We live in an age where attacking players are becoming the talk of the town more often than not, there exists a breed of players who love to sit back and defend. When people speak of football, it's the likes of Pele, Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, etc that cone to mind first for almost all the people in the world. Nobody talks about Paolo Maldini, Carlos Alberto Torres or Franz Beckenbauer.
Forget the history, just look at the recent votings in the Ballon d'Or poll. Highly renowned journalists are the ones who cast their votes in it, and yet only one defender made the list. Along with that one defender, it was just one more goalkeeper made the list.
Here at Sportskeeda, we do not forget the contributions the defenders made to their respective teams. Every single one of them counted, and after analysing a lot, we came up with ten names who made a huge impact for their team in the calendar year.
The top 10 we came up with were: Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Wes Morgan, Jérôme Boateng, Laurent Koscielny, Filipe Luis, Marcelo, Leonardo Bonucci, Toby Alderweireld and Diego Godin.
The voting by fans
We sent out a poll for fans to vote for who they believed to have been the best defender this year. Apart from that, the in-house team had a discussion of its own on the same.
The one with the highest vote recieved 10 points, and the one with the lowest got 1 point. The scores from Sportskeeda’s list and the Reader’s choice are then added together, with an average score being taken. In the situation of two players being tied, Sportskeeda’s ranking takes preference.
#10 - Toby Alderweireld (Reader's rank: 10 | Sportskeeda's rank: 10)
"Who came 3rd in a two horse race? Tottenham!" One of the main reasons for Tottenham to even be in that race was Toby Alderweireld. The Belgian was in top form for them and has contributed a lot towards their recent success.
Reader's gave him the least number of votes and so did we at Sportskeeda. Tottenham's versatile centre-back was brilliant throughout the year for club and country, and that earns him a place in the Top 10 defenders of the year list.
Though he's injury prone, he has never really backed out of a challenge or held himself back from going in to make vital interceptions. He played five games for Belgium in the EURO 2016, and the Red Devils kept a clean sheet in 3 of them while conceding 3 in the other 2.
#9 Filipe Luis (Reader's rank: 10 | Sportskeeda's rank: 9)
Filipe Luis is clearly one of the best full-backs in La Liga right now. Though Atletico Madrid did not manage to win anything last season, Luis was statistically the best defender in the league. He made it to WhoScored's La Liga team of the year as well!
Marcelo is everyone's first choice when they think of a La Liga left back, but it's the Atletico man who's outplaying his countryman. The Real Madrid star has won more trophies and plays for a superior team, and that is probably the only reason why only 1% of the readers went for Luis.
Atletico Madrid are known for their defensive abilities and Diego Simeone's side wouldn't be in the same position if it wasn't for Filipe Luis. He's made the left side of the defence his own and given nightmares to almost all the right wingers and midfielders of the opponents.
#8 Laurent Koscielny (Reader's rank: 8 | Sportskeeda's rank: 8)
Arsenal's most consistent defender of recent times. If Cech has anyone to thank for his 12 clean sheets this year, it's this Frenchman.
Koscielny was 5% of our reader's choice for the defender of the year and that too without him winning anything! Koscielny played a huge role in France ending up as runners-up in Euro 2016 and also helped Arsenal become the runners-up in the Premier League.
Arsenal managed to some finish above Tottenham once again and their defending right at the end of the 2015/16 season was one of the main reasons.
#7 Marcelo (Reader's rank: 8 | Sportskeeda's rank: 7)
The Brazilian was pivotal in Real Madrid winning the Champions League and also finishing 2nd in the La Liga. The Los Blancos are unbeaten so far in the 2016/17 season, and that too wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for Marcelo.
The left-back has been contributing not just in defence, but in attack as well. He's scored once and assisted two this season. Adding to that's he's made some incredible runs and key passes that have made things a lot more comfortable for Ronaldo and Co. up front.
