Do defenders play in home leagues more often?

[WayneRooneyIsFat]

I was thinking about this today:

EPL:
Best defenders: Ferdinand, Campbell, Cole, Terry
Best strikers: Henry, van Nistelrooy

Serie A:
Best defenders: Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini
Best strikers: Shevchenko, Adriano, Ibrahimovic

La Liga:
Best defenders: Puyol, ?
Best strikers: Eto'o, Ronaldo

Now, I realize you can poke all kinds of holes in these lists: you can argue Ferdinand is overrated, you can name Belletti and Roberto Carlos in Spain, etc. I won't argue these points. But it seems that, in general, the best defenders in the world are more likely to stay home than the best strikers. Do you agree, or am I totally off base?

[King Rooney]

I was thinking about this today:

EPL:
Best defenders: Ferdinand, Campbell, Cole, Terry
Best strikers: Henry, van Nistelrooy

Serie A:
Best defenders: Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini
Best strikers: Shevchenko, Adriano, Ibrahimovic

La Liga:
Best defenders: Puyol, ?
Best strikers: Eto'o, Ronaldo

Now, I realize you can poke all kinds of holes in these lists: you can argue Ferdinand is overrated, you can name Belletti and Roberto Carlos in Spain, etc. I won't argue these points. But it seems that, in general, the best defenders in the world are more likely to stay home than the best strikers. Do you agree, or am I totally off base?
IF it is true its purely because teams don't want to spend so much money on a player that may not fit in the country or league and especially if its a defender the manager would get alot of criticism.

[Cassano]

It's not true that the best strikers leave. Because with the 3 leagues you named, the best Italian, English, and Spanish strikers generally stay in their respective leagues. It's usually good strikers that do not have a good league in their country who come to the Prem, Serie A, and La Liga...

[laudrup]

I don't want to sound patronizing, but anyone can play right back, and anyone who's 190 - 85 kg can play centre back these days. Managers seem to believe that these positions don't make much of a difference, so they go with the easy and cheap and save resources for other positions in the team. For example, Real Madrid has Pavon and Bravo who are homegrown, Barca has Puyol and Oleguer, ManU has the Nevilles...

If you're gonna risk bringing a player from outside (this is always a risk, pending adaptation), you'd do it when bringing him is potentially going to get you great rewards (Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Henry...). A good central defender, or right back, won't win you a championship, but a bad one will screw you up big time

[Spartak]

I don't want to sound patronizing, but anyone can play right back, and anyone who's 190 - 85 kg can play centre back these days. Managers seem to believe that these positions don't make much of a difference, so they go with the easy and cheap and save resources for other positions in the team. For example, Real Madrid has Pavon and Bravo who are homegrown, Barca has Puyol and Oleguer, ManU has the Nevilles...

If you're gonna risk bringing a player from outside (this is always a risk, pending adaptation), you'd do it when bringing him is potentially going to get you great rewards (Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Henry...). A good central defender, or right back, won't win you a championship, but a bad one will screw you up big time
I disagree. Since Milan bought Nesta they have won the CL, Coppa Italia, and the Scudetto in two years time. And you could add another CL and Scudetto depending on what happends in the next two weeks. Alesandro Nesta is the single biggest reason Milan have won these titles. There is no player who is more important than Nesta on Milan. The results speak for themselves.

[laudrup]

I disagree. Since Milan bought Nesta they have won the CL, Coppa Italia, and the Scudetto in two years time. And you could add another CL and Scudetto depending on what happends in the next two weeks. Alesandro Nesta is the single biggest reason Milan have won these titles. There is no player who is more important than Nesta on Milan. The results speak for themselves.

I think that the big change in Milan was giving Pirlo the handle, and building the best midifield I have seen in a while with Gattuso and Seedorf helping him. Nesta was transferred the same year that Milan underwent a major team and tactics reconstruction, so saying Nesta alone is responsible for Milan's good fortunes is a bit short-sighted.

