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The game of football has a variety of roles that are performed by different individuals. While the strikers get the goals and the midfielders control the pace of the game, the defenders are tasked with helping the team not concede.
The old adage ‘Attack wins you games and defence wins you titles’ has gained more significance these days with the influx of tactical battles. The last thing a team wants is to concede a scrappy goal and fall behind the eight-ball.
Nowadays, defenders need to be adept with the ball at their feet as well. In the years gone by, these players could get away with being a bit sloppy in possession. However, that isn’t the case these days.
The best defenders in the business are those who can play out from the back while excelling at their primary responsibility, defending. Through the course of this article, we would look at the best centre-backs in the world currently.
The list has been compiled after looking at the various attributes they provide and the completeness of their play, which includes skill on the ball as well as off it.
Without further ado, here are the best centre-backs in the world.
#5 Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
Kalidou Koulibaly is a Senegalese defender who plays for Napoli in the Serie A. He has been at Napoli since 2014 and in the course of his stay, has established himself as one of the Serie A’s premier defenders.
Koulibaly had a decent World Cup for Senegal and was unfortunate to miss out on the knock-out phase, courtesy the Fair Play rule.
Apart from his exploits with Senegal, he has been an ever-present in Napoli’s back line and enjoyed enormous success under Maurizio Sarri.
Koulibaly is an imposing figure at the heart of the defence and wins his fair share of aerial battles.
In addition to this, he is very agile and can track the quickest of runners. He isn’t too bad with the ball at his feet, having averaged 85 passes in the Serie A last term at an accuracy of over 90%.
At 27 years of age, he is at the peak of his powers and is paramount to Carlo Ancelotti’s team in Naples. Till now, he hasn’t put a foot wrong for Napoli and he would hope he can come up with more of the same throughout this season.
Koulibaly gets in at No.5 for his athleticism and the completeness of his play.
#4 Samuel Umtiti (FC Barcelona)
Samuel Umtiti was signed by Barcelona in the summer of 2016 from Lyon. Since then, he has cemented his place as Barcelona’s ace centre back.
Umtiti enjoyed a spectacular summer and was hugely influential in France’s run to the World Cup crown.
Along with Varane, the duo kept out the likes of Uruguay and Belgium on their way to glory. He also came up with a crucial goal against Belgium, which proved to be the winner.
Umtiti is an excellent reader of the game and is deceptively quick. He rarely finds himself out of position and wins most of his duels cleanly.
Throughout the course of last season, he averaged less than a foul per game. To supplement this, he is a very efficient user of the football and is arguably the best ball-playing centre-back in the world.
Umtiti has been immense for Barcelona over the past two seasons and looks set to play a stellar role under Valverde this season as well.
If there were any doubts with respect to his quality, he put those to rest by putting in solid performances in Russia.
At this juncture, he is one of the most in-form defenders on the planet. With time on his side, Barcelona would hope he can emulate the likes of Carles Puyol in the years to come.
His form and adaptability to any situation is what gets him into our list at No.4.
#3 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid’s Spanish defender has been around the pinnacle of football for the best part of a decade.
Ramos plays as the right-sided centre-back for his club and country. While he has Pique partnering him for Spain, he lines up alongside Varane for Real Madrid. Over the years, no defender has divided opinion like Ramos.
Though he is a hero for the sides he plays for, his antics have often seen him labelled as a villain by rival fans. However, he makes it to our list on sheer footballing ability.
Ramos is very good at distributing the ball and competes in a short list to be the most technically gifted defender in the world. He is also very good in the air and reads the game exceptionally.
On many an occasion before, he has bailed his team out by putting in a last-ditch tackle. However, his most distinguishing aspect is his ability to come up with crucial goals in crunch situations. Ramos’ goals against city rivals, Atletico in the Champions League finals quickly spring to mind.
Ramos would have been top of the list had it been compiled a year or two ago. However, age seems to have caught up with him and he has started losing a bit of pace, which used to be a major asset of his game.
Despite his loss of pace, his other attributes still get him into the Top 3 centre-backs in the world.
#2 Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
At No.2 is Ramos’ partner in crime at Real Madrid, Raphael Varane. Having joined in 2011, Varane is one of the first names on Real Madrid’s starting eleven these days.
Varane was a rock at the back for France at the World Cup and helped them reclaim the title they won in 1998. He answered every question thrown at him with aplomb. For his club, he has played an integral role in them notching up three consecutive Champions League winner’s medals.
Varane’s biggest asset is his speed which enables him to make quick recoveries and deny the opposition strikers a sight at goal.
In today’s day and age, pace plays a vital role and Varane possesses it in abundance. To supplement this, he is an accomplished passer of the ball and is composed in possession. At the moment, he is one of the most complete centre-backs going around.
He has been in superlative form for the past couple of seasons and his performances reached a crescendo at the World Cup.
Despite having achieved so much, he is still only 25 years old and has time to establish himself as one of the greatest defenders to ever grace the game.
For all his qualities and unlocked potential, he gets the runner-up spot in our list.
#
1 Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
The best centre back on the planet is none other than Atletico Madrid’s talismanic skipper, Diego Godin.
Godin has been a colossus for his club, Atletico Madrid. Atletico has been on an upward curve since Simeone’s arrival and Godin has played his part in it to perfection.
He had an outstanding World Cup for Uruguay, and collected three clean sheets on his way to the quarterfinals, losing to eventual winners, France.
Godin is an old-fashioned defender and takes no prisoners while defending. He is an enormous presence and defends aerial balls superbly. However, his biggest asset is his ability to read the opponent’s next move. He finds himself in the right place, at the right time, more often than not. Godin isn’t too bad with the ball either and keeps the team ticking.
He is the epitome of a leader and is very vocal. Godin gets those around him playing to their full capacity with his charisma. When the chips are down, he leads from the front and has come up with crucial goals on quite a few occasions. A prime example is his goal against Barcelona in 2014 which helped Atletico to the La Liga title.
Godin has all the attributes required for a modern-day defender. When one combines his skill set with his leadership, one seems to stumble upon the ideal centre back.
Despite being 32, he is showing no signs of slowing down and has at least a couple of top-drawer seasons in him.
Thus, Godin is the best centre back in the world at the moment.
