In football, it is an inescapable fact that a defender is saddled with only one responsibility on the pitch, which is to ensure that his team does not concede, and also contribute in a little way to the build-up of a goal.
But, little do many fans know that a defender with goalscoring ability is a valuable asset in a team that many other teams would love to have his kind. Yes, we know that it is the responsibility of attackers to get the goals for the team.
The game of soccer is played collectively, hence the need for players to move around wherever the ball can be gotten on the pitch; just like an attacker would come to assist the defenders when threats come from opponents, the defenders also enjoy the privilege of going forward to put the ball in the back of the net if possible.
Therefore, there have been some great center-back-cum-goal-machines over the years with the recent inclusion of Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos joining the list of defenders to have scored awesomely for both their clubs and country.
With Sergio Ramos just making his way into the list, we give you the list of the All-Time Highest Scoring Defenders and where Sergio Ramos is ranked currently, after making it into the list this season as well as other names.
10. Sinisa Mihajlovic – 105 goals (Yugoslavia/Serbia)
Early into his playing career, Mihajlović marked himself out with an extraordinary long-distance striking, crossing, and passing ability. He’s also a set-piece and penalty kick specialist.
The Now-Bologna manager scored 10 goals for his country and found the net over 61 times in Serie A whilst playing for four different Italian sides- Roma, Lazio, Inter, and Sampdoria.
The defender was also a dead-ball specialist during his playing days, he holds the joint record for most free kicks scored along with Andrea Pirlo in the Italian top flight.
9. Franz Beckenbauer – 109 goals
A versatile player who started out as a midfielder. He is often credited as having revolutionized the role of the sweeper.
Also, he was known for his creativity and passing which speaks volumes of his goal-scoring prowess as well as his outstanding defending skills.
Over 19 years, he scored 109 times. He was most prolific for Bayern Munich where he netted 64 goals in 439 appearances.
8. Roberto Carlos – 113 goals (Brazil)
This Brazilian was renowned for being a notorious dead-ball specialist – especially free-kicks. He’s also got an amazing goalscoring record.
With his lethal left foot, Roberto Carlos put so many free-kicks in the back of the net in the colors of Real Madrid and the Samba boys of Brazil.
Carlos was part of the ‘Galacticos’ squad that grew to fame in the early 2000s and became known for his ability to get forward from the flanks into goalscoring positions.
7. Steve Bruce – 113 Goals (England)
Bruce during his playing days was known for his unusually high goalscoring rate for a center-back, resulting from a combination of his ability to powerfully head the ball and his effectiveness in taking penalty kicks.
The former Manchester United defender was once a prolific goalscorer, scoring mostly for United as well as having an incredible goalscoring record for Gillingham, Norwich, Birmingham, and Sheffield United throughout his career.
His most prolific season came in 1990/91 when he scored 19 times for Man United under Alex Ferguson in all competitions.
6. Paul Breitner – 113 goals (Germany)
Another defender who was a specialist at scoring crucial and iconic goals (maybe Sergio Ramos took after him). Breitner was an integral part of the West Germany team that won the 1974 FIFA World Cup, scoring in the final.
He also scored in the final of the 1982 World Cup, making him one of only four players to have scored in two different World Cup final matches.
Although he moved to the midfield position in the latter stages of his career, he was predominantly a defender and got most of his goals from deep. Breitner scored most of his goals for Bayern and 10 of his goals were for his country.
5. Sergio Ramos – 115 goals (Spain)
Ramos is a specialist not at defending alone but also at scoring goals at auspicious times and consistently. The 34-year-old netted in consecutive UEFA Champions League finals against Atletico Madrid.
Currently, no defender in world football scores more than the Real Madrid and La Roja captain. He has added to his tally since becoming the main spot-kick taker for Los Blancos after the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo.
This season he has scored 7 goals since taking over from Cristiano Ronaldo as his side’s main penalty taker and there’s every possibility that he’d score more goals before call time on his career.
4. Graham Alexander – 130 goals (Scotland)
Alexander played mostly as a right-back during his days but also made a mark at the defensive midfield role. He was also a penalty kick specialist and many of his goals were from the spot-kick.
He also was blessed with the impressive ability to pop up from goals in open play as a right-back but surprisingly, he never got on the scoresheet for Scotland.
Alexander Graham played for a couple of clubs in England which includes Burnley, Luton Town, and Preston North End.
3. Laurent Blanc – 153 Goals (France)
Laurent Blanc as a defender defines the valuable asset mentioned earlier which many clubs definitely would’ve wished to have back then. He began his career as an attacking midfielder for Montpelier but dropped back to defense in his later years.
Blanc remains Montpellier’s all-time leading goal scorer, with 83 in all competitions (76 altogether in Division 1 and Division 2). Somehow, he managed to score at least 12 Division 1 goal per season in his last three seasons at Montpellier, which most of them were penalties and headers.
Blanc’s became the first player to score a Golden Goal in his country’s win against Paraguay in the last-16 tie of the 1998 World Cup.
3. Fernando Hierro – 163 goals (Spain)
As a central defender, sweeper, or defensive midfielder, Hierro had the ability, at his peak, to combine solid defensive play with a near-unlimited passing range and surprising goalscoring talent.
He captained both Spain and Real Madrid throughout his career. Hierro possessed an incredible aerial threat at corners and a presence that Madrid never truly managed to replace.
Most of Hierro’s goals came through set-pieces, although he proved himself to be a constant threat to his opponent every time he entered their final third.
2. Daniel Passarella – 175 (Argentina)
Considered one of the greatest defenders of all time, the Albiceleste defender was also a proficient goalscorer; at some point, he was football’s top-scoring defender, with 134 goals in 451 matches, a record subsequently broken by Dutch defender Ronald Koeman.
Another intriguing factor about Passarella is the fact that despite being a short man, with his height at 5ft and 8inches, Passarella did the defensive job in a manner that has never been done by any South American.
He captained his nation to World Cup glory in 1978 and was part of their winning squad in 1986 too.
1. Ronald Koeman – 253 goals (Netherlands)
Regarded as one of the best and most prolific attacking central defenders of all time, Koeman was renowned for his long-range passing, as well as his shooting accuracy and power from distance, especially on free kicks.
He was also a versatile set-piece specialist, there were times the former Southampton manager was nicknamed ‘the King of free kicks‘, and was capable of striking the ball with power from long-range free kicks, or curling shots on goal from close range.
He’s the top-scoring defender in world football, and Barcelona’s top-scoring defender, boasting a goalscoring record that any center forward would be jealous of.
Koeman was another complete package during his days, an embodiment of versatility in every department on the pitch of play, little wonder he scored more goals than some attackers.
