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North America - John Brooks (USA and Hertha BSC)
The toughest choice along with Asia was undoubtedly North America. Most of the standout candidates, such as Hector Moreno, Miguel Layun and Nestor Araujo, all hail from Mexico, but ultimately my pick is a United States international in the form of John Brooks.
John Brooks is an American football player who plays for VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga as a defender and represents the United States national soccer team internationally.
Brooks was born in Berlin, to a German mother and an American father. He chose to represent the nation of his father in 2013, and he has won 33 caps since then. A widely underrated centre-back, Brooks stands at 6’4”, he is tremendously strong, very quick once he gets up to speed and defensively astute. After five years at Hertha Berlin, he joined Wolfsburg in 2017, and I expect the 25-year-old to keep improving.
Australia/Oceania - Winston Reid (New Zealand and West Ham United)
No nation has dominated their continent more than Australia. However, it is refreshing to see that despite being the dominant team in the region, a New Zealand native in the form of Winston Reid is regarded as the best defender in the region. In fact, Reid takes this one pretty comfortably. On the verge of going into his ninth season with West Ham, Reid was the 2012-13 Hammer of the Year, but never has he faced such stiff competition for a starting berth in the West Ham side as this season. Injuries have also not helped his cause but despite that fact, he is still without a doubt the best defender in the continent.
