Centre-backs don’t usually get the praise they deserve.
A defender could have an immense game and keep a clean sheet but more often than not it’s attackers that get the the plaudits.
That said, centre-backs aren’t totally overlooked and on ocassion are named Man-of-the-Match.
But which centre-backs have been given the most Man of the Match trophies since 2009?
Pop Foot have answered that question and named the 20 players in that position that have been been given the most Man of the Match awards.
View their findings below…
📊 Les défenseurs centraux avec le plus grand nombre de trophées d’homme du match depuis 2009 pic.twitter.com/D0hlVM1Krw
— PopFoot (@ThePopFoot) August 26, 2022
20. Benedikt Howedes – 12 (3.8% of games)
19. Jose Gimenez – 13 (5.4% of games)
18. Pepe – 14 (3.2% of games)
17. Simon Kjaer – 14 (3.4% of games)
16. Harry Maguire – 14 (5.2% of games)
15. Mehdi Benatia – 14 (6.3% of games)
14. Kalidou Koulibaly – 15 (3.5% of games)
13. Jan Vertonghen – 16 (4% of games)
12. Gary Cahill – 16 (4% of games)
11. Joel Matip – 18 (4.7% of games)
10. Francesco Acerbi – 18 (4.9% of games)
9. Sergio Ramos – 20 (4.1% of games)
8. Nicolas Otamendi – 22 (6.9% of games)
7. Virgil van Dijk – 22 (8% of games)
6. Mats Hummels – 26 (5.5% of games)
5. Laurent Koscielny – 26 (6.2% of games)
4. Giorgio Chiellini – 26 (6.2% of games)
3. Loic Perrin – 28 (9.2% of games)
2. Thiago Silva – 29 (6.2% of games)
1. Diego Godin – 34 (9.1% of games)
Godin, who was a stalwart for Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone, takes top spot with 34 Man of the Match trophies in the past 13 years.
Now 36, he is still going strong in Argentina with Vélez Sarsfield.
Chelsea’s Silva takes second, while Perrin takes third.
Perrin is perhaps a surprise inclusion. He played his whole career in France with Saint-Etienne and retired in 2020. He picked up the Man of the Match award in 9.2% of games since 2009, the highest ratio of any player on the list.
Liverpool’s Van Dijk takes seventh, two spots ahead of Ramos in 9th.
Ramos has played alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema at Real Madrid, and is now teammates of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at PSG, so it’s not totally surprising that he’s so far off top spot.
Maguire has been heavily criticised at Man United but his total of 14 Man of the Match awards is enough to take 14th.
Gerard Pique doesn’t make the list at all having won the Man-of-the-Match award 12 times since 2009.
QUIZ: At what club did these 40 players make their professional debut?
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