Since the Premier League assumed its modern form back in 1992, we have been dazzled with some phenomenal right-sided defenders. Every position on the football field is an important one, even right-back, where players such as Gary Neville and Lee Dixon have churned out consistent performances year-after-year.
I think that in Pablo Zabaleta and Branislav Ivanović, we currently have two of the best right-backs in the Premier League’s bold 23-year history. Both are now the wrong side of 30 but remain key players as both clubs aim to strive for glory, both domestically and in Europe.
Successful right-backs:
Gary Neville
When you associate the position right-back with the Premier League, one player comes to mind: Gary Neville. The former Red Devil made 400 appearances for Manchester United and was consistent from his debut in 1992, until he retired in 2011. He also won 85 caps representing England, playing in European Championships and World Cups.
In terms of achievements, Neville won eight Premier League titles with United, in 1996, ’97, ’98, ’99, 2000, ’01, ’03, ’07 and ’09, in addition to PFA Team of the Season in 1996, ’97, ’98, ’99, 2005 and ’07. In the past week, Neville too has admitted that Zabaleta and Ivanović are two of the best right backs the Premier League has ever seen.
Lee Dixon
Lee Dixon made his Arsenal debut in 1988, and played there until he retired in 2002. He made over 300 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, scoring 24 goals in that time. Like Neville, he too represented his country, offering 22 appearances for England. It probably would have been more had Gary Neville not been in such devastating form throughout the 90s. Dixon won two League Titles with Arsenal, in 1998 and 2002, but never made the PFA Team of the Year.
Gary Kelly
Republic of Ireland international, Gary Kelly, spent 17 years at Leeds, making 325 Premier League appearances and over 500 for Leeds in all competitions. He and Leeds spent 12 years in England’s top flight, before spending three down in the Championship. Kelly was named part of the PFA Team of the Season on two occasions in 1994 and 2000; Kelly also won over 50 caps for Ireland.
Rob Jones
One of Liverpool’s greatest right-backs was without a doubt Welsh-born English international, Rob Jones. Jones made 185 Liverpool appearances in all competitions before his career was cut short in 1999 following a series of injuries. Despite this, he made eight appearances for England, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year in 1995.
Steve Finnan
Taking off where Rob Jones halted was Irish defender, Steve Finnan. He arrived in 2002 and won the PFA Right-Back award in the Team of the Year in the same season. The Republic of Ireland international made 52 appearances for his country, with just under 200 appearances for Liverpool.
Other players named in the PFA Team of the Year
Steven Carr: Carr spent 11 years at Tottenham Hotspur and was named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2001 and ’03. He made 226 appearances for Spurs, with 44 caps achieved for Ireland also.
Lauren: Lauren was the first non-UK player to be named as right-back in the PFA Team of the Year in 2004. He spent six years with Arsenal, making 159 appearances, and 24 international caps for Cameroon.
Pascal Chimbonda: Chimbonda had a season to remember in Wigan Athletic’s debut Premier League season in 2005/06, where he was named in the PFA Team of the Season, which led to a move to Tottenham Hotspur. Chimbonda, unlike some of the other right-backs in this article, was as attacking as he was defensive, a full-back feature that we would see becoming more common in the league in the future.
Bacary Sagna: Sagna spent ten years at Arsenal and made over 300 appearances for the Gunners. He was named in the PFA Team of the Season in 2008 and 2011, putting in year-after-year of consistent performances.
Glen Johnson: Johnson was named right-back in the PFA Team of the Year in 2009 in his final season playing for Portsmouth. Three years spent at the south coast club led to a move to Liverpool, in addition to a tally of over 50 caps for England.
Kyle Walker: Walker was named in the PFA Team of the Year in his first full season as Tottenham’s right-back following two seasons away on loan. He has since become a regular in the Spurs side and earned ten caps for England.
Ivanović and Zabaleta
Ivanović
Branislav Ivanović joined Premier League leaders, Chelsea, in 2008 and has gone on to make over 200 appearances, scoring 19 goals. He signed in the January transfer window for an undisclosed fee (although reportedly around £9.7 million) from Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow. Despite the hefty price tag, he was often unused in his first season under manager Avram Grant.
The following season saw Luis Filipe Scolari take the helm as manager and he said Ivanović would feature, but had competition in José Bosingwa for the right-back spot. Scolari often played him in the centre of defence, a position he is comfortable playing. In 2009, Guus Hiddink took charge, and Ivanović was again largely unused, before Carlo Ancelotti arrived in 2010 to become Ivanović’s fourth manager in just 18 months. Ancelotti gave Ivanović his true chance, and he began to put together a string of consistent performances. José Mourinho took charge of his second spell for the club in 2013, and Ivanović remains first choice right-back at present.
He was named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2010, and has made 76 appearances for Serbia, scoring on eight occasions. Ivanović has a wealth of awards, including: Premier League winner in 2010, FA Cup winner in ’09, ’10 and ’12, Community Shield winner in ’10, Champions League winner in ’12 and Europa League winner in ’13.
Zabaleta
Pablo Zabaleta, like Ivanović, arrived in England in 2008. The Argentine was signed for an undisclosed fee (although this time reported to be around £6.45 million) from Espanyol, following his rejection of a contract from Juventus. He was signed one day before Sheikh Mansour bought the club and turned Manchester City into the rich club it is now known as.
He has gone on to make just fewer than 200 appearances for Manchester City, scoring seven goals. He has also made 46 appearances for Argentina, one of which was the World Cup final defeat against Germany in 2014, but hasn’t yet scored for his country.
He was named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2013, and has a quality collection of awards to add to that; Premier League winner in 2012 and ’14, F.A Cup winner in ’11, Community Shield winner in ’12, League Cup winner in ’14, and a World Cup runners up medal in ’14 for Argentina.
Is one better than the other?
Ivanović and Zabaleta have both been consistently delivering quality performances since their respective arrivals in 2008, but I think over the last few seasons they have both become the best the league has to offer.
Both are physical and have received numerous bookings and sending-offs, but have learned to control that to better effect. Both are as attacking-minded as they are defensive, and are involved with goals, either assisting or scoring. Further still, both have achieved so much, but with Ivanović at 31 and Zabaleta at 30, they can still attain much more yet, especially as they play for the top two sides in the Premier League. Chelsea and Manchester City have funds to buy anybody in the world, but how do you replace two of the greatest right-backs the Premier League has ever seen?
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