanetti retired from the game; since 2014, he has been vice-president of Inter Milan.
Didier Deschamps
Saidier Former French player Claude Deschamps is head coach of the French national team right now. Deschamps won most of his titles while representing Juventus in Turin. Didier won all domestic medals as well as the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup with the Italian team.
Captain of the outstanding French national squad that took home the 2000 European Championship and the 1998 World Cup.
Bobby Moore
Over ten years of play for West Ham United, legendary Bobby Moore was captain of the England national team. Once Pelé himself said, Moore is the best defender he has ever seen.
Johan Cruyff
Three-time winner of the Ballon d’ Or Beginning his professional career at Ajax, Johan Cruyff won the Eredivisie, three European Cups, one Intercontinental Cup. He won La Liga and the Spanish Cup following a 1973 move to Barcelona. Cruyff retired from football in 1984 and then went on to manage Ajax and subsequently Barcelona with great success.
Diego Maradona
Apart from his amazing technique, Maradona is well-known for his leadership ability, which greatly affected the general performance of his teams. Diego endeavoured to be the team’s soul. Maradona carried out a captain’s ritual before bed: he went around to wish good night to every one of his Argentine national team colleagues.
Franco Baresi
Spending his whole 20-year career at Milan, one Serie A team, Franco Baresi was captain for 15 seasons. At the 1994 World Cup, Baresi also commanded the Italian national team as captain and leader. Though they made it to the final, Brazil defeated the Italians.
Carles Puyol
A fabled center-back with flanks of the defence also capable of playing. Puyol, who replaced Luis Enrique in 2004, spent a lot of time as captain of Barcelona. Carles earned 18 trophies and played 593 games with the Catalan team before calling it quits in 2014. Six La Liga medals and three Champions League trophies are his biggest successes.
Paolo Maldini
Maldini played all 25 seasons with Milan, his home team, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009. Paolo serves Milan as the technical director right now.
Franz Beckenbauer
Beckenbauer was dubbed Der Kaiser, or “The Emperor,” because on his sophisticated manner, dominance and leadership on the field. Originally a midfielder, Franz was a flexible player who developed into a centre-back over his career. He is also credited with developing the libero stance.
