Best defender (Pompey or not) you've ever seen?

Having seen this, a question of the day on The Ivory FC - Nivea for men Great Football Experiment (here) - vital site I thought why not throw it open to you guys here on Vital Pompey too?

After all, lets face it there is not really much going on is there as we wait for our new manager, something we could be waiting for yet for a while to come!

QOTD: Best Defender You've Ever Seen? - Here.

This is what the article said...

Last time we met up with Ray Wilkins we had a really good chat about all things football. I then asked him, as you would expect, who the best player he ever played with was. His response, in an instant, was Franco Baresi when he was at AC Milan. He then regaled us with stories a plenty, my favourite of which was letting Karl Heinz Rummenigge have a head start in a game at the San Siro, before laughing at him, running after him and then winning the ball with consummate ease.

This got me thinking. We've spoken about favourite players, favourite goals and other things which no doubt favour the more attacking, creative player. But how about those the stop the goals from being scored? A focus last night at training was around us defending better as a unit. Yes we are good going forward but defensively we can still improve.

I wont necessarily limit this to players you've seen play live, but I always feel that there is so much more you can see around a players ability when you watch them at the stadium. Their movement off the ball, their positional sense etc. For me the best defender I have seen was Jaap Stam.

He is one of the only players that Ferguson has said he regrets selling and he's one of the few players I have been genuinely gutted that we let go. Yes he looked average when we first signed him but once he found his feet he was class. His movement, his awareness, his strength, his pace, his ability in the air, his tackling - all of it, for me at least, were first class and he was a joy to watch. If I am honest I don't think he is held in as a high a regard as he should be.

So, come on lads, best defender you've seen?

Interesting debate to be had here is there not with so many views and opinions that could be shared. As the article itself says few actually pay as much attention to 'the art of defending' as it is the attacking prowess that catches the imagination more.

Go on guys, who is 'the best defender you've seen', be that Pompey and/or otherwise?

Let us know with some comments below and also share these thoughts on The Ivory FC GFE website as well please, a quick copy and paste onto this link would be appreciated!

QOTD: Best Defender You've Ever Seen? - Here.

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