The best defender from each continent

Europe - Virgil Van Dijk (Netherlands and Liverpool)

Virgil Van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Dutch national team.

Since arriving from Southampton for a record-breaking fee which made him the most expensive defender of all-time, Virgil van Dijk has completely turned around the fortunes of Liverpool's back-line. He is a leader of men and his presence is of utmost importance especially for the Liverpool backline.

The towering (6 ft 4 in) defender is a smooth ball-playing defender who possesses aerial prowess, skills from dead ball situations, and also has very strong leadership qualities. It would not be wrong to say that the defender has single-handedly transformed the leaky defence of Liverpool football club ever since he moved to Liverpool from Southampton.

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South America - Diego Godin (Uruguay and Atlético Madrid)

Diego Godin

Diego Godín is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Uruguay national team as a central defender.

The 32-year-old is brave, alert and smart with his positioning. Technically speaking, in terms of his ability to bring the ball out from the back and play an intricate pass, Godin leaves a lot to be desired, but purely defensively, he’s probably the best player on the planet.

The Uruguayan has been the prime reason behind Atlético Madrid being able to challenge the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in both the Spanish League and Champions League.

He has also been won an impressive 122 caps for the Uruguayan team and has been the lynchpin behind Uruguay reaching at least the knockout stage of the previous three World Cups.