#6 Leonardo Bonucci (Reader's rank: 6 | Sportskeeda's rank: 6)
Juventus' warrior-like defending is mainly down to Bonucci. The Italian has been showing his class throughout the year proved vital as Juventus somehow recovered from their poor start to the season and won the Scudetto.
Our readers clearly did not let that slip from their mind, and 5% voted for him in the pool. We at Sportskeeda also acknowledged his contribution to Juventus' winning the league title and the Coppa Italia.
Bonucci is one of the main reason why Buffon has more clean sheets this year than goal conceded. Buffon kept 23 clean sheets in 42 matches this season and Bonucci is responsible for at least half of them!
#5 Wes Morgan (Reader's rank: 8 | Sportskeeda's rank: 5)
Leicester City's fairytale last season is credited to Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez by almost all, but the one who worked the most for the team were N'Golo Kante and Wes Morgan. The defender made sure that the Premier League side did not concede at the back.
Claudio Ranieri's men won the Premier League last season against all the odds and our readers did not let Morgan's contribution go unnoticed. Only 2% voted for the Jamaican - the same number as Champions League winner, Marcelo.
Morgan played every single minute of Leicester City's title-winning campaign and inspired each and every player in the team to do better. The centre-back made a whopping 5.7 clearances per game and was able to get an average of 2.5 interceptions!
#4 Diego Godin (Reader's rank: 7 | Sportskeeda's rank: 4)
Diego Godin is the perfect example of a rock solid defender. Doesn't back out of challenges, jumps up to get his head on the ball no matter who's around and puts his body on the line every single time his team needs him.
Only 5% of the readers voted for the Atletico Madrid captain, but we at Sportskeeda value him a lot more. He has been very consistent for the past 2-3 seasons and has been keeping the opponent strikers quiet more often than not.
Atletico Madrid's run to the Champions League final was mostly down to their defending led by Godin. His impressive performance throughout the 2015/16 season and was awarded the La Liga defender of the year.
#3 Jérôme Boateng (Reader's rank: 3 | Sportskeeda's rank: 3)
Bayern Munich have been dominating Germany for a few years now, and Jerome Boateng has been the centre point of this. While most pundits and journalists credit players like Lewandowski, Lahm, Neuer and Robben for the Bavarians' success, Boateng has been quietly playing at a level of his own.
Our readers also agree with this and thus 8% voted for him and made him the 3rd highest in our poll. Because Bayern Munich dominates the Bundesliga all the time, not many pay attention to their defender's contributions and when every they do, the limelight is all stolen by Neuer.
Luckily, our readers did not let his performances slip by and voted for him in large numbers. We at Sportskeeda also made sure that we appreciated his performances. EA Sports also did the same and made him the highest rated player in FIFA 17.
#2 Pepe (Reader's rank: 2 | Sportskeeda's rank: 2)
Champions League and Euro 2016 in the span of 2 months. It's a dream for a lot of players but reality just for 2 - Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He played a vital role in Real Madrid's epic 2016 in which they lost just two matches throughout the year! Our readers rightly voted for him in large numbers and made him the 2nd highest voted defender on the list with 9% votes.
The Portuguese defender is very often criticised for his rash game but looks at how he plays now and how did five years ago, you'll see a devastating change. He's matured so much playing alongside Sergio Ramos and under the guidance of Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho, he has become one of the most consistent defenders of recent times.
#1 Sergio Ramos (Reader's rank: 1 | Sportskeeda's rank: 1)
And the winner of Sportskeeda's 2016 defender of the year award is.... SERGIO RAMOS!
With a whopping 64% votes from out readers, Sergio Ramos won the poll. Not only did he get 64% of the votes, he was the only defenders to get his vote percentage in double digits!
Ramos has contributed in all aspects of the game. From clearing the ball off the line to scoring the winners in the dying minutes of the match, Ramos has done it all!
Without a doubt, Ramos has been the best defender for the past two years. The Real Madrid captain has been named in the World XI more than any other defender – six times! But somehow, he did not manage to get a single vote in the Ballon d'Or voting this year!
Here is the result of the reader’s poll:
