BEST Defender From Every Decade In Football History

Strikers make headlines, but stopping goals is just as important as scoring them. These are football's best defenders per decade. 1920s. When most teams played an ultra-attacking 2-3-5 formation, defending wasn't easy. But Lorenzo De Vecchi had a very special quality which helped him win more duels than he lost. At 16 years, 3 months and 23 days, he's still the youngest ever player to represent Italy. And at club level, he's won two league titles with Genoa. Like many defenders, De Vecchi was quick across the ground and strong in the tackle. Less common were his excellent ball-playing skills. But his special quality was his consistency. His teammates called him Il figlio di Dio, the son of God, because he didn't make mistakes. Jose Nasazzi also deserves an honourable mention. He was the captain of the Uruguay national team that dominated football in the 1920s. Nasazzi was known as El Gran Mariscal, the Great Marshal, for his ability to organize the team and, in 1930, led the national team to win the inaugural World Cup. 1930s. Domingos de Guia was one of the best centre-backs Brazil has ever produced, and it was thanks to one fantastic skill. Touring South America in the 1930s, he played in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. He made 30 appearances for the Brazil national team and was a standout player at the 1938 World Cup, when Brazil finished third. So, what was that fantastic skill that made de Guia so good? His sixth sense. De Guia was a master at reading the game. The Brazilian was always two steps ahead of the strikers he was marking. He just knew where the ball was going to drop. We've also got to give a nod to one of the best German players of all time. Paul Jarnes. Don't take our word for it. The German Football Association included the right-back in their list of the top 20 German players ever. 1940s. Now, if you don't know Neil Franklin, it's a bit of a shame because his story is unbelievable. Franklin isn't as popular as Bobby Moore, John Terry, or Rio Ferdinand. But, just like that trio, he was one of the best defenders in English football. He was a monster in the air and rarely lost a header. He had an astute positional sense and was rarely caught out by strikers' runs. At the end of the 1940s, Franklin made an audacious move. He left England and joined a team in Columbia. Franklin only played six games for Santa Fe in Columbia, but the transfer would cost him his international career. He rejected one call-up to the England squad for the 1950 World Cup and the FA threw a hissy fit. Franklin never played for his country again. Obdulio Varela was another tenacious player throughout the 40s who didn't give his opponents an inch and would give anything to win. 1950s. Billy Wright is one of England's greatest ever defenders, but his rise to the top would have never come without an extraordinary accident. Wright was the first player to reach 100 caps for England, a fantastic achievement, because there weren't as many international matches back then. He also holds the record for the most games as England's captain. He wore the armband 90 times throughout his career. But what we don't see in the record books is that Wright almost never became a professional footballer at all. Wolves rejected him as a youngster because he was too small, but Wright wouldn't give up on his dreams just yet. So thanks to his determination, Wolves eventually signed him as a midfielder, but even then Wright struggled to make an impact, until an injury crisis left several Wolves defenders sidelined. The manager had no choice and pushed Wright back into defense. He'd never played a defensive position for Wolves before, but he was an absolute natural and the rest is history. In the 1950s, there were also two Brazilians who changed what it meant to be a fullback. Nilton Santos loved to bomb forward from left back, contributing to the attack as much as he did to the defense. Jalma Santos did the same thing on the right flank. He was a bit more defensive, but he got forward whenever he could. 1960s. 64 was a great and horrifying year for Bobby Moore. He won the FA Cup with West Ham and became England's captain. Life was good, or so we thought. Moore had been experiencing strange symptoms all year long. Until one night lying in bed with his pregnant wife Tina, he felt so bad that Tina turned to him and urged him to see a doctor. You can't put it off any longer, she said. At the age of just 23, Moore was diagnosed with testicular cancer, but this couldn't beat Bobby. Just two years later, he captained England to World Cup glory. Moore was a classy centre-back. He read the game brilliantly and was an excellent tackler. He didn't just dive in and hope for the best. He waited for the right moment to pounce, then came away with the ball cleanly. Moore finished as runner-up to Gert Müller for the 1970 Ballon d'Or, an era when defenders were rarely in the running for top individual awards. Giacinto Facchetti was another legendary defender, and he loved running down the wing to send crosses into the box. His fitness allowed him to get up and down the flank for 90 minutes straight. 