Top five defenders for Liverpool in Premier League history

One of the most decorated clubs in the history of English football, Liverpool has seen many strikers and defenders making a huge impact on the nature of football played in England. May it be a last-ditch tackle or the continuous pressing style, Liverpool has been one of the torchbearers of football. In recent years, Liverpool has cracked the code to excel in the league with the defenders. 

While Liverpool had their own share of poor defence in their banter era, they have given one of the most passionate footballers who could die for the club defending the goal. It was the blood, sweat and thunder that the players gave to make the Anfield into an impenetrable fortress.

Here is the list of the top five defenders for Liverpool in their Premier League history:

5. Jamie Carragher

Liverpool's die-hard fan and the player who aged like a fine wine, Jamie Carragher, was featured in the Merseyside outfit for 17 long years. Despite the exhaustion or the cramps, he never stopped running and always committed to the last-ditch tackle. People will still remember that night in Istanbul, where we dived for the last-ditch tackle.

Strikers did not like facing him because he was talented, just because he never stopped playing. As the years passed, he became the leader in the dressing room while demanding more from his teammates. The English international retired with 638 games under his belt for Liverpool, scoring three goals and 15 assists to his name.

4) Sami Hyypiä

If there were any player who was pure class and quotient of reliability, it was the Finnish defender, Sami Hyppia. He was signed for a fee of £2.6 million from Willem II, which went on to become a bargain buy for the club. Standing tall 6 feet 4 inches, the Finland international spent 10 years at the club and was one of the best duos in the Premier League for Liverpool, with him pairing alongside Jamie Carragher.

Featuring for Liverpool 318 times in the ten seasons of the Premier League, he was a great reader of the game who could thwart any danger without engaging in a physical battle. His aerial and passing ability were top-notch as he could not clear the ball out of danger, but he could also ping passes, which strikers could latch on to. 

3. Alan Hansen

Before the pundit's chair, Hansen revolutionized defending in the English game. This wasn't just some hard man clearing his lines - this was an artist who treated the ball like a precious gem. In an era when most defenders' idea of building from the back meant hoofing it into Row Z, Hansen would glide past forwards with the grace of a ballet dancer.

His reading of the game was supernatural - he didn't tackle much because he didn't need to, he was already there. Eight league titles don't lie. The modern ball-playing defender? Hansen wrote that blueprint at Anfield long before it became fashionable. Even now, old-timers at the Kop talk about how he made defending look effortless, like he was playing in slippers.

2. Virgil van Dijk

There was a huge disappointment by the fans of the club when money of £75 million was splurged on Virgil van Dijk by the Anfield outfit. However, the money looks like a bargain after the player has achievements over the club. An immense leadership attitude and a never-say-die attitude have caught the affection of the fans.

He is one of the few players who achieved the distinguished feat of going 50 Premier League games without being dribbled past in the Premier League. His crucial headers or the cross-field diagonals made the days for the fans who went to the stadium to watch him play. He can casually jog around the strikers and just slide in with a smile to take the ball away. An insane crowd puller has a Premier League and Champions League to his name in his stint with the club. 

1. Ron Yeats

The Scottish international, who made his debut with DUndee United but made Liverpool his home, Ron Yeats is one of the best defenders that Liverpool could ever have. He was the Bill Shankly's colossus, who changed the club's destiny when they were struggling. In his ten years at the club, he won six trophies, including two league titles and a FA Cup with Charity shields. The strikers used to be afraid of facing the player because they had to go through all the medical attention after playing a physical game. Ron Yeats was so good in the air with his heading capability that the teammates joke that the ball used to change direction to find his forehead.