Football Team of the Decade: Centre Back – Part 1
In part 1, Bettor.com will look at the three classiest Centre Backs from the last decade. These centre backs made the art of defending look easy. In Part 2 we will pick a more robust and all action Centre Back, to make an ideal
pairing at the back.
Rio Ferdinand:
The Manchester United Centre Back certainly is pleasing to look at. His composure and ability to read games is what has set him apart from his competitors though.
Early in his career at West Ham, Rio impressed in his last season at the club, winning “Hammer of the year” award. His performances led to a record breaking, 18 million pounds, transfer to Leeds United in 2000. In 2001 Rio was
made the captain of the Yorkshire club.
Rio was again on the move when he transferred to arch-rivals Manchester United to become the most expensive defender. Manchester broke the British record transfer fee when they paid 31 million pounds to Leeds United.
Ferdinand has shown remarkable consistency over the past decade and has made the Premier League team of the year on 5 occasions.
Ferdinand has been struggling with injuries of late and missed the 2010 World cup due to an injury after he was made the captain of the English National team.
Rio Ferdinand has been a rock at the back for Manchester United for 8 years now and it has been hard to look beyond him when searching for a real classy Centre Back.
Sami Hyppia:
Sami was probably the best at reading the game. He knew what was happening around him, His towering presence at the heart of Liverpool's defense has been so crucial for Liverpool during the last decade.
Hyppia, a Finnish International, failed to make it to the big stage at the International level. He however, has been lauded as the most consistent defender of the last decade. Sami Hyppia was instrumental in Liverpool’s treble
winning season in 2001 and in their successful Champions League campaign in 2005. He was the captain of the club between 2001 and 2003 before Steven Gerrard took over the captains’ armband.
He has been named Finish Player of the year on no less than 7 occasions in the past decade. Sami left Liverpool for regular first team football at the end of 2008/09 season, after 10 glorious years at the club.
In a public poll he was voted as the best Central Defender of the last decade. Sami, did not win loads of trophies, but performed every time he stepped on a football pitch and one could see his class as his performance would mostly
be a cut above the rest.
A true Liverpool Legend and one of the best readers of the game, Sami Hyppia will always be lauded as the smartest defender of all times.
Alessandro Nesta:
The Italian legend, considered by many to be the greatest centre back to have ever played the game, has been a part of the UEFA team of the year 4 times between 2002 and 2007.
Nesta grew up in Rome and started his career in the youth ranks of Lazio. He made a steady progress into the first team and at the age of 21 became the captain of the team in 1997. However in 2002/03 Lazio’s financial woes forced
them to sell their prized asset, to AC Milan, for a reported 30 million Euros.
Nesta has since then been the rock of Milan defense and his performances earned him the reputation of the most difficult defender to play against. His toughness and tactical awareness made him one of the best defenders in the world.
Nesta was central to Italy’s World cup triumph in 2006, although Fabio Cannavaro played the best football of his career in that tournament, Nesta, though unspectacular, put in solid performances throughout the tournament.
The Italian has faced some fitness problems over the last three seasons, but when fit and in form there isn’t a striker who would fancy playing against him. He simply was the Best defender of the previous decade, let alone a centre
back.
Verdict: Centre Back of the decade (Right side): Alessandro Nesta
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