10 Greatest Right-Backs Of All Time
3. Carlos Alberto
Another Brazilian who finds himself on the list is none other than Carlos Alberto. You might remember him for a lot of things but the highlight of his career is the goal he scored in the 1970 World Cup finals. It was also voted as the greatest goal in World Cup history.
Alberto was one of the most complete defenders you would ever come across. He was also voted as the greatest right-back of all time in the year 2000.
Carlos Alberto was the captain of the invincible Brazilian side which had the likes of Pele, Rivelino, Gerson, Jairzinho, and Tostao. Under his leadership, Brazil won the 1970 World Cup by beating Italy 4-1.
2. Cafu
Brazilians have a knack for producing top-tier full-backs and Cafu is one of them. Cafu was a dynamic right-back who was undoubtedly the best of his era. In a way, he revolutionized the position and helped it evolve to what it is today.
Cafu was just elegant to watch and there was always a goal-scoring opportunity with him making constant runs down the right-wing. He was a serial winner and has the trophies to back his performances.
Cafu achieved legendary status after winning the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 as a captain. He had also won the World Cup in 1994. With 143 appearances, he is also the most capped Brazilian player of all time.
In his club career, Cafu won two Serie A titles, a UEFA Champions League, two UEFA Super Cups, and Supercoppa Italiana.
1. Dani Alves
It doesn’t come as a surprise that a Brazilian, as decorated as Dani Alves, is making the list as the greatest right-back of all time. The way Dani Alves carried himself throughout his career, there’s no doubt that he deserves all the 43 trophies which he has won in his career.
The Brazilian usually spent his time in the opponents’ half trying to create as many goal-scoring opportunities as possible. Barcelona fans would always cherish his link-up play with the greatest of the game, Lionel Messi. Barcelona are yet to fill the void he left as a right-back and the kind of career he had, it’s gonna take someone extraordinary to fill his shoes.
Dani Alves was a vital part of possibly the most dominant squad ever assembled; FC Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. With them, he won 6 La Liga titles, 3 Champions Leagues, 4 Copa Del Reys. During his time with PSG, he won Ligue 1 twice and with Juventus, he won Serie A and a domestic cup. With Brazil, he failed to win the World Cup, but won a couple of Copa America titles and was also the Copa America player of the tournament in 2019.