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Keeping it tight
It’s no secret that the role of the centre-back has changed in recent years. Throwing yourself into challenges, clearing the area while screaming ‘get rid’ and nodding in the occasional corner no longer cuts the mustard at the top end of the sport.
The following 10 players have excelled in the modern game, be that through technical excellence, warrior spirit or mastering the dark arts. We’re looking at you with that last one, Sergio Ramos…
10. Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham)
After enduring a difficult spell at Spurs over a contract dispute, Alderweireld bounced back with an impressive World Cup campaign for third-placed Belgium and then helped his club side to the Champions League final.
It's not clear exactly where he'll be in 2019/20 but Mauricio Pochettino will be desperate to keep him: Alderweireld is rarely caught out of position and can adapt to a three or four-man defence with ease.
The 30-year-old is also a gifted passer of the ball and particularly good when it comes to pinging long diagonals out to the wings.
9. Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham)
Vertonghen has developed into one of the world’s greatest central defenders during his time in north London, and completed his seventh season at Tottenham with a Champions League runners-up medal.
The Belgian is aggressive and an expert at winning the ball from strikers high upfield, but his versatility is his best attribute – witness his left-back masterclass when Spurs dismantled Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
8. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
The grizzled Juventus veteran may be turning 35 at the start of next season, but he is still one of the standout centre-backs in circulation. A strong tackler and dominant force in the air, Chiellini reads the game superbly and has an underrated passing range.
The Italy stalwart remains a mainstay in defence for club and country and will be central to Maurizio Sarri’s hopes of instant success in Turin.
7. Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Godin probably wouldn’t thrive under the likes of Pep Guardiola or Maurizio Sarri, but he certainly had with Atletico Madrid and Uruguay up until this summer.
The 33-year-old – who joined Inter Milan this summer – is cut from a more old-fashioned cloth than most of his peers on this list but always manages to find himself in the right places at the right times. Godin has also become known for chipping in with important set-piece goals.
5. Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
The classy, understated Laporte is an atypical Guardiola centre-back: stylish, comfortable on the ball and not afraid to stick his head in where it hurts if required.
Manchester City keep things tight thanks in large part thanks to the Frenchman, who joined them from Athletic Club in January 2018 for £57 million.
He hasn’t actually played international football yet because of an ongoing dispute – he could represent either Spain or France, having played for Les Bleus at youth level.
4. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Ramos is unlikely to win many popularity contests and has begun to slide down this list now, but it’d be tricky to dispute his place among the game’s greatest stoppers.
The Real Madrid skipper remains the heartbeat of Los Blancos and is always a man for the big occasion, which he regularly demonstrated during his club’s pre-2018/19 monopolisation of the Champions League.
Whether you find his antics hilarious or a turn-off – the intentional yellow card against Ajax in the Champions League last 16 first leg before Real’s second-leg defeat, for example – his aerial prowess and warrior spirit can only be admired.
6. Gerard Pique (Barcelona)
Another season, another title: Pique lifted an eighth La Liga trophy with Barcelona in 2018/19, adding to the 11 other major gongs he's won with club and country since 2008.
The 32-year-old only missed three league games for Ernesto Valverde last term – one through suspension – and helped form a rugged partnership with Clement Lenglet which is likely to see Barça through again in 2019/20. He's never been perfect, but Pique remains a centre-back you want to have around the place.
3. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
Napoli did well to keep their Senegalese rock last summer after Maurizio Sarri left and took Jorginho with him. Koulibaly has proven himself as one of the very best in his role and been crucial to the Serie A side's recent success with his commanding defensive displays.
He is difficult to get the better of in the air or in a foot race, and is rarely outmanoeuvred by opposition strikers. Most impressive, though, is his ability with the ball at his feet; Koulibaly is a magnificent passer who always manages to keep his cool in possession.
2. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Varane was a standout performer at the World Cup last summer, helping France lift the trophy for the second time with a series of superb performances at the heart of defence.
The 26-year-old isn’t short of a trophy or two, having won four Champions League and two La Liga titles with Real Madrid.
Although the 2018/19 campaign wasn’t quite so memorable, the Frenchman remains a complete centre-back. He reads the game expertly and has the recovery speed needed to cover for team-mates’ errors, while he’s adept at stepping into midfield with the ball and setting his team on the front foot if need be.
1. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
It would be difficult to argue that Van Dijk hasn’t completely transformed Liverpool defensively since joining from Southampton in January 2018.
In the past, a dodgy backline undermined a thrilling strike force but now the Dutchman sits at the heart of an impressive back four that has formed the bedrock of a Champions League victory and almighty Premier League title challenge.
The Dutchman is the archetypal modern centre-back, possessing strength, speed, aerial prowess, leadership and ability with the ball at his feet. Five good reasons why he’s the most expensive player of all time in his position.
