Do you think the game lacks good defenders?

It's difficult to split defenders into generations, as we can have defenders seemingly caught in between decades, such as considering Puyol ten years ago and now, either side of his prime.

If we go back roughly ten years ago, around the time of the 2002 World Cup, we're discussing the likes of List A, posted below. These names are at various stages in their career, some on their last ebb, others just beginning to rise, however in a way it's good to compare to List B, contemporary defenders, who range from their last years or those just beginning their journey.

In no particular order:

List A: Stam, Ayala, Hyppia, Aldair, Nesta, Cannavaro, Thuram, Hierro, Campbell, De Boer, Marquez, Puyol, Lucio

Maldini, Zanetti, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Lizarazu, Sagnol, Zambrotta

List B: Vidic, Pique, Puyol, Chiellini, Thiago Silva, Hummels, Pepe, Kompany, Nesta, Terry, Samuel, Subotic, Sahko.

Lahm, Dani Alves, Sagna, Cole, Marcelo, Abidal.

I'm certain I've forgotten names, however off the top of my head, I believe the very best were of a higher standard, however in general very competent defenders do still grace the modern game. I was generous with some of the names on these lists, in order to illustrate depth and try and avoid personal bias, however I'm certain there are gaping holes in List A, I'm a bit tired though, so any help is welcomed.

Hm. When I think about German defenders, the ones that first come to my mind were from the 70es and 80es. The years after Berti Vogts, Franz Beckenbauer, Katsche Schwarzenbeck, Manni Kaltz, Karlheinz Förster etc had less well-known names imo.

In 2002 you could mention Thomas Linke and Metzelder who were pretty good then, but somehow they were never household names like other classics. Same with Arne Friedrich and Per Mertesacker in 2006 and Philipp Lahm had just started his career then.

rwo power wrote:Hm. When I think about German defenders, the ones that first come to my mind were from the 70es and 80es. The years after Berti Vogts, Franz Beckenbauer, Katsche Schwarzenbeck, Manni Kaltz, Karlheinz Förster etc had less well-known names imo.

In 2002 you could mention Thomas Linke and Metzelder who were pretty good then, but somehow they were never household names like other classics. Same with Arne Friedrich and Per Mertesacker in 2006 and Philipp Lahm started his career then.

I considered the German team of 2002 when I was making the list above, and whilst I probably could have mentioned Linke as an expression of depth, for German fans the real glory days are earlier than ten years ago, whilst currently the future of the German backline is still determining itself. Despite the relative success of the German national team, despite not winning anything, apart from Lahm, externally it seems that memories of these tournaments will revolve more around the midfield and attack. It's partly cultural, but partly a reflection of the team itself. You may feel differently as a German however. Kahn and Neuer also do a lot to steal the limelight.

Culturally the relation to the past will vary significantly on the forums, particularly for Italians when the backline of the current Italian team is compared to those of the past twenty years.

Well, that's what I meant - you can't really list any of the German 2002 and 2006 defenders among the ones you already listed for that timeframe. And Philipp Lahm belongs to the current time IMO. And yeah, you are right about the German goalkeepers usually stealing the show from the defenders.

No i dont, this is major case of nostalgia hitting people square in the face......

Especially as far as centre halves go, i think we can agree the standard in fullbacks has gone down but as far as centre halves go?

No way.

zarola wrote:In a Nesta vs. Barcelona video, the top rated comment is:

This and Messi vs Javier Zanetti proves beyond a shadow of doubt that Messi sucks! Nest and Zanetti are the last true defenders left in the game - today's centre backs are so bad its painful to watch. Back when Nesta was in his prime along with other defenders like the De Boers, Maldini and Canavaro stood against the strikers. I have only ever seen two players own Nesta - Zidane and R9. Even CR failed against 'sandro'! Im an Inter fan but respect to all great Italian defenders like Nesta!
aasimazam 1 week ago 9

Obviously this is a tad bit exaggerated, because Messi obviously doesn't suck. I don't want this to be a comparison of messi vs. ronaldo or barca vs. real Madrid. my question is simple: do you think the quality of defenders has declined and thus made modern strikers look better than they are?

I can certainly say this is true about fullbacks, I can think of good ones but can't even name a current great besides zanetti who doesn't even play there much anymore. As for CBs, speaking from Italy's perspective I would agree that our CB quality has declined but I didn't watch many other countries when I was little so I can't compare.

i read that comment and i thought it was you

lool why would you think it was me?

billionmillion wrote:i actually was going to reply to zizzle. by mistake i mentioned zarola yeah zizzle told this not zarola. but who cares they are both inter fans with similar usernames

not the first time my username creates confusion
and no, posting a video of one succesful dribble does not show the fact that Messi can excute his game against worldclass defenders. Where was he again in the CL semi finals ? oh yea the volcano

I thought the game lacked good defenders until Chelsea started playing with David Luiz and Terry