Who has the best centre-back partnership in Europe…
CaughtOffside ranks the five best centre-back partnerships in Europe following the 2014-15 transfer window. Read through the pages and see if you agree with our choices:
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5) Vincent Kompany & Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City)
The Manchester City skipper is already considered one of the best defenders in world football, and this summer the club spent big to sign the Belgian a suitable, world class partner. Although the pair are yet to play together, there is little to suggest than Mangala will not fit perfectly into his new team. He is a French international, but like Kompany he began his career in Belgium. At just 23 he is still continuing to improve, and yet he was already looked upon as a leader by former club Porto.
4) Jeremy Mathieu & Gerard Pique (Barcelona)
Barcelona have somewhat struggled defensively over the last year or so, with their trouble mainly down to the retirement of Carles Puyol. The Catalans realised their issue this summer, and brought in both Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen as potential partners for Gerard Pique, who more than anyone in the Barca back-line will be hoping to rediscover his best form this year. He should have a decent chance of doing so with a recognised centre-half back alongside him, especially someone of the calibre of former Valencia man Mathieu.
3) Thiago Silva & David Luiz (Paris Saint Germain)
Yes, we do remember that David Luiz was part of the Brazil team stuffed 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-final. But crucially, Thiago Silva was not – and these two work well together, as they showed during the Confederations Cup in 2013, and many other international occasions. PSG undoubtedly overspend to sign Luiz from Chelsea, but while he can be frustratingly unreliable at times, he can also be undeniably brilliant. Especially playing in the French league, these two should be extremely dominant.
2) John Terry & Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
It’s such a shame that these two were never able to join forces in England shirts. While Terry is now in the twilight years of his career, he has proved that he is still more than capable at Premier League level, while Cahill continues to improve and impress for club and country. There is a very obvious reason that Chelsea have conceded so few goals in recent years, and that reason is Terry and Cahill, who are the most efficient and reliable centre back pairing in England. Neither player misses many games through injury, while they were both undoubtedly be two of the first names on Jose Mourinho’s team-sheet.
1) Mats Hummels & Neven Suboti? (Borussia Dortmund)
There is little than can get past the German World Cup winner and his fearsome Serbian partner, who were the key components in Dortmund’s Bundesliga success and run to the Champions League final two years ago. Last season, Subotic struggled with injuries, and Dortmund’s form subsequently dropped. Hummels is looked upon as one of the best defenders in the world, and attracted a high amount of interest from clubs such as Manchester United and Barcelona this summer. Dortmund also have a decent back-up player in Sokratis Papastathopoulos, but they are near unbeatable when their first-choice pairing come together.
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