Top 10 full back pairings in Europe

Full-backs have never been more important at the highest levels of the game.

The movements of Alex Sandro, Benjamin Mendy, Dani Alves and Kyle Walker from one club to another this summer have become some of the biggest stories of the transfer window, with considerable wage packets and fees thrown in for good measure.

Below are the top 10 best full-back pairings from around Europe’s top five leagues for last season based on their impact on their teams, honours won and achievements made, and quality as all round footballers.

10. Napoli

Players: Elseid Hysaj (right-back), Faouzi Ghoulam (left-back)
Honours won: N/A
Other achievements: finished third in Serie A, semi-finalists in the Coppa Italia

Under Maurizio Sarri, the Neapolitans have become one of the most thrilling teams in all of Europe. While they make the ball do the work with their rapid tempo possession game, they are also a side in almost constant flux, rushing from one end of the pitch to the other, and that’s what makes Ghoulam and Hysaj so key to their style of play.

Both full-backs bomb up and down the flanks to allow players such as Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon to come inside and support Dries Mertens and the midfield.

No defender in Serie A created more chances last season than Ghoulam while Hysaj focused on winning the individual battles down his flank, completing 71% of his dribbles, 58% of his headers and averaging four defensive actions per game.

Together, they form one of the most balanced partnerships in European football.

9. Nice

Players: Ricardo Pereira (right-back), Dalbert (left-back)
Honours won: N/A
Other achievements: finished third in Ligue 1, qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 1960

Another side whose coach is intent on seizing the initiative by going on the attack, manager Lucien Favre urged Nice to go on the offensive last season, with Mario Balotelli leading the line as a target man to give his many on-running teammates a platform to strike at their opponents in the final third.

Out wide, they relied upon the propulsion and support of their full-backs or wing-backs depending on the formation Favre opted for, with Arnaud Souquet brought in when a more defensive option was needed down the right to allow Ricardo Pereira to push on.

Yet at their best, Nice played with a fluidity that was only made possible by the runs of Dalbert and Pereira. Together, they were their club’s second greatest source of chances last season after playmaker Jean Michael Seri.

8. RasenBallsport Leipzig

Players: Bernardo (right-back), Marcel Halstenberg (left-back)
Honours won: N/A
Other achievements: finished second in their first season in the Bundesliga, qualified for the Champions League for the first time their history

Bundesliga newcomers RB Leipzig stormed up the table in their debut season in the German topflight to unsettle the established order of the elite teams with their high-octane and aggressive style of play centred around winning the ball high up the pitch and overrunning opponents with their intensity, in and out of possession.

The work of full-backs Bernardo and Halstenberg was key to getting up the pitch and providing the width to allow their midfield team mates to swarm in the final third. Only Naby Keita won more duels per 90 minute outside of the centre-backs and forwards.

7. Atletico Madrid

Players: Juanfran (right-back), Filipe Luis (left-back)
Honours won: N/A
Other achievements: finished third in La Liga, semi-finalists in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League

No glory for Atletico in 2017 but another strong season for the third force in Spanish football who yet again reached the final four of the Champions League, with their full-backs Juanfran and Filipe Luis a picture of consistency as ever.

The left-back won more duels in La Liga than any other defender with 224 with his colleague down the right averaging four defensive actions per game to cover his flank. Both players remain two of Diego Simeone’s most dependable performers.

6. Bayern Munich

Players: Philipp Lahm (right-back), David Alaba (left-back)
Honours won: Bundesliga
Other achievements: semi-finalists in the DFB-Pokal, first side in German history to win the Bundesliga title five years in a row

An historic season for the Bavarians under Carlo Ancelotti as Germany’s most successful club collected their five league title on the trot, following the victories secured during the reigns of Jupp Heynckes and Pep Guardiola.

History was also made as Philipp Lahm announced his retirement from the game, although Alaba endured a poor season by his own standards – although by the standards of most other left-backs he was more than good enough to keep his team on track to win on the domestic front, even if he was exposed in Europe.

