15 Best Left-Backs in Football History [Ranked]

In football’s tactical innovations, no position has experienced such a makeover in the last few decades as the full-back. A role that used to be as simplistic as its name now has players affecting the game further forward than ever before.

These days, left-backs are often not on the left or at the back. The role of the inverted full-back has provided a layer of gloss to a position that has never been entirely glamorous. Over the years, centre-backs have been shunted out wide and left-wingers forced into the defensive third to fill the void which so regularly exists in that particular area of the pitch.

Despite an understated reputation, some of the greatest players to ever kick a ball have plied their trade on the left side of defence. Decisive World Cup champions, serial Champions League winners and enduring fan favourites make up the glittering list of the game’s best left-backs of all time.

Ranking Factors

• League honours
• Individual awards
• Longevity
• Clean sheets
• Assists

15 Andrew Robertson

Clubs played for: Queen’s Park, Dundee United, Hull City, Liverpool

Since signing from Hull City for a modest fee of £8m, Andy Robertson has catapulted himself into the group of the finest defenders in world football during his seven years at Liverpool. With only five players making more Liverpool appearances under Jurgen Klopp, Robertson’s consistency has proven invaluable, helping the Reds win the Champions League, Club World Cup and the Premier League title in 2020. The Scottish captain’s renowned reliability and breathless dynamism as a full-back, along with his ability to contribute both in attack and defence, makes him one of the most dependable players to ever grace his position.

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14 Silvio Marzolini

Clubs played for: Ferro Carril Oeste, Boca Juniors

“You’ll regret it,” Silvio Marzolini was told when he handed in his resignation. A draughtsman for a company subcontracted by the car manufacturing giant, Fiat, the youngster believed in his own talent, trading his blueprints for a pair of boots which would take him into the first team of Ferro Carril Oeste in the late 1950s.

Blessed with good looks and an easy charm, Marzolini won plenty of fans before he even stepped onto the pitch. After catching the eye at Ferro, the Argentina international excelled for Boca Juniors, perennially charging into the empty corridor on the left wing vacated by his teammate, Alberto Gonzalez, who was naturally inclined to drift infield. By the end of a career which brought him five league titles, Marzolini had few regrets.

13 Patrice Evra

Clubs played for: Marsala, Monza, Nice, Monaco, Manchester United, Juventus, Marseille, West Ham

Within the first 40 minutes of Patrice Evra’s Manchester United career, his new employers were trailing Manchester City by a pair of goals which both came down the flank unconvincingly patrolled by the Frenchman. Sir Alex Ferguson hooked the left-back during the interval after giving him a frank blast in the dressing room: “That’s enough for you! You sit down and watch now, because you have to learn English football.”

Evra arrived in Manchester as an established French international following three-and-a-half years at Monaco – the highlight of which was a surprise run to the 2004 Champions League final. Evra would return to the European summit three times with United, shaking off that dire debut to forge a reputation as one of the most complete full-backs in the division.

12 Denis Irwin

Clubs played for: Leeds United, Oldham Athletic, Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Like Andy Robertson, being a lynchpin of one of the most successful sides in club football holds significant weight. The same applies to Denis Irwin and his 12-year stay at Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

Irwin amassed 682 appearances in a club career that marked him as the most successful Irish footballer in history with 19 trophies, the same as clubmate Roy Keane, including a historic treble in 1998-99. The Irishman played with an efficiency unique to his generation, famed for his two-footedness and nickname ‘Eight Out of Ten Denis’, his consistency was unmatched. Irwin also earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year on four occasions and is an inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame.

11 Karl-Heinz Schnellinger

Clubs played for: FC Koln, Mantova, Roma, AC Milan, Tennis Borussia Berlin

In an award dominated by forwards and goalscoring midfielders, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger’s feat of finishing third in the 1962 Ballon d’Or is all the more impressive. A German champion with FC Koln before the Bundesliga had even been established, the left-back’s abundant talent attracted admirers from across Europe.

Like so many of his most gifted compatriots from the era, who were sniffily dubbed “soldiers of fortune”, Schnellinger moved to Italy to earn the riches that his quality warranted. Initially banned from the West German national team as punishment for his defection, Helmut Schon could no longer overlook the well-rounded defender, bringing him into the side which made it to the final of the 1966 World Cup.

One year after lifting the European Cup with AC Milan, Schnellinger scored the stoppage-time equaliser for West Germany against the country he would call home in a legendary semi-final at the 1970 World Cup. Italy would eventually win a contest which became known as the “Match of the Century” thanks to a late strike from Schnellinger’s Milan teammate, Gianni Rivera.

10 Antonio Cabrini

Clubs played for: Cremonese, Atalanta, Juventus, Bologna

“Antonio Cabrini was one of my points of reference; he was fantastic and, at the time, he was a modern full-back with his intelligence and his ability to make attacking runs up the flank.”

Those were the words of the great Paolo Maldini on Antonio Cabrini, one of the best Italian defenders to emerge out of his generation. The mercurial defender was part of a formidable period of Italian football for club and country, specifically with Juventus, as he hoovered up European and domestic honours.

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For Italy, despite being the first player to miss a penalty in a World Cup final, Cabrini is regarded as one of the best to don the Azzurri shirt. The recipient of the FIFA Young Player Award at the 1978 finals, Cabrini was part of the winning team in the 1982 edition in Spain, starting in the final against West Germany.