I'll admit I have seen a limited number of Milan games in the past two years (although I did wacth all of Italy's games in Euro 2004), and Nesta has seemed shakier than he used to be, certainly more than either Maldini or Cannavaro.

I can see how he's better than the alternatives of Simic or Costacurta (ACM) or Ferrari and Legrottaglie (Italy), but whenever people think of Milan's success, I think the average fan thinks Shevchenko and the more knowledgeable fans say Pirlo, but you're the first I have seen defending Nesta so far.

[Spartak]

I think that the big change in Milan was giving Pirlo the handle, and building the best midifield I have seen in a while with Gattuso and Seedorf helping him. Nesta was transferred the same year that Milan underwent a major team and tactics reconstruction, so saying Nesta alone is responsible for Milan's good fortunes is a bit short-sighted.

I'll admit I have seen a limited number of Milan games in the past two years (although I did wacth all of Italy's games in Euro 2004), and Nesta has seemed shakier than he used to be, certainly more than either Maldini or Cannavaro.

I can see how he's better than the alternatives of Simic or Costacurta (ACM) or Ferrari and Legrottaglie (Italy), but whenever people think of Milan's success, I think the average fan thinks Shevchenko and the more knowledgeable fans say Pirlo, but you're the first I have seen defending Nesta so far.
I don't know which Milan fan's you have been talking to :confused: Here are the facts: Pirlo and Sheva were on Milan the year before Nesta came. I love Sheva but in his first three years at Milan we won nothing. Pirlo came during Sheva's fourth year and we barely finished 4th in Serie A. Granted Pirlo didn't play much his first year at Milan but he was still there. In the years prior to Nesta arriving our defense was awful. Maldini was looking past his prime and it showed in Korea in the summer. Milan squeeked by mighty powerhouse Slovan Liberec in the CL qualifying stage. Silvio Berlusconi saw that Milan needed help and he broke the bank to get Nesta to Milan. And as soon as Nesta arrived Milan were a new team with new confidence. Maldini was especially helped by Nesta's arrival. He looked like a new player with Nesta beside him. Milan went from barely squeeking past Slovan Liberec(w/o Nesta) to winning the CL final in the same year(with Nesta). At the end of the year all the accolades went to Maldini but all true Rossoneri know that Nesta was the main man responsible for Milan's success.

[Regency]

I think that the big change in Milan was giving Pirlo the handle, and building the best midifield I have seen in a while with Gattuso and Seedorf helping him. Nesta was transferred the same year that Milan underwent a major team and tactics reconstruction, so saying Nesta alone is responsible for Milan's good fortunes is a bit short-sighted.

I'll admit I have seen a limited number of Milan games in the past two years (although I did wacth all of Italy's games in Euro 2004), and Nesta has seemed shakier than he used to be, certainly more than either Maldini or Cannavaro.

I can see how he's better than the alternatives of Simic or Costacurta (ACM) or Ferrari and Legrottaglie (Italy), but whenever people think of Milan's success, I think the average fan thinks Shevchenko and the more knowledgeable fans say Pirlo, but you're the first I have seen defending Nesta so far.

Winning titles in Italy is done by building a solid team starting from the back four. It's evident with Nesta going to AC Milan a couple of years ago and Cannavaro doing the same with Juve this year.

[WayneRooneyIsFat]

It's not true that the best strikers leave. Because with the 3 leagues you named, the best Italian, English, and Spanish strikers generally stay in their respective leagues. It's usually good strikers that do not have a good league in their country who come to the Prem, Serie A, and La Liga...

Good point - I hadn't thought of that.

But a striker is certainly a more marketable position than a defender, right? You don't see defenders (to my knowledge) from Ukraine, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Angola, or Cameroon, whereas these nations all have well regarded strikers in the prem, serie a, and la liga.

