Gaetano Scirea was an elegant Italian sweeper whose calm authority and impeccable sportsmanship set him apart. A one-club servant of Juventus for over a decade, he read the game beautifully and rarely resorted to foul play, a rarity in his uncompromising era.
He won every major honour at club level and was part of Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning side. His death in a car accident in 1989 robbed the game of one of its most admired figures.