10 Best Ever Defenders
Hi there,
photo by Niek Beck
Here we have a list of who I think could be the 10 best defenders ever in soccer, taking into account players from around the world, past and present. This post follows on from a previous article (10 best soccer players ever) in which I received a suggestion to write a similar list exclusively for defenders – so here it is!
Some of the defenders below are distinguished by their achievements, some by their impressive number of international caps, and some by their expensive transfer values. But most of all, by their quality.
As has been suggested in previous posts, however, there is bound to be some difference of opinion as to who makes the list and in what order those players should be placed in. So feel free to add your own choices in the comments section at the end. Here goes!
1. Bobby Moore
Moore was the England captain who led the side to victory in the 1966 World Cup, whilst giving a record 108 appearances for his country through the duration of his career. Pele and Beckenbauer have said that Moore was the best defender they played against in their whole time as footballers. Moore has also won the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup and is a member of the English Football Hall of Fame.
2. Franz Beckenbauer
He captained Germany to World Cup victory in 1974, winning the Silver Ball in that tournament, before repeating that achievement as manager in 1990. He was also a World Cup runner-up in 1966 and came in 3rd place in 1970. He won the UEFA European Championship in 1972 and was runner-up in 1976. Overall earned 103 caps for West Germany, scoring 14 goals and winning 69 of his games. He was European footballer of the year in 1972 and 1976.
3. Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro was the captain of the 2006 World Cup winning Italy side, individually winning the Golden Ball in that tournament, rounding off an impressive year in which he was also named World and European Footballer of the Year. He has played for Napoli, Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.
4. Giacinto Facchetti
Facchetti played 476 times for Inter and scord 78 goals. He captained Italy 70 times out of 94 appearences. One of his greatest assets was speed as he could run 100m in 11 seconds despite weighing-in at 85kg. He won 2 European Cups with Inter in 1964 and 1965, in addition to winning 4 Serie A titles and 2 Inter-Continental Cups amongst other achievements.
5. Roberto Carlos
FIFA ranked Roberto Carlos the 2nd best player in the world in 1997, then he helped Brazil to the World Cup final in 1998 and won the tournament with them in 2002. He has played 125 times for Brazil, scoring 11 goals, and at club level has played for the likes of Real Madrid, Inter and Corinthians. He made the FIFA World Cup All-Star team in 1998 and 2002, as well as making the FIFA 100.
6. Paolo Maldini
Having made is debut for AC Milan in 1985, Paolo Maldini went on to win 7 league titles, 1 Italian Cup and 5 league Super Cups. In 1995 FIFA ranked him the 2nd best player in the world. Facchetti said he saw Maldini as his successor and it was just a shame he chose AC Milan!
7. Rio Ferdinand
From the start of his England career in 1997, Rio Ferdinand has played 80 times and won 46 of those games. He became the world’s most expensive defender in 2000 with a transfer to Leeds United for £18 million, going on to take the captaincy there the following year. He broke the world transfer record for a defender again with his £30 million move to Manchester United in 2002, where he has played ever since.
8. Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi captained Italy at the 1994 World Cup and played a total of 81 national games over 12 years of his career. At club level he played for AC Milan for 20 years, making 719 appearances and scoring 33 times, and the number 6 shirt has been retired in his honour. In 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100.
9. Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta won the 2006 World Cup with Italy. He made the FIFA 100, the UEFA Team of the Year on 4 occasions, and the team of the tournament at Euro 2000. He played 78 times for Italy and at club level has performed for Lazio and AC Milan.
10. Obdulio Varela
Varela captained Uruguay to win the 1950 World Cup, before finishing 4th in 1954, and in all scored 9 goals from 57 appearances for his country. At club level he won the Uruguayan championship 6 times. He was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 1994. He received a state funeral in Uruguay in 1996 in respect of his great national contribution.
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Thanks for reading this list of arguably the 10 best ever defenders in soccer – I hope you enjoyed the accompanying figures and information. I’d love to hear your choices for the best full backs, centre-backs and sweepers of all time, so please feel free to leave your own list in the comments section below.
Have fun,
Soccer Geek
P.S. “Strikers win you games, but defenders win you championships” (John Gregory, former England midfielder)
You are obviously English to put Ferdinand in that list … he wouldnt make the top 20 (maybe even 30) list for most people with some knowledge of past/present defenders. For the rest of your picks most i would agree with others are opinion.
When I first read ‘Soccer Geek’ I thought you wouldve known something of Soccer but adding Ferdinand to that list proves you know nothing as he isnt even in the top 10 Defenders of the past 10 years! In fact hes the most overrated player ever, every time I see him play he makes an error! This list must be reserved for ledgends who never make errors. Here is the true list:
1: F. Bekanbauer
2: P. Maldini
3: C. Alberto
4: F. Baresi
5: B. Moore
6: F. Cannavaro
7: G. Fanchetta
8: O. Varela
9: A. Nesta
10: R. Koeman
[...] Unforunately defenders such as Bobby Moore could not be concluded as they were not alive at the time of the ranking. Click here to read my list of the top 10 defenders of all time [...]
wheres Elias Figueroa??
As an Italian, I find it funny that, whenever I read such rankings, the name of Gaetano Scirea is left away. In Italy, any poll who is better between him and Baresi would be a close match, possibly won by Scirea (which is a result, considering less people have seen him playing). However he has been for sure far better than Nesta, Cannavaro or Facchetti (b.t.w. I would not include halfbacks in a top-defenders ranking). As per Koeman, I wouldn’t put it in the top 100. Just reamaining in Holland, Krol was much better than him.
hahahahahahhaha IDIOTS!!! ALL OF YOU!
CARLES PUJOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENOUGH SAID!