Defenders are often the unsung heroes of a football team despite one of the most popular phrases in football ‘Attackers win you games, defenders win you titles.’ Defenders are often required to be a brick wall along with the goalkeeper in front of the goal to not let the opposition score a goal.
As the game progresses toward a more attacking style a defender is no longer just responsible for stopping goals. Defenders are expected to indulge in attacks and even score goals. Finding a goal-scoring defender remains pretty difficult but some players have gone on to create a name for themselves for their performances in front of the opposition’s goal. A goal be it from an attacker or a defender can make all the difference in the biggest competitions like the UEFA Champions League. In this article, we will take a look at the defenders with the most goals in the Champions League.
With 134 goals in 967 games overall, former Real Madrid and Spain captain, Sergio Ramos is the first defender to reach 100 goals this century. Nonetheless, the Spaniard is also among the top scorers among defenders in the Champions League. Throughout his 142 appearances with Los Blancos, PSG and Sevilla, he has scored 17 goals. In addition, Ramos contributed 10 assists and racked up an incredible 12,568 minutes of play in UCL history. He is currently the UCL's highest-scoring defender after his goal against Lens in the group stage match in the recent match this week.
With 128 matches under his belt, the always-dependable Gerard Pique has also scored 16 goals. He did, however, score all of his goals for Manchester United and FC Barcelona in the Champions League. 14 of his goals came for the Blaugrana and the remaining two goals came for the Red Devils in four appearances from 2004-2008.
The dynamic Brazilian left-back is ranked third among defenders who have scored the most goals in the Champions League. Known for his trademark curving and swirling free kick, the Brazilian played in the Champions League for two separate teams. He did, however, score every one of the Los Blancos' 16 goals. In 120 UCL games, Roberto Carlos not only contributed 25 assists but also scored 16 goals. Despite making 13 UCL matches for Fenerbahce SK between 2007 and 2009, his name never appeared on the scoresheet.
Iván Helguera Bujía is a former football player from Spain. With excellent offensive and defensive abilities, he could play as a defensive midfielder or centre defender. In 87 UEFA Champions League games, he scored 15 goals for Real Madrid. He did, however, join Valencia CF later in his career. His greatest UCL season occurred in 2000–2001, when he made 14 appearances, scoring 6 goals and dishing out 2 assists.
Ronald Koeman is the oldest player on this list and during his time hardly any defender played with a mindset of scoring goals. The odds of a defender scoring a goal always remained a bit high during Koeman’s career. Even if today the defenders are among the goals putting money on them is quite risky. But if you want to take a risk on those odds then football betting online platforms like 10CRIC are best for you.
With 13 goals in 52 games, the former Barcelona defender and coach is ranked fifth on this list of players with the most Champions League goals. He did, however, score every goal for three separate clubs in the Champions League. Out of 13 goals, he scored four in the European Cup and the remaining nine in the Champions League.
The four goals he scored when the competition was recognized as the European Cup came for Barcelona and PSV. He scored one goal for FCB in 11 appearances while he scored three goals for PSV in 12 appearances. In the Champions League, Koeman scored nine goals for Barcelona in the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons.
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