[RegginaCalcio]

I was thinking about this today:

EPL:
Best defenders: Ferdinand, Campbell, Cole, Terry
Best strikers: Henry, van Nistelrooy

Serie A:
Best defenders: Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini
Best strikers: Shevchenko, Adriano, Ibrahimovic

La Liga:
Best defenders: Puyol, ?
Best strikers: Eto'o, Ronaldo

Now, I realize you can poke all kinds of holes in these lists: you can argue Ferdinand is overrated, you can name Belletti and Roberto Carlos in Spain, etc. I won't argue these points. But it seems that, in general, the best defenders in the world are more likely to stay home than the best strikers. Do you agree, or am I totally off base?

Actually, 2/4 of the top strikers in England are English (Johnson and Lampard) in Italy 4/5 of the best strikers are Italian (Gilardino, Montella, Gilardino and Toni)...Spain are not known to develope good full backs and guys like Raul are completely overrated.

Laudrup, anyone can play at the back? All the teams you named don't seem to be winning any type of hardware this year accept for Barcelona. Defense wins championships.

[WayneRooneyIsFat]

Actually, 2/4 of the top strikers in England are English (Johnson and Lampard) in Italy 4/5 of the best strikers are Italian (Gilardino, Montella, Gilardino and Toni).

Well...I guess I was using a more subjective definition of "top striker". Yes, Johnson has more goals than Gudjohnsen, Ronaldo, and van Nistelrooy (to name 3), but I doubt you'd find many people who would consider him a better striker. I admit I don't follow Italian soccer closely, but I bet most teams would rather have Ibrahimovic or Adriano instead of the 4 you mention.

[Forza Badger]

I think that the big change in Milan was giving Pirlo the handle, and building the best midifield I have seen in a while with Gattuso and Seedorf helping him. Nesta was transferred the same year that Milan underwent a major team and tactics reconstruction, so saying Nesta alone is responsible for Milan's good fortunes is a bit short-sighted.

I'll admit I have seen a limited number of Milan games in the past two years (although I did wacth all of Italy's games in Euro 2004), and Nesta has seemed shakier than he used to be, certainly more than either Maldini or Cannavaro.

I can see how he's better than the alternatives of Simic or Costacurta (ACM) or Ferrari and Legrottaglie (Italy), but whenever people think of Milan's success, I think the average fan thinks Shevchenko and the more knowledgeable fans say Pirlo, but you're the first I have seen defending Nesta so far.

I would agree with Spartak said, Nesta really has been invaluable since he got here. Our defense gained confidence and has been extremely effective since his arrival. Pirlo has been a vital component to the team but not to the degree as Nesta.

[RegginaCalcio]

Well...I guess I was using a more subjective definition of "top striker". Yes, Johnson has more goals than Gudjohnsen, Ronaldo, and van Nistelrooy (to name 3), but I doubt you'd find many people who would consider him a better striker. I admit I don't follow Italian soccer closely, but I bet most teams would rather have Ibrahimovic or Adriano instead of the 4 you mention.

I am being very truthful when i say this and not being bias but i would much rather have Cassano, Gilardino or Montella over Ibrahimovic or Adriano. The three I mentioned are much more consistent then Adriano or Ibrahimovic. Adriano is constantly hurt and been underachieving most of the season and Ibrahimovic is overrated in my opinion. I mentioned Gilardino twice but i meant to mention Lucarelli instead. I do understand where you are coming from though but IMO there are a ton of strikers out there who can do the job of putting the ball in the net but very few defenders who can actually win games by shutting down the opposition. Most of these backs IMO are found in Italy. Players like Stam or Thuram thrive on playing with guys like Nesta, Maldini, Cannavaro...they only make those guys better hence why a guy like Stam has ressurected his career in Milan.

[Wog Vader]

Actually, 2/4 of the top strikers in England are English (Johnson and Lampard) in Italy 4/5 of the best strikers are Italian (Gilardino, Montella, Gilardino and Toni)...Spain are not known to develope good full backs and guys like Raul are completely overrated.

Laudrup, anyone can play at the back? All the teams you named don't seem to be winning any type of hardware this year accept for Barcelona. Defense wins championships.


I think you make some good points, but Lampard is a MF not a striker.