- Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born August 19, 1973 in Lecce) is an Italian football defender, who currently plays for Serie A club Internazionale, sometimes known as Inter Milan. He was a part of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he was headbutted by Zinedine Zidane, after having provoked him. Materazzi is tall and uses his physique to play as a tough and hard working defender.
- John Terry
John George Terry (born December 7, 1980 in Barking, London) is an English professional football player. Terry plays as a centre back and is the captain of both Chelsea in the English Premier League and the national football team of England. Terry is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. He was voted best defender in the 2005 UEFA Champions League, PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005, and was included in the FIFPro World XI for 2005 and 2006.
- Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro was born in Naples on the 13th of September 1973. Heâs the second of three children (the firstborn Renata and Paolo are his sister and brother). Fabio Cannavaro grew up playing for Napoli, then moved onto Parma
- Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin (born 22 April 1969 in Leicester) is an English footballer currently with Norwich City. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career and made his name as a goal-scoring centre forward but in recent years has shown his versatility by becoming an accomplished defender. He previously played for Norwich City, Cambridge United, Manchester United, Coventry City, Millwall, Aston Villa, Leicester City and Celtic.
- Du Wei
Du Wei (February 9, 1982 in Luoyang, Henan) is a Chinese professional football player who plays in defence, as a centre-back for Shanghai Shenhua. In season 2005/06, he had a 6-month loan spell at Celtic in the Scottish Premier League (SPL). He was also a former captain of China's U-21 Football Team and China's Olympic Team in 2004. Before he transferred to Celtic in 2005, he had played for Shanghai Cable and Shanghai Shenhua.
- Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams MBE (born 10 October 1966) is a former English football player who is currently assistant manager of Portsmouth. He spent his entire playing career of 22 years at Arsenal, and is considered one of the club's greatest players of all time by the club's own fans. He wore the number 6 shirt for Arsenal and 5 for England.
- Kate Markgraf
Kate Markgraf, is an American soccer player, member of the U.S. women's national team. Markgraf, who stands at five feet, nine inches (1.75 m), is a native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she attended Detroit Country Day School. At Detroit Country, she helped guide the soccer team to the state title in 1991, scoring 16 goals and having 26 assists.
- Cat Whitehill
Cat Whitehill (born Catherine Anne Reddick on February 10, 1982) is an American football (soccer) player. She plays as a defender for the New Jersey Wildcats W-League team, and the United States women's national soccer team. She was born in Richmond, Virginia, but grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. She played soccer from an early age, winning many awards, and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, …
- Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE (born Barking, England, April 12, 1941 - died London, February 24, 1993) was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was skipper of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup.
- Nicola Legrottaglie
Nicola Legrottaglie (born 20 October, 1976 in Gioia del Colle, Bari) is an Italian international defender currently with Italian Serie A side Juventus. He is 1.85 metres tall and weighs 73 kg.
- Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson, (born 18 April 1979 in Hartismere, Suffolk), is an English football player who currently plays for West Ham United. He is a central defender.
- Li Weifeng
Li Wei-Feng is a Chinese footballer who has represented the Chinese national football team over 90 times. He also played in 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Li is a central defender and is known for his heading ability which earned him the nickname "Da Tou" (Big Head). Aside from his soccer skills, Li is also involved in various off-the-field controversies, such as him earning two red cards for the Chinese team in the 2005 East Asian Invitation, …
- Heather Mitts
Heather Blaine Mitts (born June 9, 1978 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American soccer player. Mitts is a defender for the United States Women's National Soccer Team. She played soccer in high school for St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio and in college for the University of Florida, becoming an All-American, and led the team to a national title in her junior year (1998). Mitts played for the Philadelphia Charge, a team in the Women's United Soccer Association.
- Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born November 7, 1978 in Peckham, London) is an English footballer of mixed St Lucian and Anglo-Irish descent. He plays at centre-back for Manchester United in the FA Premier League and at the international level for the England national football team. He has achieved more than 50 caps for the English national team, and has been selected for three FIFA World Cup squads.
- Carla Overbeck
A 2006 United States Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, Carla was a three time All-American at UNC--undefeated in her entire collegiate career with the Tar Heels. A FIFA World Cup winner in 1991, she captained the US Olymnpic team, winning a gold medal in 1996 and a silver in 2000.
- Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly (born September 7, 1968 in Accra, Ghana as "Odenke Abbey") is a former French football player and a former star of the French national football team, with whom he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. He also enjoyed a distinguished career at club level with several European clubs.
- Wes Brown
Wesley "Wes" Michael Brown (born October 13, 1979 in Longsight, Manchester) is an English football player who plays for Manchester United. As a child Wes played for Fletcher Moss Rangers FC, based in Manchester.
- Philippe Senderos
Philippe Sylvain Senderos (born February 14, 1985 in Geneva) is a Swiss football player of Serbian and Spanish descent who currently plays for Arsenal of the English Premier League as a defender.
- Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Iván Heinze is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for the English Premier League team Manchester United as a left-back, having transferred from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2004. Heinze is a descendant of Volga German immigrants that settled in Argentina. His ever solid displays for Manchester United in his first season saw him win fans' Player of the Year award.
- Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He plays centre back for AC Milan in Serie A and also in the Italian National Team. Having previously played for S.S. Lazio, Nesta transferred to A.C. Milan from Lazio in 2002 for approximately €30 million paid over three years, after being valued at over £50 million by Lazio a year earlier.
