Football's most brutal defender humiliations

Lionel Messi v Jerome Boateng: After the Bayern Munich defender suffered at the feet of Barcelona's brilliant Argentine, we remember a collection of red-faced defenders who have been humiliated in the line of duty...




Lionel Messi v Fabio Cannavaro & Roberto Carlos: It is probably easier to list the defenders Messi hasn't humiliated as opposed to those he has. Way back in 2006 the then 19-year-old Barcelona protege left both Roberto Carlos and soon-to-be FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cannavaro chasing shadows at the Santiago Bernabeu.



Angel Di Maria v Carles Puyol: Long before he became a fixture on the Manchester United substitutes bench, Angel Di Maria used to be quite good. So good in fact he lured Carles Puyol into an eye-watering contortion after dancing past him to set up a Cristiano Ronaldo goal at the Camp Nou in 2013.



Johan Cruyff v Jan Olsson: The Dutch master's famous 'Cruyff turn' left many defenders with twisted blood, most famously Sweden's Jan Olsson in the 1974 World Cup.



Zinedine Zidane v Ronaldo: The Frenchman rolled back the years to inspire France to the 2006 World Cup final, and even pulled off a cheeky 'sombrero' over club-mate Ronaldo during a virtuoso performance in the quarter-final defeat of Brazil.



Gareth Bale v Marc Bartra: The world's most expensive footballer left Barcelona's Marc Bartra in his slipstream as this fine solo goal won Real Madrid the 2014 Copa del Rey.



Diego Maradona v England: Had any of England's players been able to get close enough to kick Diego Maradona then Fifa's 'Goal of the Century' accolade may have gone elsewhere. As it was, 'El Diego' was untouchable during the 1986 World Cup, as a long list of defenders would attest.



Edmundo v Mikael Silvestre: Manchester United's ill-fated venture into the 2000 Fifa Club World Championship was a forgettable experience for all involved with the club, particularly Mikael Silvestre. The Frenchman succumbed to a divine flick-spin-turn combo from Vasco da Gama striker Edmundo in a 3-0 defeat.



Cristiano Ronaldo v Gerard Pique: The greatest moment that never was in Cristiano Ronaldo's illustrious career. In a friendly against Spain in 2010, the Portugal skipper left Gerard Pique on the seat of his pants before scooping the ball up and over Iker Casillas, only for Nani to nod the ball over the line from an offside position.



Luis Suarez v David Luiz: When Luis Suarez is about you keep your legs shut. David Luiz failed to heed that sound advice and paid the price in this season's Champions League quarter-final defeat to the Catalans.



Gianfranco Zola v Jamie Carragher: In 2003 Chelsea fans voted Gianfranco Zola as the club's best ever player. On his farewell appearance he left Jamie Carragher embarrassingly swiping at thin air much to the delight of the Blues faithful



Paul Gascoigne v Colin Hendry: Thirty years of hurt were momentarily wiped away for the England national team when Paul Gascoigne made a mockery of Scotland's Colin Hendry at Euro 96. 'Gazza' lifted the ball over the onrushing Scot with his left foot, fired home with his right and capped it off with the famous 'dentist's chair' celebration.



Gareth Bale v Maicon: Maicon had just been named Uefa Club Defender of the Year after a stunning 2009-10 treble-winning season with Inter. However, the Brazilian full-back was given a horrible lesson in wing play by a rampant Gareth Bale en-route to scoring a phenomenal Champions League hat-trick at the San Siro. The Spurs fans chanted 'Taxi for Maicon' and the Brazilian hasn't been quite the same since.



Eden Hazard v Pablo Zabaleta: Not many people give the rugged Argentine the runaround, but Eden Hazard is one. The Belgian wing wizard was one step ahead of him all afternoon in a clash at Stamford Bridge, eventually leaving him on his backside.


Source: Goal