As the planet’s favourite sport, football has produced countless legendary players spanning more than a century who have earned acclaim worldwide. However, when it comes to selecting the greatest ever footballers, polls and awards significantly lean towards forwards and attacking midfielders.
Defenders are rarely talked about in the same terms of grandeur, as attested by the fact that the Ballon d’Or has been attributed to defenders only two times since the award championing the best individual footballer in the world was inaugurated in 1956. Fabio Cannavaro and Franz Beckenbauer were the recipients.
In this article PortuGOAL redresses the balance somewhat, at least in terms of Portuguese footballers, by listing the 10 greatest Portugal defenders of all time in no particular order – each and every one a legend in his own right.
Portugal has a long and storied football history. The sport first arrived on Portuguese shores during the mid-to-late 1800s, when Portuguese students returned from England with a new-found love and passion for it.
La Liga’s roster of world class talent throughout the years would be incomplete without the presence of footballers from their neighbouring nation. Portugal has long produced some of world football’s greatest entertainers – with a handful going on to establish themselves as superstars in Spain. 
Football has come a long way in Portugal since its origins when Portuguese students who returned from the UK brought it to the country in the 19th century. The first official game took place in 1875 on a field in Camacha, Madeira. Football quickly won the hearts of the Portuguese. Today the national team is one of the strongest in the world and its Primeira Liga is a highly competitive and respected league.
Given their recent success, it may come as a surprise for younger football fans to learn that Portugal was not always a powerhouse of the game. Portugal qualified for only two of the sixteen World Cups held throughout the twentieth century.