Since its inception in 1992, some truly world class players have graced the Premier League; the likes of Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and many, many more have given us moments of euphoria, and immense thrill.
While these glamour and flair players play a part in what we love about the beautiful game, that’s exactly what they are; a part. As the popular saying goes, “Offense wins you games, defence wins you championships.”
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We have been lucky enough to witness some incredible defensive masterminds in the league; Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, John Terry (still going from strength to strength), Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell, all demonstrated that defenders could be stars equally important as their flashier counterparts.
Of course, not every defender that makes it to a Premier League team makes it big. Over the course of its history, the EPL has seen its fair share of woeful defenders. Many of them commanded big fees after putting in some world-beating performances in an international tournament or being excellent in another league but failed to kick on after their big money move.
Here we take a look what we feel are the 5 worst defenders to ever set foot on the field for a Premier League club. These players may not have been necessarily bad all the time, but their performances were consistently sub-par compared to their peers.
#5 Jean-Alain Boumsong (Newcastle United)
Boumsong joined Newcastle United after proving himself as a very capable centre-back in the French league with Auxerre and then with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. The Frenchman seemed to be the real deal, with Graeme Souness splashing £8 million to bring him to Tyneside on a five and a half year deal.
At his previous clubs, he had demonstrated speed, strength and defensive nous; yet all 3 failed him spectacularly in the English top division. Rangers must have been laughing all the way to the bank with the sum they had managed to pocket on the defender.
He departed to Serie B to join Juventus after their relegation following the Calciopoli scandal.
A victim of his own inability to fulfil his potential, he will go down as one of the most inconsistent and poor defenders in Newcastle’s history.
#4 Marco Materazzi (Everton)
A surprising inclusion in this list for many, Materazzi is usually best remembered for being a hard-tackling, tough-talking, no-nonsense type of defender during his stint with Inter Milan; and of course for being headbutted by Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final.
Materazzi has an extensive list of honours to his name with Inter; 5 Serie A’s, 4 Coppa Italia, 4 Supercopa Italiana, a UEFA Champions League and a FIFA Club World Cup. So, it seems incredibly unlikely that he should be anywhere near this list, right?
But his time in the Premier League with Everton was less than pleasant, with the defender picking up the habit of hacking down players and being poor at anything to do with defending. A consequence of which being that he was sent off three times in just 27 appearances for the Toffees.
Everton decided that they had enough after just one season, selling him to Serie A side Perugia Calcio, where he broke the record for highest number of goals by a defender in a league season, with 12.
As many Indian fans will know (with the Kerala Blasters fans’ protest fresh in mind), he now manages Chennayin FC in the Indian Super League, guiding them to the title the previous season.
#3 Djimi Traore (Liverpool)
Traore joined Liverpool as a 19-year-old in 1999, from his hometown club of Laval. He spent a majority of 7 uninspiring seasons on the bench, almost leaving them for their Merseyside neighbours Everton, further straining an already broken relationship with the fans.
Positionally poor and toothless in attack, he had done little to warrant a place in the squad. Things got worse for the defender when he scored an owl goal that saw Liverpool eliminated by Burnley in the 2004-05 FA Cup.
Incredulously he found himself in the starting lineup for one of the greatest football matches in living memory; the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan. Of course, he immediately conceded a free-kick that lead to Maldini’s goal in the opening minute.
Though he did redeem himself later on with a goal-line clearance to thwart a certain goal by Andriy Shevchenko and collected a Champions League medal in the process, his time at Liverpool was well and truly up; replaced by John Arne Riise.
His stints at Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic were insipid too, with his one season in the Valley leading to their relegation from the Premiership.
After spending one season with MLS side Seattle Sounders, he retired from the game in 2014.
#2 Roque Junior (Leeds United)
Roque Junior joined Leeds United in 2003, after a season that saw them finish 15th in the Premier League standings. The cracks were beginning to show, but the Leeds hierarchy decided that the only way they could regain their status as a top club was to make a few marquee signings.
The club had already acquired an unwanted reputation of throwing away cash; but who better to throw it at than a defender who had won the World Cup with the Selecao and the Champions League with AC Milan?
Joining initially on loan, everything seemed to go wrong for the defender to the horror of the Elland Road faithful. They had somehow managed to sign a defender who couldn’t defend to save his life.
After all the hype, he managed to make only five appearances throughout the season, and none of them painted him in a flattering light. In those five appearances, he was sent off in his debut and was part of a defence that conceded 24 goals.
Leeds didn’t take the bait to sign him on a permanent deal and after further seasons in obscurity with a bunch of other clubs, the Brazilian retired from the game after the 2010 season.
#1 Pascal Cygan (Arsenal)
Arsene Wenger signed Pascal Cygan in 2002 after the defender had spent eight fruitful years with French side Lille. Expected to bring defensive depth to an Arsenal side looking to compete on all fronts, Cygan’s time with the North London side can be best summed up as a disappointment.
Though opposition fans usually make up catchy limericks to insult players, the Arsenal fans themselves had a catchy tune for Pascal Cygan that went along the lines of “He’s bald, he s***, he plays when no one’s fit, Cygan!”
The strange thing is that Arsenal won the league and went on the Invincible run with Cygan in their roster. He wasn’t terrible, in fact in the 2006 season they won 12 of the 20 matches he featured in, keeping 11 clean sheets.
However, it always looked like he was one step away from catastrophe; constantly looking uncomfortable on the ball and often caught out of position.
Though he initially played well, it speaks volumes that he was behind the likes of Philippe Senderos and Johan Djourou in the pecking order and Arsenal fans probably didn’t shed a tear when he left them for Villarreal at the end of the 2005/06 season.
