The highest scoring defenders in football history

Generally, those who score goals in soccer are the forwards or midfielders, while the main function that defenders must fulfill is precisely, as the word says, defend.

However, there are very complete defenders who, in addition to marking rivals, are also capable of contributing to their team in offensive matters, whether with headers after a stopped ball, mid-distance shots or capturing a rebound when they travel to the rival area. We review the top scoring defenders in this blessed sport.

nJames Henry Tavernier is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Rangers FC of the Scottish Premiership, a team of which he is captain. He is 32 years old, so it is likely that he has several years left in his career to continue converting and climbing this list. How far will he go?

In British football, the defender who stood out the most for his scoring figure was Graham Alexander. This Scot played as a right back or even as a defensive midfielder, where he took advantage to reach the attack on the second line. He is now a coach himself.

The only one on the list that is still active, along with Tavernier. The Spanish star scored in Sevilla's victory against Getafe (3-1) in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey and reached 140 goals in his career. Can he continue climbing?

One step away from the 'podium' is Laurent Blanc. The former France coach and coach of Paris Saint Germain had a prolific career in which he won everything with his country and at club level. He played for United, Juventus, Barcelona or Marseille. He had an extraordinary header. As a curiosity, he is still the top scorer in Montpellier history today.

It is true that Hierro's position in this ranking is tricky, since he was not always a defender. That is why it is often left out of this type of articles. Playing as a midfielder helped him to be a higher scorer than Ramos at Real Madrid (and Valladolid) and in the national team: 127 goals in the league and 29 with the national team. Some impressive numbers.

Passarella showed that the Argentine team was not mere chance. One of the best South American footballers of all time is the second highest scoring defender in history, with a whopping 175 goals. He is somewhat far from an unattainable Koeman, but his record is not at all negligible.

He has the honor of being the defender with the most goals in the history of football. Most of them were in the Eredivisie, in Groningen, Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV, although Barcelona also left his mark on the Barça team. Not in vain, until recently he was the defender with the most goals in the history of the Spanish league. An animalidad enviable by many forwards.