Top 10 greatest centre-backs in Premier League history

The English top flight has been blessed with some legendary options at the back.

After the rebranding of the English top flight into the Premier League in 1992, the English top flight has become a force to reckon with. It is the most popular league in the world and thus, creates the highest revenues. This high revenue means it attracts the best talents from all over the world and naturally, the league has seen some of the best to ever play the game ply their trade here.

Defense is an integral part of any good football team. As Sir Alex Ferguson once said, “Attack wins you matches, defense wins you titles”. Therefore in order for any team to dominate the game, a proper defensive setup is important. The Premier League has seen its fair share of world-class defenders. Here is a list of the top 10 defenders of the Premier League Era.

10. Gary Pallister

Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce formed the defensive pairing that was instrumental in Manchester United’s success in the league in the early 90s. Pallister spent the majority of his career at Old Trafford and Middlesbrough but most of his trophies came with the Red Devils. Pallister was part of Manchester United from 1989-1998. In that period, he won 4 league titles and 3 FA Cups among others. He also made a total of 211 appearances for Middlesbrough in two separate stints.

9. Jaap Stam

Jaap Stam’s run in the Premier League wasn’t very long. He only played three seasons in the Premier League but he won the league in all three seasons with Manchester United. He won the treble in his first season for the Red Devils. The Dutchman played a crucial part in all those wins. However, he was sold in the summer of 2001 after Sir Alex Ferguson believed there was a lapse in quality after his return from injury.  His stay in England, although short, was full of success.

8. Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce was a pivotal member of the Manchester United squad that dominated the league in the early 90s. Bruce, alongside Pallister, formed the foundations of United’s first three title wins in the Premier League era. The defender also had a knack of scoring goals at crucial moments. His late brace against Sheffield Wednesday to win United’s first title in over 25 years testifies to that.

7. Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany was the first player to be brought in after City’s big-money takeover. The Belgian international joined Manchester City in 2008 and turned out to be one of their finest investments. Kompany stayed at the Etihad for 12 years. During his stint with City, Kompany won four Premier League titles among other accolades. He made 265 appearances for the Cityzens in which he helped the team keep 96 clean sheets.

6. Ricardo Carvalho

When Mourinho first came to England to manage Chelsea, he brought Ricardo Carvalho along with him from Porto. Carvalho came to Chelsea on the back of a Champions League win and he continued his rhythm for his new club. The defender won 2 League titles back-to-back after arriving in England. Carvalho spent 6 years at Stamford Bridge, winning multiple league titles and along with John Terry, formed one of the most formidable defensive pairings the league has ever witnessed.

5. Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell started his career with Tottenham Hotspur and spent 9 years with Spurs. Despite that, he is not well-liked by the Spurs’ faithful. The reason – he joined bitter rivals Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 2001. Campbell was an exceptional centre-back. After joining Arsenal, he had the trophies to show for it. Campbell won back-to-back Premier League titles with Arsenal and was the destructor-in-chief in Arsenal’s defense during their ‘Invincibles’ season in 2003-04.

4. Nemanja Vidic

It was Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand who formed United’s defensive pairing in their record 14 consecutive clean sheets.  Vidic was a nightmare for opponent attackers because of his no-nonsense approach and his dominance in the air.

Despite a poor start to life in the Premier League – being deemed weak for the League – Vidic went on to dominate the top flight. The Serbian made 211 appearances for the Red Devils, keeping 95 clean sheets. In that time, Vidic won 5 Premier League titles and the Champions League. He’s regarded as one of the best-ever central defenders at Old Trafford.

3. Tony Adams

Mr. Arsenal aka Tony Adams spent 19 years at Arsenal – his entire footballing career. If this was rare, his defensive resoluteness was rarer. The former Arsenal and England captain won 4 league titles in three different decades, defining his longevity. He was what they call a ‘pure defender’, with a no-nonsense approach. His positioning and game-reading was top-notch. Adams played 255 times for the Gunners, helping them to 115 clean sheets.

2. Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand broke the British transfer record when he joined Manchester United for 30 million pounds back in 2001 from arch-rivals Leeds. Manchester United’s heavy investment in a defender paid off as Rio went on to win everything there was to win at club level for the Red Devils.

Ferdinand, along with the heavily-aggressive Vidic, formed one of the best defensive pairings witnessed in the history of the beautiful game. He won 14 trophies in total with Manchester United, including 6 Premier League trophies.  Ferdinand has also played for the likes of West Ham, Leeds and Queens Park Rangers during his time in the English top-flight.

1. John Terry

The defender who holds the top spot in this list is former Chelsea captain John Terry, arguably the greatest defender in Premier League history. He spent most of his career representing Chelsea. John Terry was named as UEFA Club Defender of the Year three times.

In his 19 years at Chelsea, John Terry made 492 appearances for the London club and kept an impressive 214 clean sheets. At Stamford Bridge, Terry won the Premier League title five times. He also has the Champions League and the FA Cup to his name.

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