5 defenders who have received the highest number of red cards

Whenever a player is sent off for a really nasty challenge on an opponent, commentators usually come up with the oft-repeated platitude of 'he is not that sort of player' and in many cases, it might well be true, since it might have been a case of poor decision making.

However, there are certain players who might be exactly that sort of player and have the tendency to lose their heads a bit too frequently.

They go in for rash tackles, give a piece of their mind to the referee, get into fights and are quite often complete nuisances. That being said, being sent off doesn't really daunt them much and they continue to walk the tightrope in games.

In this regard, defenders are the most likely candidates for red cards due to the nature of their role and over the years, there have been plenty of serial offenders. Here is a look at 5 defenders who got sent off most times in their careers.

#5 Pablo Alfaro

Alfaro received more than his fair share of red cards for his rough play

A Spanish central defender, Pablo played in La Liga for the entire duration of his career and in 18 years, he played for some of the biggest clubs in Spain.

He played for Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla during the course of his career but the defender's claim to fame does not originate from his considerable gifts as a defender but as someone who had a penchant of getting sent off quite frequently.

Alfaro was an excellent defender and could hold his own against most forwards, however, he had the tendency of going in for risky tackles and that made him one of the most infamous defenders in Spain.

His career lasted from 1989-2007 and during that period he picked up 18 red cards, which is the second highest in the history of the Spanish league and in addition to that, he had also been sent on 30 occasions.

#4 Paolo Montero

The Uruguayan defender was an expert in the take-no-prisoners style of defending

Back in the 1990s, only the best defenders had any chance of playing for the top clubs in Serie A and Uruguayan defender Paolo Montero was definitely one of them.

He played for Atalanta for 4 seasons before moving to Juventus where he played for 9 years;1996-2005.

Despite his obvious gifts as a central defender and a left back, Montero was an unforgiving tackler and by his own admission, he was prepared to do anything to ensure that his team won.

If a player had the ball and Montero thought that a clean tackle won't suffice then he would go through that player, irrespective of the potential damage such actions could do.

Needless to say, he got sent off plenty of times. In his entire career, he was shown a red card 21 times. It remains a record in the history of Serie A and it is unlikely that it is going to be broken anytime soon.

#3 "Alexis" Ruano Delgado

There were high hopes for Alexis when he started at Valencia, he never lived up to them

Another Spanish defender makes it to this rather dubious list in the form of Deportivo Alaves' central defender "Alexis" Ruano Delgado.

He is 32 years old now in the course of his career, he has played for some of Spain's storied clubs like Malaga, Sevilla, and Valencia.

However, his career has been characterized by temper tantrums that have often landed him in trouble with referees and in addition to that, he is also prone to making risky challenges.

Hence, it is not really a surprise that he figures so high on the list with a total of 22 red cards in his career at the top level and it is also one of the reasons why he could not graduate to playing for the biggest clubs.

#2 Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos for all his qualities has seen the red mist descend too often

He is among the best central defenders in Europe and certainly one of the greatest to have ever represented Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.

That being said, Ramos can be impetuous at times and in addition to superb tackles, he can sometimes put in a bad tackle or simply push opponents off the ball for no reason. His famous temper has gotten him into trouble many times over the years in his games for Sevilla and Los Merengues.

Ramos has gotten a red card 24 times in his career so far; the highest number of red cards in the history of La Liga.

Additionally, there is an argument that a particularly volatile clash can also induce him into making big mistakes and that is demonstrated in his record of 5 red cards in El Clasico.

#1 Gerardo Bedoya

Gerardo Bedoya of Colombia

There is no reason for most football fans to know much about the former Colombian defender but he holds the dubious record of having seen the highest number of red cards in professional football.

The central defender, who often doubled up as a defensive midfielder, played for a host of clubs in South America and also represented the Colombian national team 49 times.

Bedoya played for some of South America's biggest clubs including the likes of Boca Juniors and Deportivo Cali among others, but it was his tough tackling nature and the tendency to go into high-risk challenges that made him a walking red machine.

Bedoya's professional career spanned two decades (1995-2015) and over the period he was shown the red card a record 42 times. It will probably stay as a record for many years to come.