Never focused much on defenders until lately, curious whats everyones thoughts on CBs in particular? My best three are:

Rudiger - this guy has just gotten better as time goes, even better than T.Silve? Although U still cant make up my mind on T.Silve, remember him so bad in the Lampard days but was it due to himself or the manager? Didnt think he was all that for PSG/Brazil either.

Upemcano - waiting to see how his partnership with Hernandez turns out be. Physical beast all rounder, but seems to have mistake prone sometimes, if he can eliminate that he would be quite perfect?

Van Dijk - no much need to be said, instantly makes Liverpool better every time.

can't speak for other leagues, but currently in PL it's definitely:
1. Van Dijk
2. Dias
3. Rudiger

and i think i can safely say as well Van Dijk is currently the best in the world. He's such a presence and then he's athletic and sharp too in all aspects, complete CB.

Tomori

Thiago Silva is the best CB in the world for me. every time i watch him i'm impressed. what a CB.

BarcaLearning wrote:Never focused much on defenders until lately, curious whats everyones thoughts on CBs in particular? My best three are:

Rudiger - this guy has just gotten better as time goes, even better than T.Silve? Although U still cant make up my mind on T.Silve, remember him so bad in the Lampard days but was it due to himself or the manager? Didnt think he was all that for PSG/Brazil either.

Upemcano - waiting to see how his partnership with Hernandez turns out be. Physical beast all rounder, but seems to have mistake prone sometimes, if he can eliminate that he would be quite perfect?

Van Dijk - no much need to be said, instantly makes Liverpool better every time.

How the fuck was T. Silva bad in the Lampard days. He had ONE bad game (his debut), then basically nailed the starting spot and was one of the only consistent performers in that team, and continued to perform at a higher level with Tuchel.

As for Brazil, he is probably the best Brazilian CB in the last 20 years at least. Hell, their worst result came when he was injured against Germany.

Similarly for PSG, they still have not replaced him. The team were not disciplined enough to mask his weakness (as he got older).

Skriniar, even Real Madrid fans can confirm it after CL

yea probably didn't give T.Silva his respect... He and Rudiger tied for 3rd spot on my list then

One game or an entire season? Different answers for me. Also depends on the defensive strategy.

I think the 2 veterans are still as good as it gets in Chiellini and Thiago Silva, especially in the right set up. They transcend logic at times, Thiago Silva is 37 and only 6 feet tall and still dominant in aerial duels. Chiellini isn't even technically sound at times and yet on the ball is a big asset because he knows exactly when to advance with it. These 2 are just smart as hell.

Van Dijk is obviously a top defender.

Still think Koulibaily is right up there, impassible at times and excellent with the ball. I don't watch him weekly obviously, but every random game I tune in and I see no decay in his game.

After that I think there are a number of top defenders, comparable with any of these on their day.

Dias, Rudiger are really tough, Kounde, Upamecano are young but play beyond their years. There's more I'm sure I'm leaving out.

Thanks for the inputs guys, for T.Silva I dont know, I guess I hadnt paid enough attention or just didnt feel that impressed whenever I watch his odd game Will pay more attention going forward.

Chiellini definitely a rock, as well as Bonucci.

More on the different types of CB doing better in certain setups, which is something quite strange to me still, aa Dani mentioned above, I guess the slower and older CBs would struggle being say at Barca or teams that push high since would need to cover so much ground. So for example Chelsea CBs today looking that much better due to the setup, otherwise they prolly wont be as good? Very different to an all rounder like Upemcano who is more complete and would shine in any team?

T. Silva is still a top class defender and certainly worth being considered in the list. But I thought I will just give some perspective here - Jota of all people brushed Silva aside by his movement alone and then got his header two times in the Liverpool vs Chelsea game. Unlucky that he was having a bad day and put both of them over the bar but missed by inches probably.

VanDjik's defending is like doing non stop ballet on the field & in the air as if almost no one is around him, that too without even dropping a sweat. The funny thing is, he is yet to get to his best in this season.

Then I like Chiellini, Kalidou Koulibaly, Rubin Dias, a fit consistent Joel Matip.

Upamecano and Konate might be on the way up very soon.

Have to agree Matip has looked so more recently, I guess Van Djik is improving everyone around him, something thats surely feature of a great player.

Araujo

Adding a tax to anyone who brings up someone who plays in a 5 man defense.

The real best CB's are the ones who actually set the line and lead not the sideman recovery ones.

Van Dijk did both and so did Ramos. Both could play in a high or low line and didn't need a super defensive system to shine. Van Dijk's two year run before he destroyed his knee was something else man. He barely if ever made any individual mistakes and had an aura and presence on the pitch. Unbelievable CB. Hope he recovers his best form.

When it comes to pure defending Rams is not even top 10. and i'm a Madrid fan. what makes him great are mostly other things.

i have watched every game of him for last 10 years. he reads the game very well and is very good at interceptions. he is great in the air and is one of the best CB's on the ball. also great long passes.

but he makes too many mistakes ( wrong positioning most of the time ) and in one on one there are many better than him. he is not that difficult to dribble against.

