At the heart of any great soccer team, there must be a great centre back. The spine of the team consists of a goalkeeper, centre back, centre midfielder and centre forward, and so the central defender is vital to a solid defence. Often, the centre back will be the team captain and need to orchestrate not only the back line but the whole team.
Great centre backs are strong, good in the air and will marshall the defence with authority. Examples of this include Chelsea's John Terry, France's Marcel Desailly and Wigan's Titus Bramble. These players rarely make mistakes and are regularly required to put their head where others put their feet or don't even put them.
Since first watching the game almost thirty years ago, I have seen some fantastic centre backs and so will pick the best from this period from the 80s to the current day. The best centre back in the modern game would have all of the aforementioned skills as well as a calmness and ability to play a pass and build play from the back.
The Italian national side is famously built upon the ability to defend. Having recently lifted the FIFA World Cup with what would most supporters would consider a weak team for Italy, their defence was notoriously hard-to-beat, led by the team captain Fabio Cannavaro.
Cannavaro is one of the most decorated defenders in the modern game, and only the second defender to win the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2006. Playing 118 times for his country, Cannavaro has also won major honours in Italy and Spain including two La Liga titles for Real Madrid.
Cannavaro follows on in the tradition of quality Italian centre backs, with the likes of Franco Baresi leading the way. Baresi is one of the most graceful centre backs to have played the game, with more skill than many central midfielders. Baresi's ability warranted far more awards and trophies than his career would deliver, having played in the underachieving Italian national side of the 1980s.
Baresi was coolness personified as he played the game of soccer at his own pace. Much like the greats before him, Bobby Moore and Franz Beckenbauer, Baresi lacks pace but his reading of the game was second-to-none. A twenty year career with AC Milan saw the Italian international pick up several major honours including three European Cups, six Italian Championships and many other Italian and European cup competitions.
Baresi was part of the Italian 1982 World Cup winning squad, although he didn't play. He was a major part of their 1990 campaign, eventually finishing third in their own country. However, Baresi's final action for his country was missing the first penalty in the 1994 World Cup Final shoot-out that Italy lost to Brazil. The international career os such a legend could have ended so differently.
English defenders are known across the world for their no-nonsense tackling, never-say-die attitude and inability to pass the football. England international Tony Adams was known as donkey, despite his qualities and various others before him have been criticised for their lack of cuteness and style.
There is a modern England centre back that seems to defy this tradition and bears more resemblance to an Italian or Brazilian. Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand possesses many ball-playing skills, as well as the work rate, passion, determination and power that the English Premier League demands.
Ferdinand has been the subject of two record-breaking transfers in his career of 18 million pounds and thirty three million pounds when moving from Leeds United to Manchester United in 2002. Ferdinand has also played seventy times for England, following his debut at the tender age of 19 years and 8 days.
Ferdinand is still playing top-flight football, and is expected to achieve much more as his career progresses. He has however, already won three Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League but has yet to win the FA Cup. Ferdinand's skill on the ball is enviable and enables him to make forward runs, often sidestepping opposition midfielders with ease.
Ferdinand, Baresi and Cannavaro are all excellent on the ball and would make exceptional defensive midfielders, a skill that separates the good centre backs from the truly great centre backs. Power, strength, skill and aggression make these three some of the best players in the world, as well as the best centre backs.
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