<p>&lt;p&gt;Of the 17 winners of the coveted FIFA World Player of the Year award only one is a defender, his name is Fabio Cannavaro. The centre-half from Naples scooped the title in 2006, beating off competition from Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho, after captaining his Italian team to a memorable World Cup win. That same year Cannavaro won the European Player of the Year award, the first defender since Franz Beckenbauer in 1972 to be named Europe's greatest player.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the pitch Cannavaro has done much to redefine the role of a centre-back and rarely since Bobby Moore has a defender tackled with such clinical precision and distributed with such skill. Under his leadership the Italian side that won the 2006 World Cup conceded just two goals throughout the entire tournament, one of them a penalty in the final against France. Cannavaro played every minute of the finals and hoisted the trophy aloft after winning his 100th cap for the Azzurri.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Cannavaro began his career with Napoli, making his debut in March 1993. Two years later he joined Parma and formed a celebrated defensive partnership with Lilian Thuram, in front of the great goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. After helping Parma win the Italian Cup and UEFA Cup in 1999, Cannavaro moved to Inter Milan for &amp;pound;18 million and helped the Nerazzurri to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Juventus followed, where he once more teamed up with Thuram and Buffon to reform one of Italy's greatest defensive units. Cannavaro's majestic performances were key to Juve securing the Serie A title two years running in 2005 and 2006.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The latest move by the charismatic defensive maestro has been to Real Madrid in July 2006. Success at the pinnacle of football follows Cannavaro and in June 2007 Real secured their first La Liga title for four years. Internationally Cannavaro has been at the heart of the Italian defence for 10 years. He took the captain's armband from Paolo Maldini in 2002 and has arguably eclipsed that legendary name.&lt;/p&gt;</p>