5 clubs with best defensive record in European football

There has been a marked change in approach to tactics in the last decade. More and more teams are obsessed with playing an attractive brand of football. In this pursuit of aesthetically pleasing tactics, many teams have, in the process, lost balance of their play, becoming a rather porous outfit.Liverpool and Arsenal, this season, are a good example of this. A midst this chaos and search for the perfect approach to football, some teams have found the holy grail, a balance between defence and attack, a perfect blend of goals and clean sheets. Here’s a look at some of the teams that haven’t forgotten how to defend.

#5 Feyenoord

A surprise inclusion in this list. Feyenoord, just last season, possessed one of the more cohesive defensive units in Europe. The sum total of the defense was so good that Van Gaal decided to build a team on them for the world cup. One transfer window later and the team in unidentifiable from that of last year.

New manager, Fred Rutten has done well after taking over from Koeman. His team sit third in the league having conceded just 7 goals - 5th best in Europe. The style hasn't seen a marked shift from previous regimes, but the team has become better at defending set pieces and aerial balls into the box.

#4 AS Roma

Much has been said about Rudi Garcia's team, in particular it's attack, but in the midst of long and drawn out praise, is lost the fact that their defense is just as good if not better.

The high pressing, compact unit of Roma's midfield, known for its brilliance in attack, lends itself just as well to defense. The likes of De Rossi, Nainggolan and Keita have been very effective in stifling out opposition attacks. The defense has seen constant rotation, but good communication and understanding has ensured that it hasn't cost them.

Roma have conceded only 6 goals this season, all 6 coming away from home. 3 of those were conceded against, league leaders, Juventus and 2 against Napoli.

The one constant in the Roma defense has been, new recruit, Manolas. He has featured in 8 of the ten games so far this season, and already established himself as one of the more important members of the squad. Others in defense have included, Astori, Yanga-Mbiwa, Torosidis, Maicon, Holebas and Ashley Cole.

#3 Barcelona

Luis Enrique's Barcelona, through their first eight games, seemed to have found a solution to fix their porous defense. The team hadn't conceded at all. It was rather un-Barcelona like, given their inclination to concede silly goals.

The three games, since the last of the clean sheets, has tilted the perspective a bit. The defense doesn't look so solid at all, but it is rather silly to be sniping at them after three miserable games, which can easily be attributed to a dip in form.

Ignoring the last three games, Barcelona were brilliant. The signing of Jeremy Mathieu, a 31 year old left back, to play as center back looked genius. It is admirable what they did in those eight games.

Enrique prefers a 4-3-3 with Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu and Alba forming the back four and being shielded by Busquets. The team defended brilliantly as a unit, preventing other teams from capitalizing on lapses in concentration, which Barcelona have been so often prone to.

Barcelona's 5 goals conceded have come in rather unfashionable circumstances. 3 came away to Real Madrid with Celta Vigo and Almeria scoring the other two.

It is hard to see how this Barcelona defense will fare in the long term. Detractors will say that the first eight clean sheets came against poor teams, while Proponents of Barca will use bad form as defense for their recent blip.

#2 Southampton

After a mass exodus at Southampton last summer, it is pleasing to see that Southampton have not let it affect them ,and have insteadbecome a better team. They have only conceded 5 goals this term after 11 games.

This is the best record by any team in Europe that has played 11 games, a feat only matched by Barcelona. Koeman's effect on the team has been talked up after their scintillating attacking displays, but his effect on the defense has also been very pronounced.

In defense alone, Southampton lost the services of Artur Boruc, Dejan Lovren, Danny Fox, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers and Jos Hooiveld. They were replaced by Forster, Bertrand, Alderweireld and Gardos. Of the four brought in, only Alderweireld and Bertrand, to some extent, can boast of having reputation to match that of those sold. It has been incredible what they've done with those players.

Koeman has unified the team into a unit, and rather quickly at that given most players were new acquisitions. The back four, generally comprised of Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld and Bertrand,has proved to bea tough unit to break down and they are well complemented by the midfielders protecting them. The contributions of Schneiderlin and Wanyama must also be specifically mentioned while talkingupthis defense.

Of the 5 goals conceded, 3 have come against Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham, teams of considerably bigger reputation than the Saints.

#1 Juventus

Juventus were left in a, somewhat, precarious position when, on the eve of the season, Conte decided to call time on his Juventus career. It came out of the blue. A sudden and somewhat unexplainable act.

There are was confusion and chaos among the fans. Juventus acted quickly to replace their outgoing manager with - Max Allegri - a man who had a woefully bad last season with rivals AC Milan.

Allegri, so far, has done a good job of settling in. He hasn't brought any radical changes to the team, just a series of small adjustments every now and then while continuing in the mold of Conte, playing the same 3-5-2 formation, and maintaining the stability of the team. This has shown tremendously in their results.

Juventus have only conceded 4 goals in the 11 games, so far, this season - the best defensive record in the Europe. Out of the 4 goals conceded, 2 of them came in a single game against Roma, 2 goals that have been heavily debated for being the product of refereeing incompetence. The other 2 goals have come away from home to Saussuolo and Genoa respectively.

Juventus have flitted brilliantly between 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1. The crux of their defense has been formed by Chiellini, Ogbonna and Bonucci, while Lichtsteiner, Caceres, Evra and Asamoah have been deployed on the flanks as wing backs.

The presence of so may defenders has also lent itself to their tactical fluency and ability to switch shape mid-games. Players like Evra and Caceres are only ever used in a four man back-line preventing any unnecessary misunderstandings that may arise due to playing in a wing-back position.

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Edited by Staff Editor