Ballon d'Or: Ranking the 3 defenders to have won the award

While midfielders and forwards might get most of the adulation in football because they score goals and are tasked with making the game more aesthetically pleasing to watch, it can be argued that defenders are even more important.

It is in their role of keeping out opposition attackers that defenders contribute heavily to teams' successes. And it is undeniable that without them, a football team is incomplete.

Quality defenders make the jobs of their teammates much easier. While scoring goals might be important, it is equally essential to keep them out at the other end, as a leaky defense renders the job done by the attackers moot.

One needs only look at Liverpool and the incredible transformation that the arrival of Virgil van Dijk has had on their overall success.

Before his signing, the Reds impressed everyone with their exhilarating and buccaneering style of play, but they were always let down by a soft underbelly at the back. Contrast that with the strides they have made in the last 21 months, and the importance of quality defenders becomes apparent.

The Ballon d'Or is the highest individual honor a player can get, and a player's career can arguably not be described as legendary if he didn't win the accolade at least once. But owing to their less glamorous roles as opposed to midfielders and forwards, it comes as no major surprise that only a handful of defenders have won the illustrious award in its 64-year history.

With Van Dijk making a strong case for the 2019 Ballon d'Or, we rank the three defenders who have won the Ballon d'Or in the past.

#3 Matthias Sammer (1996)

Sammer won the Ballon d'Or with Borussia Dortmund

In a glittering career that lasted over two decades, Matthias Sammer distinguished himself as a bona fide legend of German football.

Bar a brief and unsuccessful one-year stint with Inter Milan in 1992, Sammer spent the rest of his career in Germany, representing clubs like Dynamo Dresden, VFB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund.

It was with the latter that he achieved mainstream prominence, captaining them to their first and to date only Champions League title in 1997.

Sammer had arrived at the club in the middle of the 1992-93 season, and he spent the rest of the season in his traditional holding midfield role.

However, at the start of the following campaign, he was converted to a libero (sweeper defender) by the legendary coach Omar Hitzfeld. This proved to be a masterstroke from the German tactician, as Sammer excelled in this new role and helped BVB to consecutive Bundesliga titles in 1995 and 1996.

On the international scene, Sammer initially represented East Germany, having been born in Dresden. He captained his nation in their final international fixture, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Belgium.

Following the unification of East and West Germany in the fall of 1990, Sammer was one of just a few East Germans who made the unified team (West Germany had traditionally been more successful and had better players).

His crowning moment with the German national team came in 1996 when, in his converted role at the center of defense, he played a starring role as Die Mannschaft won their third European title.

For his efforts, Sammer was named Player of the Tournament and later in the year beat Ronaldo de Lima to the Ballon d'Or.

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#2 Fabio Cannavaro (2006)

Cannavaro with his Ballon d'Or in 2006

Fabio Cannavaro is regularly mentioned among the greatest defenders of all time and among the best in the history of the Italian national team. That is indicative of how highly valued he is, considering that some of the most legendary defenders including Giacinto Facchetti, Gaetano Scirea, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Claudio Gentile, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli among others have represented the Azurri with distinction.

Cannavaro began his career with hometown club Napoli, and went on to represent some of Europe's biggest clubs including Juventus, Parma, Inter Milan and Real Madrid - winning numerous titles along the way.

The most defining moment of his career came in the summer of 2006 when he captained Italy to their fourth world title, defeating France on penalties in Germany.

Cannavaro was emphatic in that game, and earned the nickname 'Wall of Berlin' for his efforts at thwarting the fearsome French attack in the absence of his regular partner Alessandro Nesta, who was ruled out through injury.

Despite not being the tallest of center-backs; standing at just 5 ft 10', Cannavaro possessed incredible jump power that saw him become a decent asset in both boxes.

During extra-time of the semifinal fixture against Germany in the 2006 World Cup, Cannavaro won a header against the imposing Per Mertesacker and kick-started an attack that led to Italy scoring the match-winning goal.

Cannavaro was the marshal of an Italian defense that conceded just one goal from open play en-route their World Cup triumph. He played every single minute of the tournament but was not booked across his 690 minutes of action.

He was subsequently named the Silver Ball winner of the tournament and went one further by pipping Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry to the 2006 Ballon d'Or.

#1 Franz Beckenbauer (1972, 1976)

Beckenbauer won the Ballon d'Or on two occasions

Franz Beckenbauer was a true revolutionary of the game. Rather than be classified as one of the best defenders of all time, the German is regarded as one of the very best players in history.

In an era where defenders functioned primarily as man-markers and almost had no business with their team's attacking play, Beckenbauer reinvented what it meant to be a sweeper defender. His range and precision of passing played a key role in his teams' tactics.

In essence, Beckenbauer was the first to propagate that widely used term today; 'ball-playing center-back'. He set the template for future stalwarts like Gerard Pique, Leonardo Bonucci, Aymeric Laporte and Virgil van Dijk to follow.

In what was an extremely successful career, Beckenbauer won everything winnable in his time with Bayern Munich and West Germany including three consecutive European Cups, the World Cup and the European Championship.

In addition to his talent on the field, he also possessed exceptional leadership skills and was nicknamed 'Die Kaiser' (The Chief) in recognition of that.

Beckenbauer had numerous standout moments in his iconic career. The image of him wearing a sling after dislocating his shoulder in the 'game of the century' semifinal clash with Italy at the 1970 World Cup is one that would live forever.

He was appointed national team captain in 1971, and this preceded what was to become the most successful period in German football history. They won the 1972 Euro and 1974 World Cup while narrowly failing to defend their European title in the final in 1976.

With Pele and Eusebio defining football in the 1960s, Beckenbauer was the standout figure from the 1970s alongside Johan Cruyff. He scored over 100 career goals despite playing as a defender.

Beckenbauer won the Ballon d'Or on two occasions (1972 and 1976), while also finishing runner-up in 1974 and 1975 and third in 1966.