Brazil Legend Cafu Has Been Voted The Best Right-Back Of All Time

Cafu has beaten three other players to be crowned the best right-back of all time.

SPORTbible ran a poll on Twitter asking readers to vote from four choices: Cafu, former Barcelona star Dani Alves, Inter Milan legend Javier Zanetti and former Bayern Munich star Philipp Lahm.

With more than 30,000 votes cast in our readers' poll, Cafu won by a landslide after taking home more than 40 per cent of the vote.

Lahm came second after securing over 25 per cent of the vote, while Alves finished in third place and Zanetti came fourth.

Cafu, who is the most capped Brazilian player for his country, had an illustrious playing career for both club and country.

When it came to his club career, the former Roma and AC Milan star won several trophies that included Serie A, the Champions League and the Supercoppa Italiana.

On the international front, the 48-year-old former right-back won the World Cup on two occasions (1994 and 2002) and the Copa América twice (1997 and 1999).

Manchester United legend Denis Irwin once said that it was a "nightmare" to play against a player like Cafu.

"The last thing you need is an overlapping full-back, creating two-versus-one situations against you," he said (via the Wet Grass blog).

"He'd bomb on for 90 minutes and wouldn't give you a minute's peace. [...] Although Cafu was a fantastic attacking threat, he was also a very capable defender. Never seemed to age."

Meanwhile, former Liverpool star Michael Owen has recalled his own experience of playing against Cafu and Roberto Carlos at international level, believing that both of them were responsible for changing the way that full-backs were used.

"I played against Brazil a couple of times and he and Roberto Carlos were just awesome," he said.

"They changed the way full-backs played. People thought a full-back should just defend, but in today's game it's important for full-backs to be good on the ball as well, and Cafu led the way in this respect."

via GIPHY

Who is the best right-back currently in world football?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Dani Alves, Football News, Cafu, Football, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Brazil, Inter Milan

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9