Considering they are 2 of the best defenders of recent times who do u reckon is the better defender?

Also how do u rate both of them in all time list for defenders.Would Cannavaro be rated higher in all time lists because of his world cup heroics?

I think Cannavaro might be more recognized because he did win the Ballon d'Or (first defender) and he did as you say win Italy's first World Cup of the 21st century, but domestically, I'd say Nesta. Tough call overall though, as Cannavaro was one of the best in his prime.

Nesta is one of the best defender of last 20 years, People say that Nesta in his prime was better then Maldini in his prime, which says a lot really even if its controversial

Nesta and easily........

Cannavaro is unbelievably overrated due to that 06 WC in reality Chiellini is better ffs.

Cafu--Nesta--Maldini--Zanetti

No room for Cannavaro in the best defence I've seen.

Nesta is at least one level above Cannavaro imo.

RealGunner wrote:Nesta is one of the best defender of last 20 years, People say that Nesta in his prime was better then Maldini in his prime, which says a lot really even if its controversial

I wouldn't go that far, but we also have to remember Nesta was, rather unfortunately, a contemporary of guys like Maldini, Coco, etc. so he was somewhat lost in the spotlight whereas Cannavaro was able to shine internationally beside Materazzi...who was mediocre at best domestically and had one World Cup, albeit a very successful one, where he played well.

Immaculate_Mole wrote:Nesta and easily........

Cannavaro is unbelievably overrated due to that 06 WC in reality Chiellini is better ffs.

Probably true.I always felt Cannavaro higher but its mostly due to world cup.

Nesta...

Nesta, Cannavaro was still great, amazing!

Irish_Catalan_Scouser wrote:Cafu--Nesta--Maldini--Zanetti

No room for Cannavaro in the best defence I've seen.

Nesta is at least one level above Cannavaro imo.

I would put Maldini at LB and Cannavaro at CB.

cannavaro edges it imo..He was totay unplayable in 2006

Maldini V1.0 is definitely a LB

Maldini V2.0 is a CB though.

and on topic

Nesta is a better defender ability wise, but Cannavaro would be remembered more due to the WC and his leadership.
Nesta like Pirlo are to quite to stick into people's memory, but unlike Pirlo, Nesta's body betrayed him several times.

and lol at people saying cannavaro overated bcz of WC perfomance,surley people dont know how big of a difference is there between World cup and normal Club matches.

True greats ware those who perfomance well in highest level of competetion and in football it is World cup.

milanista99 wrote:

Irish_Catalan_Scouser wrote:Cafu--Nesta--Maldini--Zanetti

No room for Cannavaro in the best defence I've seen.

Nesta is at least one level above Cannavaro imo.

I would put Maldini at LB and Cannavaro at CB.

Well yes Maldini could be moved to LB but imo its not automatic at all to pick Cannavaro to replace him in the centre. Cannavaro when on top of his game was excellent, this is no doubt. However his longevity at the top is questionable.

There are plenty of other CB's you could argue the case for to partner Nesta.

Adit wrote:and lol at people saying cannavaro overated bcz of WC perfomance,surley people dont know how big of a difference is there between World cup and normal Club matches.

True greats ware those who perfomance well in highest level of competetion and in football it is World cup.

So Gyan is a great because he performed at a WC? flawed logic.....

There's plenty of players that are no more than average that have been star's at WC's dont make them World class though.

He was average at club level for so many years, he was average at Madrid aswell.

And WC is'nt the highest level and has'nt been for many many years, UCL is.

We would'nt be even having this discussion if it was'nt for the 06 WC, Cannavaro is so overhyped because of that tournament.

Gattuso and Buffon were better than Cannavaro at 06 WC anyway.

this is a tricky one,but I'll go with Nesta and only because he has really the best positioning, I ever seen from a Defender in the last Decade!
Cannavaro on the other hand is more aggressive.
I like the first attribute more.
it is really a shame that Nesta have been injury plagued in the last years..

Immaculate_Mole wrote:

Adit wrote:and lol at people saying cannavaro overated bcz of WC perfomance,surley people dont know how big of a difference is there between World cup and normal Club matches.

True greats ware those who perfomance well in highest level of competetion and in football it is World cup.

So Gyan is a great because he performed at a WC? flawed logic.....

There's plenty of players that are no more than average that have been star's at WC's dont make them World class though.

He was average at club level for so many years, he was average at Madrid aswell.

And WC is'nt the highest level and has'nt been for many many years, UCL is.

We would'nt be even having this discussion if it was'nt for the 06 WC, Cannavaro is so overhyped because of that tournament.

Gattuso and Buffon were better than Cannavaro at 06 WC anyway.

so you believe cannavaro was average throw out his career? good for you then.
He has performed in juventus as much as good as he performed for italy.
Kinda underated player ,and dont try to remember me about him being average in madrid in those years ,especially i know more than you how much importance we gave to defense department in those days.

Adit wrote:

Immaculate_Mole wrote:

Adit wrote:and lol at people saying cannavaro overated bcz of WC perfomance,surley people dont know how big of a difference is there between World cup and normal Club matches.

True greats ware those who perfomance well in highest level of competetion and in football it is World cup.

So Gyan is a great because he performed at a WC? flawed logic.....

There's plenty of players that are no more than average that have been star's at WC's dont make them World class though.

He was average at club level for so many years, he was average at Madrid aswell.

And WC is'nt the highest level and has'nt been for many many years, UCL is.

We would'nt be even having this discussion if it was'nt for the 06 WC, Cannavaro is so overhyped because of that tournament.

Gattuso and Buffon were better than Cannavaro at 06 WC anyway.

so you believe cannavaro was average throw out his career? good for you then.
He has performed in juventus as much as good as he performed for italy.
Kinda underated player ,and dont try to remember me about him being average in madrid in those years ,especially i know more than you how much importance we gave to defense department in those days.

I did'nt say that i was just using it as an example but he was average compared to what people consider him to be because of the 06 wc he is nowhere near the level of people like Nesta.

As for the Juventus comment no he did'nt Thuram and Zambrotta were so much more important to the defence then he was despite being employed as full backs and Buffon was the numero uno for the defence.

And you know more about the defence for Madrid because you support them ? LOL

He was out of his depth for Madrid, his lack of pace killed him on so many occasions and Casillas saved him from being the main culprit for the defence on so many occasions without Pepe just like now Madrid's defence went to the dog's and relied heavily on Casillas making wonder saves.

Canna was not that consistent. 2000 and 2006 he was unreal. But, Nesta was a top 5 CB over the years for quite a long time