Position: Defender

Born: 13.09.73

Club: Juventus

Fabio Cannavaro has skippered the Italian side sice 2004, and there can be no one more deserving of this honour than the veteran defender.

Quickly approaching 100 caps for his country, the 33-year-old has long been a commanding figure in Serie A and international football, despite his lack of height.

An excellent reader of the game, sharp and deceptively strong in the air, Cannavaro has excelled for every club he has played for.

The defender began his career for his home town club of Napoli before joining Parma for six seasons, where he picked up a UEFA Cup medal.

A 23million euro move to Internazionale followed in 2002, with his imposing performances quickly endearing him to the club's fans.

A broken leg marred his season in 2004 and at its close he moved on to Juventus.

There Cannavaro finally got his hands on a Scudetto medal, playing every game in a triumphant first season with the Turin club.

The highlight of his international career was when Italy finished runners-up in Euro 2002. The team's porous defence conceded just four goals, two of them in the final defeat to France.

Cannavaro has played alongside Alessandro Nesta at the heart of the Italian defence since 1998 and will help provide the national side with a typically miserly backline in Germany.