5 Best Left Backs in the World this season
Gone are the days where defenders were only meant to guard the fort and let the people ahead of them do the attacking. The beautiful game has evolved very fast to a very open, adventurous format, which requires teams to be a lot more flexible. As the game as developed, so have the roles and responsibilities within the team and the full backs have become increasingly important to their teams.
Even with all the advances in the modern game, there is still a dearth of good left footed footballers. As such, the role of the modern left back has been harder to fill now. A player is supposed to defend, aid his midfielders, press and then lunge forward to join the attack on every opportunity available. To do this for 90 minutes is not an easy task, especially with all the running and tracking involved.
Thankfully, there are still a few good men who have championed this position and its nuances. Today, we pick out the top performers among them and bring you the 5 best left backs in the world this season.
Also see : Women's World Cup 2019, Womens World Cup Schedule, Womens World Cup Standings
#5 Ferland Mendy (France, Lyon)
The Frenchman has been fantastic for Lyon this season, and is a regular feature in the first team of the Ligue 1 side. He is blessed with speed and is quite good on the ball, which has helped him become one of the best left backs in the world this season.
Mendy is defensively sound and does not dive into tackles on every occasion. The left back is good with his interceptions and likes initiating counter attacks by sending long balls to his forward line. He is extremely talented on the ball and like to dribble his way up the field.
The Frenchman is also a great passer of the ball and has around 1.4 key passes per game this season. It is in the attacking third that Mendy has gathered a lot of attention, he has already scored 3 goals and picked up 2 assists from 39 games in all competitions. His performance has ensured that a lot of club are keeping track of his development and Mendy, on current form, is the 5th best Left Back in the World this season.