Juventus: Ranking the 5 best center midfielders of all time

3. Didier Deschamps

When you talk about the best midfielders in Juventus history, you absolutely must make sure to dedicate space to Didier Deschamps. Put simply, the Frenchman is one of the greatest players we have ever seen in the Black and White, and everyone who played with him understood that he made those around him that much better by being willing to put in the dirty work of shielding the entire team in midfield.

Deschamps played for Juventus from 1994 to 1999, overlapping years with fellow greats Edgar Davids and Zinedine Zidane. That was one enviable midfield, and it says a lot that Deschamps was just as much of a standout, considering he did not make nearly as much noise in the attack as his countryman or even the great Dutchman Davids.

Like Davids, Deschamps won three Scudetti for Juventus. Unlike Davids, he won the Champions League once and then came close on two more occasions. He won the Supercoppa twice and even the Coppa Italia once, meaning he took home every major trophy for the Bianconeri.

A serial winner, Deschamps was the leader at the heart of the Juve midfield. And he seemed to have an endless tank of stamina from which to draw upon throughout the 90 (or more) minutes. His pressing, ball-winning, vision, and technique in the tackle made him a feared opponent, and he was excellent on the ball at delivering the best possible pass to start an attack when he did win possession himself.

Deschamps is one of the Juventus greats and someone Juventini continually remember fondly when they think of one of the club’s heydays in the 90’s. The man was central to those triumphs.