30. Giorgio Chielini
The 28-year-old enjoyed another impressive season with both club and country this term as he captained Juve’s rise to the top of Serie A as well as being a key figure in the renaissance that the Azzuri are currently enjoying.
Perennially linked with a move away from the Old Lady, he has consistently stayed true despite a number of admiring glances from the Premier League, and he’ll be glad that he did after the season he has just had.
Marshalling the back line alongside Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonnuci, he kept the club’s goal defect down to just 24 and his command displays ensured that he would remain a permanent fixture with the national team too.
Juve enjoyed a fine, and slightly unexpected, run in the Champions League that ended when they met with eventual winners Bayern Munich in the quarter finals, having already disposed of Chelsea in the group stages.
The way he is going he will soon be up there in the pantheon of greats alongside Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi and if that happens then he will surely be a regular fixture in the CaughtOffside 50 for some time too.
JUVENTUS
Games: 32
Goals: 1
Clean Sheets: 23
ITALY
Games: 8
Goals: 1
Clean Sheets: 2
HONOURS: Serie A, Supercoppa Italiana