In the Bundesliga, Lahm was second only to set piece specialist Markus Suttner for chances created by a defender while Alaba popped up with four goals and four assists – only Suttner could top that tally for direct goal involvement from full-back.

5. Chelsea

Players: Victor Moses (right wing-back), Marcos Alonso (left wing-back)
Honours won: Premier League
Other achievements: finalists in the FA Cup, joint most consecutive wins in a Premier League season, second highest points tally for a Premier League champion and most wins in a Premier League season

England’s champions came from behind in October to turn their unsteady start to their first campaign under Antonio Conte into an unstoppable surge to the title.

It was a shift away from trying to play with a back four that proved to be the catalyst for success with Alonso and Moses unleashed down the flanks as wing-backs. The Spaniard’s movement effectively saw him become the left winger to allow Eden Hazard to roam inside while the Nigerian winger was turned into the driving force for the team down the right.

Alonso ended the season with six league goals and three assists, placing him among the most effective attackers in the squad. Moses won 67% of his dribbles and only N’Golo Kante won more tackles outside of the back three.

4. Monaco

Players: Djibril Sidibe (right-back), Benjamin Mendy (left-back)
Honours won: Ligue 1
Other achievements: semi-finalists in the Champions League and French Cup, finalists in the French League Cup

Another team that depended on pushing their wide players inside when they had the ball, Monaco looked to Mendy and Sibibe to dominate the left and the right flanks, respectively, surging up and down the wings to intercept opponents and win back possession before getting forward to swing in a cross or find a runner.

Together, they won more individual duels per 90 minutes in the Champions League than any other set of full-backs to make the latter stages of the competition (7.02 for Mendy, 6.67 for Sidibe), and in Ligue 1 they each provided five assists to help fire up one of the most prolific sides in all of Europe. Monaco scored 107 league goals in 2016/17.

3. Tottenham Hotspur

Players: Kyle Walker (right-back), Danny Rose (left-back)
Honours won: N/A
Other achievements: second in the Premier League, unbeaten at home in the league, semi-finalists in the FA Cup

Had it not been for injury, who knows what Spurs could have done with a fully-fit Danny Rose and Kyle Walker for a full season. When they were available to play, they stood out as one of the most impressive pairs of full-backs around at present – two complete players happy to track back opponents and win the ball or power forward to support the attack and carve out chances.

Tottenham’s left-back won more duels per 90 minutes than any other defender in the Premier League last season out of those players to make at least 15 appearances. He also created the most chances per 90 minutes while Walker recorded the most assists for a defender per 90 minutes.

2. Juventus

Players: Dani Alves (right-back), Alex Sandro (left-back)
Honours won: Serie A, Coppa Italia
Other achievements: finalists in the Champions League, first club to win six successive Serie A titles

Max Allegri was one major honour short of winning the first treble in the history of Juventus in 2017 and while the Champions League may have eluded the Italian champions, Alves pitched in with 31 chances – more than any other defender. Only Toni Kroos created more.

Over on the left, Sandro was ranked fourth for duels won in Europe’s top tier competition, and won more duels in Serie A than any regular appearance maker per 90 minutes with 7.32 – no wonder the Brazilian is rated as a top target by so many other clubs.

1. Real Madrid

Players: Dani Carvajal (right-back), Marcelo (left-back)
Honours won: Champions League, La Liga, Club World Cup
Other achievements: including the European Super Cup, Real Madrid completed the most successful season in their history with four honours won in a single campaign

Zinedine Zidane lead Real Madrid to a second Champions League win in two years in 2017 to make the club the first side to defend Europe’s top prize in the Champions League era, and in Marcelo and Carvajal he was able to call upon the best full-back pairing in Europe to take his side to glory again.

The Brazilian completed more dribbles per 90 minutes than any other defender to make more than five appearances in the Champions League with 2.61 take ons completed while the Spaniard was top for assists by defenders in the Champions League with five.

Skill, grit, creativity and tenacity, they both had it all in 2016/17.