Jamie Carragher has set himself a very difficult task.
Carragher has compiled a list of the 10 best central defenders of the Premier League era.
While the standard of defending in England’s top flight appears to have declined in recent years, the division has had some incredible central defenders over the past twenty years.
Of course, not everyone will agree with Carragher’s list, but his number one is a pretty solid choice.
In his column for the Daily Mail, Carragher chose John Terry as the best defender of the Premier League era.
“My type of defender, someone who would put his body in front of anything to stop a goal,” Carragher writes about Terry.
“It should not be forgotten, though, what a great footballer he is and I know from playing alongside him how effortlessly he could ping a 60-yard pass with his left foot.”
Carragher also references Terry’s incredible career statistics.
The Chelsea captain, who will leave the club at the end of the season, won 16 trophies with the Stamford Bridge side. He was also named in five consecutive FIFPro World XI selections, and kept 214 Premier League clean sheets.
Terry might not be a popular figure among football fans, but there’s no denying he’s been a brilliant defender.
Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams is second on Carragher’s list.
Carragher puts Terry ahead of Adams because the Chelsea defender is “better with the ball.”
Rio Ferdinand is third. Carragher calls the former Manchester United defender “the best footballing central defender” on the list, and says he had the skill to be a central midfielder.
Here’s Carragher’s list in full.
We would have ranked Jaap Stam higher, but the former Liverpool defender played against or alongside most of these players, so he’s in a privileged position to judge.
Unsurprisingly, Jean Alain Boumsong doesn’t make the list.
- John Terry
- Tony Adams
- Rio Ferdinand
- Vincent Kompany
- Ricardo Carvalho
- Nemanja Vidic
- Jaap Stam
- Sol Campbell
- Marcel Desailly
- Sami Hyypia
