Selecting just five of the best centre back duos in European football today had its difficulties, especially when both domestic and international partnerships are included. As this is a subjective topic, I'm sure many readers will voice their despair that the partnership of their favourite team hasn't been included, or, alternatively, one of the pairs simply aren't good enough to make the top five. So, first off, I'd like to apologise in advance if this is the case. This is merely my opinion and though there are some statistical data to back up certain points, subjectivity is really the key to picking a top five list of this nature. Before reading on, here are some reasons as to why I decided not to pick certain pairings to name just a few. Real Madrid (Varane/Ramos/Pepe) - quite simply, Madrid make too many mistakes and their defence has always looked vulnerable. Conceding 9 in 8 domestically is hardly a terrible record, but Real Madrid are better than that especially when considered that this includes Elche scoring one, and Villarreal and Levante each scoring two against the Galacticos. Barcelona (Pique/Puyol/Mascherano) - Pique is, in my opinion, one of the most overrated footballers around and any discussions including him in the "Top Defenders" list are referring to a very different version of Gerard. He was formidable a few years ago, but his form in the past two seasons has made the Spaniard seem a shadow of his former self. Puyol is on the downslope of his career and, at the age of 35 and on the back on a fair amount of injuries, we won't be seeing the fan favourite in a Barcelona kit for much longer. Mascherano is a decorated footballer but, in my opinion, not one of Europe's greatest. Manchester United (Ferdinand & Vidic) - on their day, there was no better centre-back duo in the world. In 2008. But now, they have both been hampered by injuries and have turned into little more than bit-part players as a result. It's now becoming a rare occurrence to see the duo play together, and this means they cannot be included in this list. The following article will look at the five greatest centre back pairings in European football, both domestic and internationally. If you have any objections to those featured, or feel that you have valid reasons for why x & x should be included, please voice them in the comments below. Click "next" to begin the slideshow.
