Maldini, Ramos, Puyol: Who is the greatest ever defender? | OneFootball

The art of defending is a difficult one to sum up in words.

While the superstars that bang in the goals at the other end of the field tend to grab the headlines, there is nothing quite like a brilliant rearguard action.

The subtle nuances that often go unnoticed in a backline take years to master and, for some, prove to be too high a mountain to climb.

However, every now and then, a defender comes along who shows that even getting down and dirty in the mud can be made to look beautiful.

One such superstar was Italian legend Paolo Maldini, who celebrates his 53rd birthday today.

Maldini spent his life perfecting the business of defending and in his prime, had just about done it. He was calm on the ball and almost impassable without it.

So, to celebrate the birthday of one of defending truth godfather's we thought we would rank the greatest backlines's to have ever kicked a ball.

With the help of fan-ranking site Ranker, these are the top 50.

Fan ranking of the 50 greatest defenders in history

50. Marcelo49. Maicon48. Paul Breitner47. Riccardo Ferri46. Antonio Cabrini45. Philipp Lahm44. Miodrag Belodedici43. Karl-Heinz Schnellinger42. Jaap Stam41. Andreas Brehme40. Carles Puyol

39. Tarcisio Burgnich38. Gary Neville37. Wim Suurbier36. Daniel Alves35. Hans-Peter Briegel34. Roberto Carlos33. Paul Neal32. Jurgen Kohler31. Morten Olsen30. Fabio Cannavaro

29. Roberto Rosato28. Jamie Carragher27. Thiago Silva26. Carlos Alberto25. Marius Tresor24. Giuseppe Bergomi23. Alan Hansen22. Nilton Santos21. Claudio Gentile20. Sergio Ramos

19. Manfred Kaltz18. Aldair17. Lucio16. Lilian Thuram15. Mauro Tassotti14. Fulvio Collovati13. Gerard Pique12. Alessandro Costacurta11. Ruud Krol

10. Alessandro Nesta

Nesta was the quintessential rolls-royce defender. Cool under pressure and silky with the ball at his feet. Just ask Lionel Messi how hard he was to beat.

9. Daniel Passarella

Captain of Argentina's mythical planet conquering 1978, Passarella was once the highest-scoring defender in the history of football.

8. Cesare Maldini

Paolo's father - defending really is a family business for the Maldini clan.

7. Giacinto Facchetti

One of the truly great goal-scoring full-backs, Facchetti finished second in the running for the 1956 Ballon d'Or.

There is no doubt that Rijkaard was a world class footballer but the sixth greatest defender of all time? We're not so sure.

5. Bobby Moore

Potentially the greatest ever player to pul on an England shirt, Bobby truly was a generational talent.

4. Cafu

The Brazilian legend is the only ever player to feature in three consecutive World Cup finals.

3. Franz Beckenbauer

One of the few people to have ever won the World Cup as both a player and a manager, Beckenbauer is a true German immortal.

2. Franco Baresi

A 15-year captain of AC Milan who made defending against some of the finest attacking talent in the game look like a doddle? You must be thinking of Baresi.

1. Paolo Maldini

The man of the hour. Maldini simply never put a foot wrong during stint at centre and left back. As said before, he devoted his life to quashing creativity and he became ruthlessly good at it. A deserved winner.

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The ultimate penalty quiz: Where was this penalty placed? (Andrea Pirlo v Eng 2012)

A B C D

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