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We are almost four months into the football season. Barcelona, PSG, Man City, Dortmund and Juventus are leaders of their respective Leagues. All these have scored the highest amount of goals in their respective Leagues. A great attacking team can dominate games but when the going gets hard it's the defense that can help you win points, which is why the best defensive team usually wins the title.
Today's game has developed a lot and nowadays defenders need to offer more than just defending. In today's time, we have so many roles for defenders according to the system their team plays.
In this post, we will be talking about the center-backs, the pivotal part of any defence. They have to be strong to stand the ground, fast to keep the pace with quick attackers, aerially good to clear the ball the away and now they have to be technically good as well to play right passes to their more creative teammates.
Although all these players in the list may not be great in all the departments mentioned above they still have been at the top of their game. The list is not in any order.
#1 Virgil van Dijk (NED/Liverpool)
Captain of the Nederlands and probably the reason for eradicating Liverpool's defensive issues that they had before he joined them in January 2018. Liverpool has conceded joint least number of goals (14) since he joined them in the winter transfer window.
He also scored on his debut against Liverpool's local rivals Everton in FA Cup. The world's most expensive defender has been worth every penny Liverpool paid for him. He is a real leader in the backline for both club and country.
Aerially strong, fast and good with the ball in his feet, van Dijk is a modern center-back. He also has the highest number of successful long passes in Premier League this season and averages 5.3 long passes per game in Premier League.
There are pundits all over England having a debate whether van Dijk is World's best center-back and some even calling him world's third best player behind Messi and Ronaldo. Nederlands saviour in the Nations League is for sure one of the best players in the World right now.
#2 Raphael Varane (FRA/ Real Madrid)
Champions League and World Cup winner French center-back Raphael Varane is highly regarded as one of the best central defenders in the world of football. If there are some people who believe van Dijk is not the world's best it's definitely because of this guy.
Another modern center-back with great defending skills, aerially excellent, and brilliant with the ball at his feet. Varane was also named in the FIFA's World Cup XI. Varane is an important player for both France and Real Madrid. He was part of the formidable defense with Barcelona's Umtiti that won France the World Cup in Russia.
Varane has been so impressive that there is a section of people who believe he should win the Ballon d'Or. But it's worth mentioning he had a really poor El Clasico where he conceded the penalty for the foul on Luis Suarez who stepped up and converted from the spot.
Though Varane hasn't started the season in the same form as his World cup, where he had a 7.14 WhoScored rating. His average rating has fallen 6.78 on WhoScored.com but he still averages more than one interception and one tackle every game in LaLiga. He also has a 90% average pass completion rate for someone who also plays more than 5 long balls on average in every 90 minutes.
#3 Kalidou Koulibaly (SEN/ Napoli)
How many defenders are out there in world football who can say that they dominated PSG and Liverpool's attacking players? Only one, Napoli's Senegalese centre-back Koulibaly has been so good that there is hardly any major European team who are not scouting him at this moment.
Against PSG's and Liverpool's attacking riches which consists of world-class players like Neymar, Mbappe, Cavani, Di Maria, Salah, Firmino and Mane he hardly put a foot wrong. He has probably been the reason behind Napoli on top of their Champions League group of Death.
He is Seria A's best defender right now and when we say that, remember Chiellini and Bonucci still play in Seria A. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea all are highly interested in Napoli's centre-back. He has been valued by Napoli at around 90 million Pounds.
So if any bid to be accepted by the Italian club, it better be a world record fee for a centre-back to even be considered by Napoli. Koulibaly has an average rating of 7.08 in Seria A according to WhoScored.com. He has 4.3 average clearance, 0.9 shots blocked and 0.8 passed blocked in Seria A this season and averages 1.5 interceptions and 1.8 tackles every game.
Notable Mention- Arguably Man City's best player this season and reason behind their defensive record is Aymeric Laporte. If he is not the best centre-back in the world right now, he is for sure one of the best.
