When it comes to professional appearances, only Roberto Carlos and Xavi have played in more matches as outfield players. The man chalked up 1,065 games of professional football — only four outfield players managed more. A key man in Germany's 1974 World Cup winning side, renowned for his defensive partnership with Franz Beckenbauer. Over the years, football has had some very prolific goal scoring defenders, including Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos who has recently been hogging the limelight for scoring and winning matches for his club. Piquenbauer!!! Football’s wild-child, expectations were … Top 10 All-Time Barcelona Defenders: Do Puyol and Pique Make the List? A hugely talented right-back and one of the best in the world for a time, but the top 50? Cannavaro anchored the miserly Italian defense that won the 2006 World Cup without conceding a goal from open play. Maldini made playing both left-back and centre-back look effortlessly easy. After a successful transplant, he returned to the squad in January 2013 before moving back to Monaco. He would win 83 caps for the Netherlands and score four goals, including a 25-yard screamer against Argentina at the ’74 World Cup. Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos produced a no-look backheel tackle in Spain v Switzerland, Spain's national team have witnessed one of the biggest declines in football, The top 10 goalkeepers, right-backs, left-backs and centre-backs of all time named, Michael Essien's 30th birthday party at Real Madrid was attended by just two players, The FA organise FIFA 20 tournament starring 16 England internationals, Ballon d'Or winners since 2000 if each player could only win once, Dimitar Berbatov's ridiculous first touch captured in video, The 50 greatest Premier League players ever have been ranked. He’s perhaps the most hated footballer on the planet, but a collection of four Champions League titles, two European Championships and one World Cup says it all — we’re talking about one of the most successful footballers of all time and the captain of the 21st century's greatest team. He’s a two-time World Cup champion and one of only three players to be included in three World Cup All-Star teams. He’s also a two-time Copa America winner, a Champions League winner with Milan and he played a vital role in Roma’s last Serie A title. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. An absolute colossus of a defender, one capable of playing both centre-back and at full-back. Although he converted to a midfielder during the later stages of his career, Breitner was predominantly a goal scoring defender and is fondly remembered so. He won four league titles and two Champions League trophies and played a key role in Blaugrana’s historic treble-winning 2008-09 season. 10 Players Destined To Become Cult Icons At The 2018 FIFA World Cup. A fantastic defender - especially with Inter Milan - but a surprise to the Brazilian so high up on the list ahead of his countrymen Alberto, Alves and Santos. Like Beckenbauer, he was also a sweeper – although he played in midfield as well in the final few years of his career. He made his name as the most attack-minded left back in the history of the game, and his most famous moment is that insane banana shot against France in 1997, but you don’t spend 11 years at Real Madrid and receive 125 caps for Brazil — the second most all time — without also knowing a thing or two about defending. He helped the side win two La Liga, four Copa del Rey, and two European Cup Winners’ Cups, most notably the 1978–79 European Cup Winners’ Cup where he played on with a broken collarbone. For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter and join our community on Telegram. He’s a three-time Champions League winner and was named the Ballon d’Or runner-up in 2002, the year he helped Brazil triumph at the World Cup. For instance, it was Ramos who paved the way for Real Madrid to lift the Champions League title in 2014 and 2016, by scoring against local rivals Atletico Madrid in both matches. With a mind-blowing 207 goals, former Dutch international and Barcelona legend Ronaldo Koeman own the distinction of being the all-time highest goal scoring defender in football. AC Milan's captain of 15 years made defending at the highest level look like a stroll in the park. . A clear and deserved winner. We'll run you through the top 50 below, with the likes of Javier Zanetti (55th), Marcel Desailly (58th), Rio Ferdinand (59th), John Terry (60th) Nemanja Vidic (64th) and Virgil van Dijk (65th) all missing out! Interesting... A Juventus legend and Italy's left-back during their World Cup triumph in 1982. He’s the most capped player in the history of the Brazil national team, what more do you want? A world-class operator for Holland, Ajax and AC Milan, but the sixth greatest defender of all time? Required fields are marked * Pique ahead of Puyol and Ramos?! In his 456 caps in his nine years with the squad, he’s won the Treble of Champions League, Spanish Cup, and La Liga twice. Le Président was part of a formidable France backline that won the 1998 World Cup while conceding only two goals and then proceeded to lift the trophy at Euro 2000. Maldini was also a one-club man, playing 25 seasons with Milan and winning 26 trophies, including five Champions League titles and seven Serie A Scudettos. Ltd. All rights reserved. Yet another Italian defensive master, most fondly remembered for spending his entire glittering career with Inter Milan. Gerard Pique (2008-20??). He played 902 games for AC Milan in his career as well as 126 times for Italy, meaning he is the true definition of consistency. A brilliant wing-back in both the great Holland and Ajax teams during the 1970s. Another cog in AC Milan's defensive machine of the late 1980s and 1990s. Wow. A tactical defender with strong physical play and good pace, Eric Abidal helped guide Barcelona to two Champions Leagues, four league titles, and two Spanish Cups. