They pass when they want - Europe’s best ball-playing centre-backs

Being a central-defender in the modern game might not seem any different from yonder year, but the reality is that the position continues to morph and change as the game does. Nowadays—in contrast to previous generations—central defenders are required to be as much of a ball-player and distributor as they are an enforcer, with the possession-based systems of teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich creating a number of strong, ball-playing, centre backs.

So who are the best ball-playing central defenders across Europe? Read on to see the centre-backs who have completed the most passes.

Andrea Barzagli, Juventus, 546 Successful Passes

Andrea Barzagali begins kicks-off our list, the Juve man has completed 546 passes, with a pass accuracy of 91 per cent. The Italian has also won an impressive 67% of his tackles.

Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid, 557 Successful Passes

One of the biggest reasons behind Real Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona last weekend in El Clasico was the removal of Sergio Ramos from Madrid’s back-line. Ramos has completed over 500 total passes in his nine appearances for Los Blancos this year with an average completion rate of 90 percent.

Perhaps even more remarkable is that he’s done this without compromising the quick, counter-attacking nature of Madrid which sees him play a number of long-balls, with his average pass length standing at 22m. He might not create the same number of goalscoring chances as other defenders (having made just four key passes) all season, but his completion rate in light of how many long passes he makes is simply unrivaled across La Liga.

Dante, Bayern Munich, 582 Successful Passes

Two more team-mates round off our list here, with Dante the first central defender to benefit from Pep Guardiola’s possession-based attack at Bayern Munich—chalking up close to 600 completed passes this season at a completion rate above 90 percent.

What’s most impressive from Dante’s point of view is that over 80 percent of his passes have traveled forwards this season—showing that he’s doing more than simply knocking the ball about sideways and (albeit unintentionally) boosting his numbers.

Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus, 592 Successful Passes

Juventus might not be quite the dominant force in Italy that they were last season, but as we’ll see in this list, their centre-backs are still some of the most technically sound players in the league.

Chiellini is an active part of the Old Lady’s system—completing close to 600 passes in Serie A this year at a strong completion rate of 91 percent. His most recent showing against Catania (where his only two incompletions were attempted long-balls into the box) showed just how prolific the 29-year-old is in terms of possession, close control and passing technique.

Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich, 602 Successful Passes

But the greatest ball-playing centre back this season is none other than Dante’s team-mate, Jerome Boateng, who has completed a staggering 606 total passes in the Bundesliga despite chalking up the team’s longest average pass length (excluding Manuel Neuer, of course).

His completion rate might not be as high as others (though still an impressive 89 percent), but what stands him out is the attacking threat that he provides from such a deep position—creating five goal-scoring opportunities from centre-back.