Inter Hall of Fame 2020: Our defensive candidates

MILAN – Voting is now well underway for the third edition of Inter’s Hall of Fame. It’s a special edition this time around, with it also being possible to vote for members of the 2009/10 Treble-winning squad who have now hung up their boots (check out all of the info on criteria and how to vote here). As always, Inter fans are invited to select four legends, one for each position: goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and attacker.

2020 HALL OF FAME POWERED BY PIRELLI: CLICK HERE TO VOTE

The winners from the last two seasons:

- 2018 edition: Walter Zenga; Javier Zanetti; Lothar Matthäus; Ronaldo; - 2019 edition: Francesco Toldo; Giacinto Facchetti; Dejan Stankovic; Giuseppe Meazza.

Last week, we took a closer look at the goalkeeping candidates: you can read more about them here. Today, we’re going to focus on defenders and discover who could potentially be joining Javier Zanetti and Giacinto Facchetti in the Nerazzurri Hall of Fame. There are 46 players to select from in this category, all of whom, in one way or another, made their mark in Inter’s backline and continued a great Nerazzurri tradition: talented defenders. Because while it’s true that Zanetti and Facchetti were practically two wingers who also did their bit at the back, it’s also the case that there have been many champions who have played at centre-back for Inter over the years.

The list of names begins with defenders who made history at Inter from the first few years after the Club’s founding through to Herrera’s Grande Inter side. There’s Allemandi, for example: once banned from football before being pardoned, he spent two years at Juventus prior to joining the Nerazzurri, where he made 207 appearances and won the Scudetto. He also became a world champion with Italy in 1934. Ballerio, Blason, Bolzoni, Buonocore, Engler, Francesconi, Giacomazzi, Gianfardoni, Giovannini, Locatelli, Padulazzi, Pietroboni, Setti and Vincenzi are further players who featured for Inter during the Club’s early years.

Then there are the Grande Inter legends: Burgnich, Guarneri, captain Picchi (257 appearances, an eternal figure in the photos with all the trophies won by that formidable side), all of whom lined up next to Facchetti as part of Herrera’s iron-clad defence. Also in the running is Spartaco Landini, who, despite not always being a starter, was capable of carving out a place for himself in the team.

There are various candidates who played for Inter in the 1970s and 1980s: Bellugi, Canuti, Giubertoni, Gasparini, Fedele and two very popular captains: Graziano Bini, a key player in the Nerazzurri’s 1979/80 Scudetto success, and Beppe Baresi, who remained at the Club from 1977 to 1992 and was therefore one of the heroes of Inter’s record-breaking side. Four other players who played in precisely this team are in contention to enter the Hall of Fame: captain Beppe Bergomi, Brehme, Mandorlini and Ferri.

As a result of Inter’s UEFA Cup triumphs in 1994 and 1998, the following players are also in with a chance: Battistini, the brothers Antonio and MassimoPaganin, Festa, Colonnese, Fresi, Galante and Taribo West.

Finally, there are the Treble winners. Six defenders helped contribute to a highly successful period for the Club: Cordoba, Materazzi, Samuel, Chivu, Maicon and Lucio.

2020 HALL OF FAME POWERED BY PIRELLI: CLICK HERE TO VOTE