World football has changed a lot in the last decade and the top leagues in Europe have millions of followers all around the world. With more and more influx of money, the market has become inflated which is why we see mega-money transfer deals nowadays. With increased publicity in football, we often get to see some players getting much more traction than they actually deserve.
‘Overrated’ is a very difficult and a relative word. For some, a player might be overrated while he can also be a hero to many out there. In this article, we will take a look at five defenders who we feel are a bit overrated.
#5 Ricardo Rodriguez
World football has changed volumes in the last 10-15 years which is why we get to see more number of modern-day full-backs who often look like wingers when they burst forward. Modern full-backs move up and down the flanks and contribute equally in attack and in defence.
Ricardo Rodriguez has made a quite a reputation for himself as one of the best left-backs in the game in the last few years but the fuss about the Swiss is way more than he actually deserves.
Rodriguez lacks pace and makes the team vulnerable defensively majority of the time when he makes an attacking run down the left flank. His crossing ability and set-piece deliveries are top-notch but Wolfsburg have suffered a lot due to his poor defending skills.
Wolfsburg are 14th in Bundesliga this season having conceded a total of 31 goals in 21 games and Rodriguez has some part to play in such a poor defensive record. The Swiss international averages just 0.8 interceptions and 1.5 clearances every game which is far from impressive.
#4 Dejan Lovren
On his day, Lovren is exceptionally good while on some days, he has been the chink in Liverpool’s armour. The most expensive Liverpool defender in history, Lovren, is playing his third season at Anfield and the fans are still not fully convinced with him. Lovren is extremely sloppy with the ball at his feet and often puts the team in danger.
Aged 27, the Croatia player should have been at the peak of his career now but his inconsistency has let the fans down time and time again. He was decent at Lyon and Southampton previously before joining Liverpool but has hardly improved at Anfield.
Lovren arrived at Liverpool in 2014 as Rodgers saw him as a replacement of legendary Daniel Agger in the long run but he has failed to live to the monumental expectations. The Croat has shown some glimpses of improvement since Klopp took over but he is yet to fully convince at the heart of the defence.
Lovren has made just 1.5 tackles and 1.7 interceptions every game this campaign in the Premier League which is nowhere close to impressive. Liverpool have the worst defensive record among the top seven clubs and Lovren is largely responsible for that as he often switches off when the team is in danger.
#3 Eliaquim Mangala
We all know Manchester City have plenty of cash available at their disposal but having money does not mean that you can misuse it! The Cityzens have paid some hilarious transfer fees over the years for undeserving players and Eliaquim Mangala will be on the top of that list.
Manuel Pellegrini paid a stupendous sum of £32m for the Frenchman’s services back in 2014 and probably still regrets it. However, we cannot blame him wholly for that as Mangala's stock was high back then.
Mangala was one of the first players to be shown the exit door when Pep Guardiola replaced Pellegrini in the Manchester City hot seat. The Frenchman is now plying his trade on loan at Valencia and we can be pretty sure that City will look to cash him in in the summer.
He is way too average for a team like Manchester City who are looking to establish themselves as a superpower in Europe. Mangala is not convincing on the ball, lacks passing ability and is too slow for the Premier League.
#2 Chris Smalling
The Englishman has been at Old Trafford since 2010 but established himself as a first-team regular just last season. He is a defender who is pretty much the jack of all trades but master of none!
When you are one of the senior players in the team and also a stand-in captain, expectations will automatically become gargantuan. Smalling, on some occasions, is susceptible to completely losing the reading of the game and making an error in judgement.
The Englishman has poor defensive statistics this campaign as well. He has made 0.8 tackles every game this season while making just 0.7 interceptions. Smalling is an extremely inconsistent player and often switches off when his team needs him the most.
#1 Jeremy Mathieu
A recent report in Spain suggests that Barcelona lynchpin Lionel Messi wants several of the players to be shown the exit door from Camp Nou before he commits his future to the club and it is hardly a surprise to see French international Jeremy Mathieu on that list.
Back in 2014, Barcelona signed Mathieu from Valencia for €20m which was indeed a shocking deal. If a list is made of the players who are not deserving to be where they are, Mathieu will easily make that list.
The Frenchman has averaged just 1.2 tackles and 1.2 interceptions every game which is not at all impressive. He was just an average player for Valencia for a long time. It’s still a big question why Barcelona paid such a big sum to acquire his signature back in 2014.