9 Ashley Cole

Clubs played for: Arsenal, Crystal Palace (loan) Chelsea, Roma, LA Galaxy, Derby County

There are not many who can cross the London divide and remain respected by Chelseaand Arsenal fans, but Ashley Cole can. He spent seven seasons as an Arsenal first-team player, during which time he established himself as the league’s best full-back, particularly in the club’s “Invincibles” season in 2003-04. A couple of years later, he made the controversial switch to Chelsea and extended his recognition to the rest of the world.

In west London, he expanded his illustrious trophy cabinet with two European titles: the Champions League in 2012, and the Europa League the season after. Blessed with an array of physical gifts, Cole was a defensive menace for any wide player in world football.

8 Andreas Brehme

Clubs played for: HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, Saarbrucken, Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Zaragoza

“If you score,” Rudi Voller whispered in the ear of Andreas Brehme during the 1990 World Cup final, “we’ll be world champions.” No pressure, then. Almost 85 arduous minutes of a tortuous contest had elapsed by the time West Germany’s left-back stepped up to the spot, fizzing his low, right-footed effort beyond the glove of Sergio Goycochea.

One of the most two-footed players of his generation had scored with his other boot in the World Cup four years earlier. “My left is harder,” Brehme later explained, “and my right is more precise.” Such technical supremacy underpinned the unflappable German’s glittering career, which earned him glory domestically and with an all-conquering Inter Milan side.

7 Marcelo

Clubs played for: Fluminense, Real Madrid, Olympiacos

Since his debut in 2005, Marcelo has been the epitome of the modern full-back. Despite his slight defensive deficiencies, he possesses a creative arsenal that places him among the most proficient technicians in football history. Marcelo marauded infield for Real Madrid with a touch and low centre of gravity that never looked out of place in advanced areas.

Boasting more than 150 goal contributions across a trophy-laden career back up any statement on Marcelo’s abilities. Cristiano Ronaldo’s sidekick, the Brazilian’s crucial role in multiple dominant iterations of Los Blancos earned him a regular spot in FIFA FIFPro World XIs, and he is still going at Fluminense.

6 Roberto Carlos

Clubs played for: Uniao Sao Joao Esporte Clube, Palmeiras, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce, Corinthians, Anji, Odisha

Before Marcelo, there was Roberto Carlos. A bullet of a footballer with frightening speed and a hammer-like left foot, the Brazilian felt like a player made in a video game. The collection of tapes showing his free-kick prowess, for which he is well-known, including his renowned ‘banana strike’ from 40 yards against France in 1997, doesn’t do justice to how complete of a player he was.

A trophy-laden career for various clubs and his country, Brazil, as well as the longevity to boast, only Cafu (142) and Dani Alves (126) achieved more caps for Selecao than Carlos (125). Carlos could perhaps have translated his game to the modern-day as well as any other left-back from years gone by.

5 Ruud Krol

Clubs played for: Ajax, Vancouver Whitecaps, Napoli, Cannes

Ruud Krol was one of the early products of Dutch football innovations. A player who could fill in anywhere expertly, the Ajax legend exuded confidence and composure with and without the ball. One of the stars of the Amsterdam club’s supreme reign on the continent in the 1970s, Krol went on to win three European Cups in a row.

He is seen as a person who encapsulated Dutch football better than most. Internationally, Krol played 83 times for the Netherlands, including in the World Cup finals of 1974 and 1978, captaining his country in the latter against Argentina as they narrowly missed out on that elusive global title.

4 Nilton Santos

Club played for: Botafogo

Few players embody a footballing ideal quite like Nilton Santos. Held aloft in the annals of history as the signature attacking full-back, the universally adored Brazilian would be woven into the sport’s rich tapestry even if he hadn’t played a decisive role in two World Cup triumphs.

One of the first full-backs who was given licence to charge forward after the 4-2-4 formation was invented in the 1950s, Santos had the technical brilliance to exploit such freedom. “The ball never hit me in the shin, never betrayed me,” he would wistfully reflect. “If she was my lover, she was the lover I liked the best.”

3 Giacinto Facchetti

Club played for: Inter Milan

As stylish defenders go, Giacinto Facchetti was seen as the embodiment of them. His hair was slicked back, his shirt neatly tucked in and barely breaking a sweat as his lanky 6ft 3in frame cantered across the pitch whilst equally laid back off it. A one-club man who made 476 appearances for Inter Milan, Facchetti has often been cited as a player ahead of his time and one to be remembered for decades to come.

Inter retired their number three shirt in honour of Facchetti. As well as being a key figure in Italy’s 1968 European Championship-winning side based on the ‘Catenaccio’ style of defensive graft, he was the runner-up in the 1965 Ballon d’Or to Eusebio.

2 Paul Breitner

Clubs played for: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Eintracht Braunschweig

Another Ballon d’Or runner-up, Paul Breitner is considered an on-and off-field revolutionary and one of the understated stars in the West German side that dominated international football in the early 1970s. Gerd Muller and Franz Beckenbauer are acknowledged as two of the greatest players of their generation and Breitner was up there with them.

A dashing player, at full-back or occasionally in midfield, Breitner peaked early while at Bayern Munich in his first spell and then at Real Madrid, where he was at the very apex of the game. A regular in World XIs as well as being voted German Footballer of the Year in 1981.

1 Paolo Maldini

Clubs played for: AC Milan

As far as the ranking factors go, there is only one clear winner. Paolo Maldini is regarded as not only the best left-back of all time, but also the flag-bearer for defenders in general. The Italian’s glittering honours list places him as one of the most decorated players to play the beautiful game.

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A perfect figure of consistency, Maldini’s career spans a remarkable 25 years, which makes him the holder of a cluster of records and the best left-back in football history. To be among the greatest players to ever come from Italy is an achievement in itself with the abundance of talent the nation has produced.