1970s Franz Beckenbauer is widely regarded as the best German player of all time, but when he was only 18 years old, his career with the national team was almost ended by scandal. In 1963, German society was very conservative, and footballers were expected to follow social norms. This meant to behave in a certain way. So when it came out that Beckenbauer's girlfriend was pregnant, but they wouldn't marry, the young footballer was heavily criticized. The German FA even banned him from the national youth team. Lucky for Beckenbauer, over time Germany became more lenient, and they couldn't let such a talent be cast away solely for this reason. Beckenbauer bounced back, joined West Germany, and went on to win the World Cup and the Euros. Not to mention that he won four Bundesliga titles and three European Cups with Bayern Munich. Der Kaiser was a sweeper playing behind the other defenders, and sweeping up loose balls as the last line of defense. But he was also an attacking force. When his team had possession, Beckenbauer strided forward with the ball at his feet, setting the tempo for Bayern and West Germany, creating chances and taking shots at goal. 1980s Franco Beresi is Mr. AC Milan. He played 719 matches for the Rossoneri, his only club. But if one small moment had played out differently, Italian football's history could have changed. When Beresi was 14, he and his brother Giuseppe went for a trial at Inter. Inter took a good look at both players, but they could only sign one. Obviously Giuseppe Beresi was welcomed into the Inter academy, and Franco Beresi was rejected. To this day, AC Milan fans are delighted that Inter missed out on one of the greatest defenders the game has ever seen. Beresi went on to become the leader of the legendary Milan backline of the 1980s. He finished second in the 1989 Ballon d'Or and won the European Cup that year. There were many similarities between Daniel Passarella and Franco Beresi. Passarella wasn't quite as good a defender, but Passarella had the edge in one key area. He contributed much more at the other end of the field. Passarella scored 175 goals for clubs and country. 1990s In another life, Cafu could have been a marathon runner. His incredible energy and stamina made him one of the most complete fullbacks we've ever seen. In an era of conservative fullbacks, Cafu changed the role when he covered every blade of grass on the right wing, regularly making overlapping runs and getting to the byline. He was also defensively solid and was praised by his teammates for leadership skills. The Brazilian was the only player in history to play in three consecutive World Cup finals, not to mention winning two, and lifting numerous trophies with Sao Paulo, Roma, and AC Milan. Terrorizing the 90s side by side with Cafu was Roberto Carlos. More explosive than Cafu, his thighs were like tree trunks, scoring some stunning goals, including his famous banana kick against France and a strike from an impossible angle for Real Madrid against Tenerife. Roberto must have had one of the most powerful shots in the game. 2000s Arguably the greatest left-back of all time, we have Paolo Maldini. Ironically, being the greatest isn't the most impressive part of the Italian's career. Debuting for AC Milan in 1985, Maldini didn't play his last game for the club until 2009. He made 902 appearances for one of the biggest teams in the world. But it gets better. Maldini was one of the most intelligent defenders ever. He won seven Serie A titles and five Champions Leagues during a magnificent career. But this still isn't what's most impressive. Though Maldini was sometimes used in central defense, where he's also world-class, he's most celebrated as a left back. And to the surprise of many, he's naturally right-footed. Maldini was switched to the left because Mauro Tassotti had the right-back spot nailed down. He developed his weaker foot so much that many people don't realize he wasn't left-footed. And Maldini wasn't the only legendary Italian defender of the 2000s. Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro were also brilliant, but in different ways. Nesta was elegance personified, halting opposition attacks without breaking sweat. And Cannavaro was tenacious, despite only being 5'9". 2010s In the dictionary under big gameplay, you'll probably find a picture of Sergio Ramos. The Real Madrid icon always rose to the occasion. As an aggressive defender, he sometimes gets his timing in the tackle wrong. That's why throughout his career he's been shown 27 red cards. But more often than not, Ramos' front-foot style is a virtue. He also scored several crucial goals for Madrid, including in two Champions League finals against Atletico. Ramos' medal haul is mighty impressive. Five La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues, two European Championships, and one World Cup. Then on the other side of the Real-Barcelona divide, there was Dani Alves. Some fullbacks contribute to the attack with pace and power. Alves was all about technique. He could run games from right back. Also, shout out to Philipp Lahm. Pep Guardiola once described him 2020s When Liverpool paid £75 million for Virgil van Dijk, many people laughed. You might well have done too. Van Dijk hadn't always set the world alight at Southampton. His talent was obvious, but he didn't have much experience at the top level. Neil Warnock, the Cardiff manager, said he'd rather have Sol Bamba in his team. Well, no one's laughing now. Van Dijk is the best defender in the world today. He doesn't really have any notable weaknesses. The Liverpool centre-back has the pace and positional sense to play in a high defensive line. He has the strength to win 1v1 duels against opponents, and the technique to start attacks with some fantastic long passes to the flanks. Van Dijk suffered a serious knee injury in 2020, but he's bounced back brilliantly, and to this day is still the world's top centre-half. But his defensive colleagues at Liverpool certainly helped to make his life easier. Trent Alexander-Arnold isn't the first attacking right back we've seen, but there's something different about him and is the very best in his position. Most other attacking right backs played complementary roles, and Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold is the team's main playmaker, Trent's closing in on 50 Premier League assists, and he's not even 24. Who's your favourite defender of all time? Let us know in the comments section, and don't forget to subscribe.