Cannavaro, Baresi, Puyol: Who are the best short centre-backs? | OneFootball

Lisandro Martinez has completed his move to Manchester United.

After weeks of negotiations with Ajax, Erik ten Hag has finally got his man in a deal worth around £55 million in total.

Martinez is being viewed by most as a fantastic signing for the Red Devils. The Argentine is the perfect modern day centre-back, one who is also more than capable of playing as a left-back or at the base of the midfield.

However, there are some who have lingering doubts over the 24-year-old due to his height.

Martinez stands at 5 ft 9 in, which is relatively small for a centre-back.

But being over six foot tall really isn’t the be all and end all when it comes to the position, as many have proven down the years.

Some of the greatest centre-backs in history have been a similar height to Martinez, which is something we’ve chosen to highlight in a 10-man list below.

United fans…

10 world-class centre-backs who are ‘short’

Franz Beckenbauer (5 ft 11 in)

Arguably the greatest defender in history. Beckenbauer won trophies galore at Bayern Munich, was key to West Germany’s World Cup triumph in 1974 and is a two-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Another Ballon d’Or-winning centre-back who was ‘vertically challenged’. Cannavaro is the same height as Martinez, but that didn’t stop him from smashing it with Italy, Juventus and Real Madrid, did it?

Carles Puyol (5 ft 10 in)

A truly world-class operator for Barcelona and Spain, the tenacious Puyol didn’t let his slightly smaller stature prevent him from gobbling up strikers for fun during the course of his career.

One of the best centre-backs in world football right now – who was crucial to Real Madrid’s 2021/22 Champions League win – doesn’t stand at six foot or above. Like Martinez, Alaba is also comfortable playing at left-back or in midfield.

Franco Baresi (5 ft 9 in)

Another ‘short’ player who’s in the mix to be labelled the finest central defender in history, who’d have thought it? The brilliant Baresi won a ridiculous number of trophies at AC Milan and finished as the runner-up for the 1989 Ballon d’Or.

Ronald Koeman (5 ft 11 in)

The greatest goal scoring centre-back the game has ever seen was not (you guessed it!) six foot or above. In the 1993/94 season when he was at Barcelona, Koeman even finished as the Champions League’s top scorer – which is just bonkers.

Thiago Silva (5 ft 11 in)

Silva is still dominating Premier League strikers at the age of 37 with Chelsea, despite not being overly tall for a central defender. So Lisandro, you should be absolutely fine in the English top-flight.

Mascherano is actually smaller than Martinez, but was still a world-class centre-back at Barcelona after being moved there from midfield. Yes, he was playing in an awesome team, but Mascherano still had to the dirty work a six footer would have to do.

Ivan Cordoba (5 ft 8 in)

Like Mascherano, Cordoba was shorter than Martinez and also a top-quality defender. The former Colombia captain spent 12 successful years at Inter Milan and was part of their treble-winning squad under Jose Mourinho.

Frank de Boer (5 ft 10 in)

A star at Ajax, Barcelona and on the international stage, De Boer’s slightly inferior height didn’t hinder his professional playing career one bit.