- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1987–2006
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 75.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 58.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 92.0
GOAT Rank · 75
Greatest Football Defenders of all time
This ranking is led by Joy Fawcett, Antonio Cabrini and Marcelo Vieira. GOAT Rank currently ranks 75 eligible Football defenders using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Joy Fawcett ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 89.6.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2012–active
- Country
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 70.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2005–2022
- Country
- 🇷🇸 Serbia
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2003–2023
- Country
- 🇺🇾 Uruguay
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 70.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1976–1990
- Country
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1993–2007
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 85.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1999–2014
- Country
- 🇧🇪 Belgium
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2006–active
- Country
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 85.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1974–1990
- Country
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 76.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 80.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 85.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1990–2008
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 70.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇺🇾 Uruguay
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 70.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1986–2005
- Country
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- Peak
- 76.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 75.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 65.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2020–active
- Country
- 🇭🇷 Croatia
- Peak
- 85.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 65.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1981–1997
- Country
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 75.0
- Statistics
- 70.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1993–2010
- Country
- 🇭🇷 Croatia
- Peak
- 75.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 68.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2016–active
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 72.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 75.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 68.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2016–active
- Country
- 🇰🇷 South Korea
- Peak
- 75.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 72.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2001–2013
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 68.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2008–2020
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 78.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 70.0
- Honours
- 75.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 2020–active
- Country
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- Peak
- 75.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 60.0
- Honours
- 65.0
- Longevity
- 50.0
- Sport
- Football
- Career
- 1962–1978
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 26.0
- Dominance
- 24.0
- Statistics
- 28.0
- Honours
- 18.0
- Longevity
- 52.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 549 | Alessandro Costacurta | Football | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1987–2006 | 79.6 |
| 562 | Marquinhos | Football | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2012–active | 79.1 |
| 569 | Aleksandar Kolarov | Football | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 2005–2022 | 78.8 |
| 573 | Diego Godín | Football | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 2003–2023 | 78.7 |
| 574 | João Cancelo | Football | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2013–active | 78.7 |
| 578 | Andoni Goikoetxea | Football | 🇪🇸 Spain | 1976–1990 | 78.4 |
| 579 | Vincent Candela | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 1993–2007 | 78.4 |
| 590 | Daniel Van Buyten | Football | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 1999–2014 | 77.8 |
| 592 | David Luiz Moreira Marinho | Football | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2006–active | 77.7 |
| 596 | Bruno Pezzey | Football | 🇦🇹 Austria | 1974–1990 | 77.6 |
| 603 | Benjamin Pavard | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 2015–active | 77.3 |
| 612 | Christian Wörns | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1990–2008 | 76.3 |
| 613 | José María Giménez | Football | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 2013–active | 76.3 |
| 616 | Viktor Onopko | Football | 🇷🇺 Russia | 1986–2005 | 76.1 |
| 619 | William Saliba | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 2019–active | 75.8 |
| 620 | Joško Gvardiol | Football | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 2020–active | 75.6 |
| 621 | Oleh Volodymyrovych Kuznetsov | Football | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 1981–1997 | 75.5 |
| 626 | Dario Šimić | Football | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 1993–2010 | 75.1 |
| 628 | Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano | Football | 🇫🇷 France | 2016–active | 74.9 |
| 631 | Denzel Justus Morris Dumfries | Football | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 2015–active | 74.5 |
| 640 | Kim Min-jae | Football | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 2016–active | 73.0 |
| 641 | Christoph Metzelder | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 2001–2013 | 72.8 |
| 644 | Benedikt Höwedes | Football | 🇩🇪 Germany | 2008–2020 | 72.6 |
| 653 | Nuno Alexandre Tavares Mendes | Football | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 2020–active | 64.5 |
| 670 | Krister Kristensson | Football | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 1962–1978 | 29.4 |
Compare the leaders
Joy Fawcett vs Antonio CabriniRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.
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