The 25 best right backs in world football - ranked
Cafu and Dani Alves made right-back play trendy in back-to-back generations but despite the best efforts of the samba specialists, Jamie Carragher's words that were heard around the world almost a decade ago still largely rang true.
«If you're a full back, you're either a failed winger or a failed centre back,» uttered the now revered Sky Sports pundit. «No one wants to grow up and be a Gary Neville,» he famously added.
The resilient and hard-working Neville contrasted starkly with the majestic brilliance of the aforementioned Brazilian tandem, but Carragher's premise was undoubtedly fair. Cafu and Alves distorted the idealist concept of the full back, but it hasn't been until recently that their ideas of how the function should be performed became commonplace.
Football has never before been blessed with such an abundance of unique right back talent and pinning down the leading 25 in the world was no easy task. Nevertheless, we've given it a good go!
Here are our top 25 right backs in the world as part of our 2023 Welcome to World Class series.
Serge Aurier seemed just as dazed and confused as everyone else during his Tottenham days and a season with Villarreal didn't hint at a bright end to his career.
However, he has stood out during Nottingham Forest's return to the Premier League, leading their defence with some measured displays.
Legend has it that a single glare from Czech Republic international Vladimir Coufal is enough to turn opposition wingers into stone.
The right back certainly has an ominous aura about him, with hefty tackles never that far away in West Ham colours.
Lutsharel Geertruida has thrived in recent seasons at Feyenoord, becoming a Dutch international and earning plenty of plaudits for his performances.
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