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Der Kaiser isn’t only regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time, he’s appropriately mentioned as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game. Not the flashiest player on the squad, he was the most committed and his winning attitude was contagious. He’s been described as a social media maven, world music aficionado, and soccer fan. Not bad going that. Having scored a total of 119 goals for club and country so far in his career, the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner had enough time to improve his position in this list as well. What’s more, he accomplished it all with a lion’s mane. Koeman once scored 26 goals in a single season for PSV Eindhoven. A one-club man who played for Milan for 20 years while appearing in 531 matches, Baresi won six Serie A titles with the side and three UEFA Champions Leagues. Hurtado's incredible volley against Nashville is silky smooth. Regardless, if you enjoy this summary, check out our rankings of the 18 best Premier League players of all time and the 18 best World Cup players of all time. What a player! Hierro was also the captain of both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team for a long time, and one of his greatest strengths was his incredible aerial presence, especially during corners. At club level, the center back helped Parma to one of its most successful eras, and he also won two LaLiga titles with Real Madrid. Messi or Ronaldo: Which player has earned the most Ballon d'Or points in history? With Germany, he won the ’72 European Championship and the ’74 World Cup, and he was named to the World Cup All-Star Team on three separate occasions. We know he's been great - legendary, even - with Spain and Barcelona, but 13th seems a tad too high. A World Cup winner, a Juventus legend and the proud owner of 142 caps for France. Accept Read More. SoccerGator is a sports website covering soccer from the top leagues around the world. Scorer of possibly the most famous World Cup final goal in 1970 for Brazil against Italy and an outrageously good right-back. Ever heard of a defender topping the all-time scoring charts of a European club? He also scored 14 goals for his national team. One of the key components in AC Milan's outrageous defensive lineups under Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello. The father of Paolo and a sensational player. If you don't have the stamina of a marathon runner, attacking prowess and defensive stability, you're unlikely to reach the upper echelons of the sport. Probably England's greatest ever player. Most of his goals came from penalties, but he also had the ability to score from open play especially during counter-attacks. Possibly the greatest defender and captain in Barcelona's history at 40th? A brilliant defender and the scorer of the winning goal in the 1990 World Cup final for Germany. While all the others in this list are Europeans, Daniel Passarella is the only South American entry. One of the best left-backs of the modern era and a Real Madrid legend. But Barcelona have also hosted its fair share of some of the best defensive players in the world. 02. of 10. 1. Signed in 1989 to play a part of Cruyff’s “Dream Team,” the defender scored an incredible 102 goals in his six seasons at Barca, most notably the set-piece goal that won the team’s first European Cup in 1992. At the international level, he appeared at three World Cups (winning the ’82 event), two European Championships and at the ’84 Summer Olympics while collecting 81 caps. When it comes to footballers with the most official appearances to their names, Santos ranks 11th all time. He was twice a third-place finisher in Ballon d’Or voting, and he kept going strong until the age of 41. But even if it does resurge, we will probably never see defenders as good as Baresi and Maldini for many, many years. ©2019 - SoccerGator.io - All Right Reserved. The legendary Dutch defender won six titles with Ajax and back-to-back-to-back European Cups with the side between 1970 and 1973, and he was a vital component of the Netherlands Total Football side that captivated the world in the 1970s. The captain of Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning side and was once the highest scoring defender in football history with 134 goals in 451 games - until Ronald Koeman came along. While the statistics that attackers generate greatly lend themselves to the formulation of lists such as this, things get a little more ambiguous where defenders are concerned. The Dutchman with a powerful right boot is also a 5-time Spanish Champion, a 3 time Spanish Super Cup winner, and 1 time Spanish Cup winner. His most important strike for them came against Sampdoria that handed the Blaugrana their first-ever European Cup in 1992. Seriously, look at the season-by-season photos of his 19-year career with Inter and you’ll have no clue which photo was taken in 1995 and which was taken in 2013. Dani Alves (2008–20??). Nesta was a four-time Serie A defender of the year, a three-time Scudetto winner and twice the holder of Big Ears. That team would finish runners-up at subsequent World Cups and in third place at Euro ’76, but Kruul won plaudits while splitting his time at left back and sweeper for the Oranje. Nemanja vidic is among top 50 Defenders Of All Time. He’s credited with inventing the modern sweeper position, and he was twice awarded the Ballon d’Or while appearing 103 times for Germany and nearly 450 times for Bayern Munich.