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Deleted member 45378
Guest
Who in your opinion is the best defender ever to have played the game?
My vote goes to Paolo Maldini
My vote goes to Paolo Maldini
Cox Green Fc
Winger
The butcher of Bilbao
Charmless Man
Striker
Santiago Vergini.
This..... or Baresi.
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Deleted member 45378
Guest
This is going well.... I'm expecting Gareth Hall to be winning in an hour
4everredandwhite
Midfield
Franz Beckanbauer
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Moneyball
Guest
Fabio Cannavaro was great defender but Baresi is the best. He glided through games and his positioning and reading of the game makes him the best for me.
Cox Green Fc
Winger
Tatal El Karkouri imho
Comeback_Kenwyne
Winger
In terms of people I've seen, I think Ferdinand, Terry and Campbell will likely be vastly underrated in this debate, because they are, in their respective ways, all absolute whoppers. But we had a production line for a bit that only the Italians in my lifetime have surpassed. Carragher, King, Southgate, Adams, Woodgate - we were spoilt for choice for about 15 years.
You'd have to look at the great Italian four though - Maldini, Cannavaro, Nesta and Baresi.
You'd probably say Maldini was the best at club level, Cannavaro the best at a World Cup, but Baresi won it all and therefore probably takes it.
Probably Moore or Beckenbaeur only two that might place above him historically. Maybe Hansen, never saw him and difficult to decouple from his endless whinging on MotD. Dominated for a while though.
Would throw Lillian Thuram in as a contender too - he was a hell of a player in my opinion. More recently, I like Diego Godin as a classic warrior type centre back - really embodied Athletico's approach - and obviously Van Djik has hit a level recently that few ever reach.
You'd have to look at the great Italian four though - Maldini, Cannavaro, Nesta and Baresi.
You'd probably say Maldini was the best at club level, Cannavaro the best at a World Cup, but Baresi won it all and therefore probably takes it.
Probably Moore or Beckenbaeur only two that might place above him historically. Maybe Hansen, never saw him and difficult to decouple from his endless whinging on MotD. Dominated for a while though.
Would throw Lillian Thuram in as a contender too - he was a hell of a player in my opinion. More recently, I like Diego Godin as a classic warrior type centre back - really embodied Athletico's approach - and obviously Van Djik has hit a level recently that few ever reach.
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safctommie
Winger
BaresI,Scirea, Maldini,Cafu. There’s a back 4 for you.
Stam was a beast as is Van Dijk now
AC Milan had Maldini, Nesta, Cafu and Stam as their back 4. Unreal
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Chesterladmackem
Midfield
Tommy Helmer...
Sharpshooter
Midfield
A lot of people under 35, if reddit is anything to go by, think its Sergio Ramos...
Deleted User 11453
Striker
I did some reading about Scirea and Gentile after watching some of the old World Cup matches, Gentile was brutal but Scirea never got a red card.
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SkyblueHarry
Full Back
For 'pure' (can't think of a suitable alternative) defending, I'd vote for Franco Baresi. He was a real warrior who seemed to have a 'they shall not pass' attitude towards defending. Can't even remember what he was like with the ball, but if he was marking a player, he was all over them like a rash.
