The Greatest Centre-Backs in Football History
The 5 Greatest Centre-Backs of All-Time!
Centre-back is a position in which size and strength are often the key attributes managers and scouts look for.
Yet, the players on our list weren’t always the biggest, strongest or most intimidating central defenders.
Former Manchester United Centre-Back Rio Ferdinand
At one time, the centre-back position was reserved for big, brawny men capable of outmuscling an opposing player.
Yet, the players on our list showed that there is more to being a world-class centre-back than strength and size. But who are the best central defenders of all time? What made them unique?
These players used positioning, passing, ball playing and athleticism to outwork the best strikers of their day.
The following centre-backs can be considered the 5 greatest ever central defenders.
5. Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta is the first Italian to grace the list of the Greatest Centre-Backs of All-Time. Nesta was smooth, relaxed and seemingly never ruffled by opposing players.
He exuded the cool calmness that many Italian defenders have as a character trait.
Not only was Nesta a brilliant defender, but he had the cool hair to go with a take-no-prisoners style of defending.
Lazio promoted Nesta to the first team in 1993 after eight years in the academy.
First approached by Roma, Nesta’s father turned down Giallorossi’s offer due to being a Lazio supporter.
Although he played 261 times for Lazio, it is the defender’s time with AC Milan that more football fans are likely to remember.
In 2002, Milan paid €31 million to Lazio for Nesta’s services. The Biancocelesti’s financial issues forced them to sell the defender and hand AC Milan one of the best in the world at the time.
The defender went on to play alongside Paolo Maldini, Cafu and Jaap Stam, forming one of the greatest defences in football history.
Nesta was voted Serie A Defender of the Year on four occasions. He lifted a plethora of club trophies and helped the Azzurri win the 2006 World Cup.
Unfortunately, Nesta missed the knockout rounds and final of the tournament due to an injury suffered in the group stage.
Injuries were a regular occurrence for Nesta, but he could still mark strikers out of games when fully fit like no other footballer of his generation.
4. Rio Ferdinand
There is a debate about whether Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic was better.
Based on Ferdinand’s longevity in the Premier League, specifically at Manchester United, he edges Vidic as the division’s best centre-back.
Ferdinand was a modern centre-back capable of passing the ball from the back.
As a centre-back, Ferdinand didn’t have to go to the ground to win the ball, rather he was able to rely on positioning and athleticism to get the best of attackers.
The defender came through the West Ham academy and made his debut for the club in 1995.
Ferdinand appeared in 145 games for the Hammers, as his reputation as a top defender grew.
He moved to Leeds United in 2000 for £18m, making him the most expensive player in British football history at the time.
Ferdinand was a part of the Leeds team that reached the UEFA Champions League semifinals just before the club financially imploded.
In the summer of 2002, he became the most expensive player in British football history once more when Man United paid £33.3m for his services.
It was at United that Ferdinand became the legendary player fans remember. He appeared in 455 matches across 12 seasons.
Ferdinand was the backbone of Manchester United’s success throughout the 2000s, winning six Premier League titles, two EFL Cups, one Champions League trophy and a FIFA Club World Cup.
3. Fabio Cannavaro
It is commonly believed a football player cannot play as a centre-back unless they are tall.
Many centre-backs clock in at over 6ft tall. Fabio Cannavaro destroyed the idea that centre-backs need to tower over attacking players.
Cannavaro was a mere 5ft 9in tall, and many of the strikers he played against stood taller.
What Cannavaro gave up to opposing players in height, he made up for in defensive proficiency.
The Italian defender was the last defender to win the Ballon d’Or, which he did in 2006, as a member of Real Madrid.
He also won the FIFA Player of the Year Award the same year.
The defender captained Italy to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He received a total of 136 caps as a member of the Azzurri.
At the club level, Cannavaro won the UEFA Cup, two Coppa Italia trophies and two La Liga titles.
2. Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi had a 20-year career playing as a sweeper and centre-back for AC Milan.
He debuted for the Rossoneri in 1977 and was part of the club’s transformation that led to Serie A titles and Champions League glory.
Baresi finally retired in 1997 after making 719 appearances for the Italian Club.
Italy has produced some incredible defenders. Serie A is often (wrongly) labelled as a defensive league due to the tactics used by coaches.
Baresi is considered the greatest Italian defender of all time, which is no mean feat.
Baresi’s career could have ended up very differently. In 2021, Baresi told Gazzetta dello Sport’s SportWeek magazine that Internazionale were interested in signing him as a teenager.
However, the scout following him died, and the club never followed up on the player. Baresi would instead go on trial with AC Milan, and the rest is history.
1. Franz Beckenbauer
“Der Kaiser” had a fantastic club career stretching from 1964 with Bayern Munich to 1983 with the New York Cosmos, with a stop off at Hamburg SV along the way.
It wasn’t just Franz Beckenbauer’s play at the back that earns him the top spot on the list of the Greatest Centre-Backs Ever.
He was a natural-born leader, capable of taking on the toughest opponents on the pitch. The long-time Bayern Munich defender won the German Footballer of the Year award four times and Ballon d'Or twice.
Nowadays, a defender can’t even come close to winning the Ballon d’Or, but Beckenbauer lifted it on two occasions.
“Der Kaiser” also won three consecutive UEFA European Cups with Bayern Munich from 1973 to 1976.
Beckenbauer helped West Germany win the 1972 European Championship. Two years later, he lifted the World Cup trophy after West Germany defeated the Netherlands on home soil.
There is an iconic photo of Beckenbauer, wearing the West Germany captain’s armband, with the trophy lifted above his head.
Beckenbauer’s leadership extended to management after a sterling playing career. In 1986, he led West Germany to the FIFA World Cup final where they were beaten by Diego Maradona’s Argentina.
Four years later, “Der Kaiser” took West Germany to the 1990 FIFA World Cup final where they defeated Argentina in a rematch.
Do agree with our list of the Greatest Centre-backs? Let us know in the comments!
If not, let us know who might break into the Top 5, and who you would get rid of!
Check out more football content on our Football Blog