- Oguchi Onyewu
Oguchialu Chilioke "Oguchi" Onyewu or "Gooch" (born May 13, 1982 in Washington, D.C.) is an American soccer player who plays in defense for Standard Liège and the United States. Onyewu's parents moved to the United States from Nigeria to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. Onyewu has two brothers, Uche and Nonye, and two sisters, Chi-Chi and Ogechi. Growing up in Silver Spring and later Olney, Maryland, …
- Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell (born 18 September 1974 in Plaistow, London) is an English footballer. He currently plays for Portsmouth in the English Premiership, having previously played for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. He is the only player to have played for England in six consecutive major tournaments.
- Paolo Cannavaro
Paolo Cannavaro (born 26 June 1981 in Naples) is an Italian footballer. He plays in defence and is the younger brother of Fabio Cannavaro. He currently plays for S.S.C. Napoli in Serie A.
- Roberto Ayala
Roberto Fabián "El Ratón" Ayala is an Argentinian football player, who currently plays for the Spanish team Real Zaragoza. Regarded as one of the best central defenders in the world, he has been captain of the Argentine national team for more matches than anyone else and has played in three World Cups. Ayala is the most capped player ever for Argentina with 115 international appearances.
- Anton Ferdinand
Anton Ferdinand (born February 18, 1985 in Peckham, London) is an English football player, currently playing for West Ham United. He plays as a central defender.
- Andy Webster
Andrew Neil Webster (born April 23 1982 in Dundee) is a Scottish professional football currently playing for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, on loan from Wigan Athletic. His position is centre back.
- Daniel Passarella
Daniel Alberto Passarella (born May 25, 1953 in Chacabuco, Buenos Aires province) is a former Argentine football centre back and former manager of the Argentine and Uruguayan national football teams.
- Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara (born February 11, 1967) is an Italian former football defender, who spent most of his career at Juventus. He retired from football after the 2004-05 season. A native of Naples, Ferrara started his career at SSC Napoli before moving to Juventus in 1994. He became captain soon after joining the team, and soon became one of the most experienced and decorated players, winning seven Serie A championships (five with Juventus, …
- Leandro Cufré
Leandro Damián Cufré is an Argentine football (soccer) player who currently plays for French AS Monaco. Cufré is a defender and was capped by Argentina for the first time in 2000. He won the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Argentina U-20 team and was a member of the Argentina squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. On June 30, 2006, Cufré was red carded for violent conduct in an altercation following the World Cup quarter-final match against Germany, …
- Sulley Muntari
Sulley Ali Muntari (born August 27, 1984) is a Ghanaian international footballer who plays for Portsmouth F.C. in England. He is a central midfielder. He has managed 26 caps and 8 goals for Ghana, as of March 2007.
- Bobo Balde
Dianbobo (Bobo) Balde (born 5 October 1975 in Marseille, France) is a professional footballer currently playing for Celtic of the Scottish Premier League. He is a central defender and sweeper. He is also a Guinea international. His last club before Celtic was Toulouse FC.
- Laurent Blanc
Laurent Blanc is a retired French football defender, who scored the first golden goal in World Cup history. Blanc is considered to be one of the great centre-halves of the 90s, eclipsed only by Franco Baresi. For France, Blanc played in Euro 92, reached the semi-finals in Euro 96, and won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He was also well-known for kissing good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's head before the start of every match, …
- Steven Taylor
Steven Vincent Taylor (born January 23, 1986 in Greenwich, England) is an English footballer, currently playing for Newcastle United. He is a central defender who can also play at right back and sometimes left back. Despite being born in London, his family moved to Whitley Bay, North Tyneside when Taylor was just two weeks old, and he grew up as a Newcastle supporter.
- Michael Dawson
Michael Richard Dawson (born November 18, 1983 in Northallerton, North Yorkshire) is an English professional football player who plays as a defender for Tottenham Hotspur and wears the number 20 shirt for the club.
- Mikael Silvestre
Mikaël Silvestre is a French footballer, playing as a defender. He currently plays for Manchester United, as well as France internationally. He began his career with the French club Rennes in the 1995/96 season. His time at the club helped build his reputation, and in the 1997/98 season was signed by Internazionale. He made 18 league appearances for Inter, as well as 6 European Cup games. Silvestre signed for Manchester United on September 10, 1999 for £4 million.
- Paul Warhurst
Paul Warhurst (born 26 September 1969, Stockport) is an English football player. He plays primarily as a defender, but has also played in midfield or as a striker at various points in his career. Having played for 15 different clubs through his career, Warhurst is regarded as one of the quintessential journeymen of English football. He began his career as a trainee at Manchester City in 1988, before signing professional terms with Oldham.
- Martin Buchan
Martin McLean Buchan was a Scottish football player. Buchan was a central defender for Manchester United in 1972-1983, and captained the late 1970's teams for six years. He was signed from Aberdeen by Manchester United manager Frank O'Farrell on 29 February 1972 for £120,000, and was the club's record signing then. His first game for the club came on 4 March 1972 against Tottenham. He helped United win the 1977 FA Cup final against Liverpool.
- Gabriel Paletta
Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born February 15 1986, Buenos Aires) is an Argentinean central defender, who currently plays for Liverpool, only the second Argentine to play for the Merseyside club, after Mauricio Pellegrino.
- Pascal Cygan
Pascal Cygan (born April 29, 1974 in Lens) is a French football player, currently playing for Villarreal. His favoured position is central defender.Won villarreal's player of the year award for 2006/07 season.
- Elliott Ward
Elliott Ward (born January 19, 1985 in Harrow) is an English professional football player. Ward, a central defender, currently plays for Coventry City. Ward came up through the youth system of West Ham United, making his debut for the Under-17 side before joining the first team in August 2003. In 2004, Ward went out for two loan spells, at Peterborough United and Bristol Rovers in July and December 2004 respectively.