Top 10 Centre Backs

The role of a centre back has changed in recent years as they're now being asked to be comfortable in possession alongside hoofing the ball up the pitch..

It's changed more recently in England with Pep Guardiola being the primary reason due to his style of play of playing out from the back, which requires the central defenders to be comfortable on the ball. Since he's been at City, pretty much every team is playing like he does with ball-playing centre halves.

The role began to change when Pep was at Barcelona where he first had success with his style of play. It was with his Barcelona team where we first saw ball-playing centre halves and since then, many teams across Europe have been buying those kind of defenders.

We've seen many top class centre backs over the years in the modern era and there are a number of them who could've made it onto the list.

I've done one incredible list for this category and here it is:

Sergio Ramos

Jerome Boateng

Carles Puyol

Gerard Pique

Mats Hummels

Raphael Varane

John Terry

Nemanja Vidic

Virgil Van Dijk

Fabio Cannavaro

10. Jerome Boateng

Boateng won everything on offer at Bayern Munich including nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions League's. He also won the 2014 World Cup with Germany and was a key part of that side with the performances he put in during that tournament.

He was a defender who was always in the right place at the right time to make crucial challenges, quick, a great reader of the game, and he was also comfortable in possession.

He was one of the best defenders in Europe for a number of years and one of the finest of his generation.

9. Raphael Varane

Varane won everything in the game at club level including four Champions League at Real Madrid, but he didn't always get the credit he deserved.

He was a fine accomplished centre half on his day as he was comfortable in possession, good in the air, a good reader of the game, and always made crucial challenges whenever his team needed him to.

He improved a lot as a defender when he played alongside Sergio Ramos with whom he had a very good partnership with during his time at Real Madrid.

8. Mats Hummels

Hummels was one of the best central defenders in Europe for a number of years as he was good in the air, strong, and a defender who always timed his challenges well.

He had two spells at both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich and won everything domestically at both clubs, including 5 Bundesliga titles - 2 with Dortmund and 3 with Bayern.

He also won the 2014 World Cup with Germany and was one of their key players at that tournament as they went all the way.

7. Virgil Van Dijk

Van Dijk has been the best defender in Europe over the last few years due to his calmness, ability to time tackles well, and leadership on the pitch.

He's made such a difference to Liverpool since he's been there as he's made them a stronger team defensively and has made the players around him better. HIs signing took the reds onto another level.

Had a certain Lionel Messi not been around, he might've won the 2019 Ballon D'or.

6. Nemanja Vidic

Vidic was a hard as nails defender on his day as he was tough, physical, and good in the air. Very few players could get past him on his day because of how solid and strong a defender he was.

He made a massive difference to Man United when he arrived there as he made them a lot stronger defensively and made the players around him better. Both of these were down to him being a leader as well as a a top defender.

He won won everything on offer during his time at Man United including five Premier League titles and he played a key role in every single one.

He's someone who United have never replaced since he left as they've lacked that leader in the backline like he was.

5. John Terry

If this was about Premier League centre backs, Terry would be top of this list but as it's about centre backs from Europe in general, I had to put him in 5th.

Terry was everything you wanted in a central defender in that he was a good reader of the game, always well positioned, and he also timed his tackles well.

He was also a great leader and his leadership alongside his solid performances as a defender played a key role in the success he achieved at Chelsea.

4. Gerard Pique

Pique was one of the first players to change the role of a central defender by being comfortable in possession and being able to move into midfield.

Alongside his ball playing abilities he was a defender who was good in the air, a good reader of the game, and someone who always timed his tackles well.

He won absolutely everything in the game including three Champions League's with Barcelona, and both the World Cup and Euros with Spain.

3. Fabio Cannavaro

Cannavaro is the only player on this list to have won the Ballon D'or which he won back in 2006 after leading Italy to World Cup glory.

His leadership and performances on the pitch played a massive part in Italy going all the way in that tournament where he was named in the team of the tournament.

He had a good club career too as he won two La Liga titles at Real Madrid in between two spells at Juventus. He won two Serie A titles at Juve, but both got taken away due to the Calciopoli scandal.

He was one of the finest defenders of his generation due to his reading of the game, ability to snuff out danger, and positioning.

2. Carles Puyol

Puyol spent his entire career at Barcelona and won absolutely everything on offer during his time there including six La Liga titles and three Champions League's.

As a player, he was a defender who was willing to put his body in on the line whenever his team needed him to as he made many well-timed and crucial blocks. He was also a great reader of the game who could snuff out danger.

He was part of Spain's Euro and World Cup successes as well in 2008 and 2010 respectively and was a key player in both sides due to the performances he put in and his leadership on the pitch.

1. Sergio Ramos

I personally don't like Ramos because of what he did to Mohamed Salah in the Champions League final. But I had to have him at no.1 because of the player he's been and the career he's had.

He's won everything on offer for both club and country including four Champions League's with Real Madrid, and two Euros and a World Cup with Spain.

He has picked up a lot of cards during his career and especially red ones, but he has still been a world class defender throughout his career. His positioning has been first class, he's great in the air, and has been tough to play against.

He's also loved to chip in with a goal every now and then and his aerial ability enabled him to do that with most of his goals being header from set pieces. He netted just over 100 times for Real Madrid making him the highest scoring defender in La Liga history.

He was both a great defender and a great leader.

MY TOP 10:

1. Sergio Ramos

2. Carles Puyol

3. Fabio Cannavaro

4. Gerard Pique

5. John Terry

6. Nemanja Vidic

7. Virgil Van Dijk

8. Mats Hummels

9. Raphael Varane

10. Jerome Boateng