Best defenders of all time

Defenders come in all different shapes and sizes.

There are those who aim to dazzle with their elegance, those content with fulfilling the ‘meathead’ stereotype and others who just want to have some fun in the opposition box.

The wondrous evolution in football tactics means mere ability isn’t the only thing to take into account when ranking the best defenders in the world.

Here’s 90min’s list of the 25 greatest defenders ever.

The bohemian Paul Breitner was a stylish operator on and off the pitch, with his strong political ideals seeing him garner quite the reputation in his homeland.

The German lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1974 and enjoyed perpetual success with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid – a move which seemed to compromise his leftist values given the Spanish club’s links with General Franco.

Breitner was the best left-back of his day and finished second in Ballon d’Or voting in 1981.

You know him better as the pundit who said ‘you can’t win anything with kids’ alongside other interesting takes on Match of the Day over the years, but back in the 80s, Alan Hansen was one of the best central defenders in the world.

As Liverpool’s main man at the heart of their defence, Hansen won eight league titles and three European Cups at Anfield.

Forwards around the world were terrified of Jaap Stam in his pomp.

The Dutch legend looked like he’d been forged by dwarves in Nidavellir but was somehow mobile enough to keep pace with the very best strikers in the game. In other words, Stam was a physical freak.

Now merely known as the manager who oversaw Spain’s disastrous 1982 World Cup by the majority of people, Jose Santamaria’s illustrious playing career has been sort of forgotten.

And that’s a real shame because, well, it was a pretty damn good playing career.

11 league titles, one domestic cup, one Intercontinental Cup and four (yes, four) European Cups. Big time.

While Laurent Blanc was the leader and brains of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning defence, Marcel Desailly was the muscle. Blanc himself made that clear.

He…