Juventus' Italy international Giorgio Chiellini (pictured) claimed the #2 spot in the world ranking of defenders after the Old Lady of Turin trashed rivals Sampdoria 5:1 in the Serie A yesterday, leaving only Barcelona skipper Carles Puyol (126.83 points) standing between him and the top spot.

Chiellini scored the 2nd goal for Juventus in the 42nd minute and earned 19.7 rating points in the FTBL system to take his tally to 122.14 points. Chiellini went into the game with a guaranteed 1 rating point credited to him.

To overtake Puyol, all Chiellini has to do is make sure Juve win their next game: his plank to beat will amount to just 4.5 rating points. He could then go on to consolidate his position in the following game, in which his plank to beat will amount to just 5.4 rating points.

In the meantime, Puyol will have a much more complicated task: he will have planks of more than 10 rating points to beat in his next 3 games.