Ranking the 5 most underrated defenders of the 21st century
The modern day defender is a celebrated and all-round technically capable figure. The likes of Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, John Terry, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Maldini, Giorgio Chiellini and Dani Alves frequently feature in most people's list of all-time greats.
Several other defenders, however, have fallen under the radar. They deserve far more credit and praise, either as innovators or as consistently reliable performers, forming the backbone of their team.
With that in mind, here are five of the 21st century's most underrated defenders:
#5 John Arne Riise
Liverpool's excellence in the full-back position is regarded as one of the key aspects of their recent success. The array of assists from set pieces and crosses seem like a luxury from "defenders". However, one man set the tone for Liverpool in the full-back position during the early aughts.
Signed in 2001 for a mere £4m, John Arne Riise made 348 appearances over a seven-year career at the club. He helped them win a European Super Cup, two Community Shields, a League Cup, an FA Cup and the Champions League.
Nobody could strike a ball like John Arne Riise 🚀
https://t.co/Q18SDD1a7T
The rocket-propelled free-kicks and crosses of John Arne Riise were some of Anfield's biggest attractions, as the red-headed Norwegian transformed into a Liverpool cult hero. Playing a marauding full-back, he was such an attacking threat that managers Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez to even push him up to left-back.
He went on to have a successful career at AS Roma and Fulham in the top leagues of Europe. That was followed by forays into Greece, with APOEL, and Indian Super League, with Delhi Dynamos and Chennaiyin FC.
#4 Daniel Van Buyten
Belgian Daniel van Buyten, the six-feet-five-inches-tall defensive stalwart spent close to eight years at Bayern Munich, making the team sheet regulary even at the twilight of his career.
Van Buyten's senior career began at Charleroi in 1998. After spending two years with Standard Liege, he signed for Marseille in 2001. He even had a spell with Manchester City on loan in 2004.
It was in 2006 that he made the biggest move of his career, joining Bayern Munich and instantly forming an iconic centre-back partnership with Brazilian Lucio. Across his eight years in Munich, he won the German championship four times and the German Cup five times, He also won Champions League in 2013 as part of a famous treble-winning side.
In a testament to his ability and mental fortitude to keep up with the increasing tempo of modern football, van Buyten was 35 when he played against Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona in the Champions League. Not to mention he was a prolific goalscoring threat with an outstanding 72 goals in his career.
On the national team front, he was the first talisman of Belgium's "golden generation" and earned over 84 caps. That included a run at the 2014 World Cup, losing at the quarter-final stage to eventual finalists Argentina.