It may be unpopular opinion but in Varane-Ramos partnership Varane was the better defender imo ( till 2018 world cup. after that he went downhill ).

It is, in fact, Upamecano.

What a player. This video only highlights his athleticism (while being 6'4) and his challenges when dealing with counter attacks not everything else he could do. It doesn't show his passing, it doesn't show his leadership qualities, it doesn't show his aerial prowess, and it doesn't show him defending deep.

He could do it all without looking like he broke a sweat. He doesn't have half the retarded moments that someone like Ramos does either. It's no surprise once he got injured Liverpool fell off. He's the number one reason they can create sustainable pressure against the opposition. He's a wall.

If you went into a lab and wanted to build an elite modern CB from scratch then he's the result you will get.

I honestly feel Rudigar, Christensen, and Silva are pretty much equal. Christensen is playing at the highest level in international duties. Rudigar has had the most decisive moments and impressive goal saving tackles. And Silva has been a rock since he put on a Chelsea uniform.

@BarcaLearning, Silva was still very good under Lampard.

Not to berate Van Dijk in any way, but I think he was slow to react for Haaland’s goal in Norway vs Netherlands the other week. He’s a fantastic defender, but if I’ve seen any flaw in his game over the past few years, it’s that he on very rare occasions reacts slowly, even if he seems to register what’s about to happen ahead of time.

Lots good shouts here.

Marquinhos is one that should always be in this discussion. Thiago Silva's natural successor. And only 27. Dude has been around forever.

Rudiger and Van dijk. but overall i like van dijk. Thought he would not be that good after his return but he proves it wrong. I like his technique and pace and he is a better scorer than Rudiger I guess. Also, Rudiger is aggressive and makes rough challenges way more than van dijk.

Ohhh I forgot Rudiger somehow. I always saw him pretty solid in terms of pure defending. Hasn't he mostly played in a 3 mand defence? I think he is also worth being in the discussion. But I hate to rate defenders in a hipster formation of 3 man defence.

@Thimmy, I think it was Arq who absolutely dislikes that trait in VanDijk . VanDjik has over confidence in his own abilities and purposefully chooses to take the situation unfolding in front of him lightly. And exactly that is when you start appreciating the likes of Matips and Gomez who save his ass in those rare moments.

Helmer wrote:Ohhh I forgot Rudiger somehow. I always saw him pretty solid in terms of pure defending. Hasn't he mostly played in a 3 mand defence? I think he is also worth being in the discussion. But I hate to rate defenders in a hipster formation of 3 man defence.

@Thimmy, I think it was Arq who absolutely dislikes that trait in VanDijk . VanDjik has over confidence in his own abilities and purposefully chooses to take the situation unfolding in front of him lightly. And exactly that is when you start appreciating the likes of Matips and Gomez who save his ass in those rare moments.

Ah. Well, I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one who's observed that in him. It's definitely a rare flaw in an otherwise, largely flawless defender.

Here's the goal. I was looking at Van Dijk the entire time, and had anticipated that he would get to the ball before Haaland could fire a shot off, but he seemed to be caught ball-watching for a moment before he took action.

Casciavit wrote:Tomori

how good has he been?

It was weird he went from a favorite of Lampard to the doghouse.

He has it all; pace, athleticism, technical ability.

Honestly it is crazy the amount of talent that is coming out of Chelsea academy. We sold another CB for 30m, that never made a senior debut.

Blue wrote:

Casciavit wrote:Tomori

how good has he been?

It was weird he went from a favorite of Lampard to the doghouse.

He has it all; pace, athleticism, technical ability.

Honestly it is crazy the amount of talent that is coming out of Chelsea academy. We sold another CB for 30m, that never made a senior debut.

he's very solid for ac milan, he's pretty much untouchable to their defense line. He mostly plays cb, but has played full back for them.

In the begining the loan move to milan seemed good, but then realised that there was an obligation to buy him for 30 mil. I didnt get why chelsea did that, we let zouma go and tried to get another defender for 60+ mil (which didnt materialise)- when you had a home grown talent that was a beast. Anyway he will definately keep getting better, and feel he will go on to make a big money move to another big club in the future.

Blue wrote:

Casciavit wrote:Tomori

how good has he been?

It was weird he went from a favorite of Lampard to the doghouse.

He has it all; pace, athleticism, technical ability.

Honestly it is crazy the amount of talent that is coming out of Chelsea academy. We sold another CB for 30m, that never made a senior debut.

He's amazing. Just to give some context he benched Milan's captain. Not a captain who was 35 years old, but someone who is 26 years old and was expected to be a key CB for Milan and Italy.

Since Theo plays so high up the pitch we need a CB who has the athleticism to cover his side. So I had a feeling when he joined he'd be a good fit. However, even I was surprised by how much more he brought to the table.

He's aggressive, good technically, and isn't error prone. He's also a fighter who will put his body on the line for last ditch blocks. I've even seen him show some leadership characteristics recently. I think he'll develop into a very complete CB. Chelsea having the buy clause was the best thing that happened to Milan's defense.