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As the World Cup edges closer and closer the world’s best players are assembling for the biggest stage in world football. In looking forward to the World Cup Squawka have picked their top players in each position, starting with the full backs.
In compiling this list a lot has come down to form for their clubs this season as well as their overall ability. Philipp Lahm is the obvious exclusion from this list but reports from Germany seem to hint that the Bayern Munich man will be used in midfield for Germany, in a similar role to the one he plays for his club.
Other notable exclusions are Brazilian left-back Marcelo and his club team-mate Fabio Coentrao of Portugal. Both left-backs have done very well this season but they ultimately just missed the cut. Bacary Sagna is certain to start for France and others such as Filipe Luis and Dani Carvajal haven’t been taken to the World Cup.England’s Leighton Baines has enjoyed a sensational season for Everton but he is still just behind the players in this list.
Here is our guide to the five best left and right-backs present at this summer’s tournament, kicking off with a man heavily linked with replacing Sagna at Arsenal. Serge Aurier, the first of our five, has reportedly been interesting Arsene Wenger and with performances of the calibre to make our list it is little wonder why.
Serge Aurier
Starting with the youngest player in this list and that is Toulouse’s Serge Aurier. However having said that he may well not be property of Toulouse for too much longer. Aurier has been pushing for a move to Arsenal for a couple of years now through his Twitter account and a few weeks ago reports suggested that the Gunners had made an opening bid of around £7 million.
Since then his agent has claimed that they are in talks with a different English side, the identity of which remains unclear. What is clear though is that it is unlikely that Aurier will remain with his current club for much longer.
The interest comes about after Aurier enjoyed an extremely eye catching season. This season alone he scored six goals and assisted a further six more, the former statistic is the highest of any player on this list. Aurier played pre-dominantly on the right hand side of Alain Casanova’s 3-5-2 formation but he has proven that he is more than capable of playing centre-back, winning a higher percentage of his aerial duels than any other player on this list.
With 75 interceptions (the highest of all five) and 110 clearances Aurier clearly hasn’t been shirking his defensive responsibilities, of which there were plenty at Toulouse this season. He did pick up more yellow cards than anyone else on this list and make the most defensive errors but he has the ultimate weapon for a full-back, stamina. Aurier does not stop running for 90 minutes and he can make it appear as if his team have two players on his side. He will be a vital asset for the Ivory Coast both offensively and defensively.
Jordi Alba
From one full-back who made the season his own to one who struggled with injuries this season. Barcelona’s Jordi Alba is widely recognised as one of the best left-backs in the world but injuries have limited him to just 15 league appearances.
Nevertheless the 312 performance points he accumulated in those matches represents a very healthy return over the course of a full season. Alba hasn’t played for Barcelona since mid April but he is used to playing at such a high standard. Alba was one of the stand-out performers for Spain in the 2012 European Championships and he will provide a strong attacking threat down the left hand side.
Alba’s passing was, as you would expect from a Barcelona player, very good with an 89% pass success rate and he even managed to weigh in with two assists this season. Having Alba missing for so much of this season was a big blow this season and whilst Adriano is a solid replacement he is not in the same league.
Cesar Azpilicueta
However if Spain want a more defensive full-back they can do no worse than look at Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta. The right-back has been playing at left-back this season under Jose Mourinho and he has done a tremendous job at it.
Ashley Cole’s poor form earlier in the season saw Azpilicueta given his chance to shine and he took it with both hands. His attacking instincts were curbed as he looked to protect the space created by Eden Hazard and it is no surprise to see Azpilicueta do well in the defensive statistics.
Azpilicueta leads the clearances figures (165) and also does very well in interceptions (75) and tackles (74). Perhaps slightly concerning for Spain are his poor offensive stats; he hasn’t scored and he has created the fewest chances of our five as well as only winning seven take-ons. However he hasn’t made a single defensive error all season and he’s only picked up one yellow, if Spain need to tighten up he is the man to call.
Dani Alves
Barcelona’s Dani Alves is one of the best full-backs in the world right now even though he’s 31. Alves could be appearing in his last World Cup and could well be playing his last series of games for Brazil as a Barcelona player. Alves has recently admitted that he would be very receptive to a move to PSG amidst rumours that the French club are prepared to make an offer for him.
Alves has won 64 tackles this season but crucially (to both Barcelona and Spain) he leads the passing figures on this list with the most passes (1,840) and the most successful passes (1,604). Alves is the definition of a modern day full-back with the emphasis very much on attack. He is quick, powerful and has a dangerous cross he will use the space created by Brazil’s attacking midfielders to great effect.
Ricardo Rodriguez
Without a doubt one of the surprises of the season, Ricardo Rodriguez has played himself into the thinking of a number of top European clubs this season. The Swiss left-back is strong defensively but where he excels is in his attacking instincts.
He has scored five goals and created an astonishing 78 chances, more than any other Wolfsburg player, which come largely from his prowess from dead-balls. He will be a big threat for Switzerland at this tournament from those scenarios and their opponents will need to make sure they defend set-pieces well.
With the highest performance score, number of chances created, number of tackles won, number of take-ons and percentage of duels won Rodriguez has established himself as one of the best full-backs around right now. People are talking about Belgium as the dark horses but Switzerland are another that could cause a few surprises.
