Football

Whenever we see a football match we always tend to remember the name of the player who scored the goal. We never remember the performance placed by the defenders who helped them in keeping a clean sheet. The most successful teams ever witnessed in the history of football are one who had strong, mighty and skillful defenders. Defenders have always turned out to be the unsung heroes of a match.

Many teams nowadays doesn’t realize the importance of having a strong defense and tend to build up a strong attacking line up by consistently spending on forwards and offensive midfielder. If defenders where really not that important in the modern form of football then why players like Franco Baresi, Maldini, Roberto Carlos are considered to be the legends of the game.

If Barcelona has grew up so high in recent times then it’s not just because of the likes of Messi, Villa, Iniesta and Xavi playing upfront but it’s because of a strong back 4 lineup and an excellent shot stopper. The Presence of Carlos Puyol one of the best Center Back is the major reasons for their recent success. Even if people still argue that the attacking players are more important than defensive players then example of A.C. Milan’s invincible side in 1994 would be enough to justify the statement. A.C. Milan had an unprecedented 58-match run with no defeats the invincible team had the likes of Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini of the best defenders in the history. The defense which they had is up-to-date not matched by anybody.

The most successful teams had a strong defense and there are many examples like Manchester United team who won the Champions League in 2008 produced some fine displays from the defensive Duo of Ferdinand and Vidic. This two were the pioneers in their success and hence managed to defeat Barcelona in the Semi Finals. The role of defenders was once again evident with the success of Inter Milan last season, a 10 man Inter side held on to win against the mighty Barcelona and sailed their way to finals. The outstanding defensive display by Lucio and Samuel where the major reason behind their success last season. The Invincible Arsenal side in 2003-04 season had a strong defensive line up with likes of Toure, Ashley Cole, and Campbell. This was one of the major reason behind there undefeated runs.

If we take examples of teams like Real Madrid and Manchester City who works on the policy of scoring more goals than their opponents it has failed as they remained cup less. These teams are examples which justify that defense are equally important in football.

The most expensive British player till this season was Rio Ferdinand and now it is replaced by Andy Carroll. John terry was one of the highest paid British footballers. The captains of the major teams are even the defenders for E.g.: Vidic (Man United), Terry (Chelsea), Puyol (Barcelona), Lucio (Inter Milan), Dawson (Totenham), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich).

In fact a Striker can score a goal solely with his personal skills and can even afford to miss his concentration in a few occasions.  But a defender has to carry his team along with him and a slight lack of concentration will be punished and can turn out to be a catastrophe.

So always give proper credit to the unsung heroes of the team and start recognizing the fact that “best defense is a good offence”.

Tags: Defenders, Defense, Emerging Players Tournament, Football, Franco Baresi, Maldini, Match, Player, Roberto Carlos