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Ranking the 30 Ballon d’Or nominees

By Carter Mulvihill

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: FIFA Ballon dOr 2015 nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid answer media questions during the FIFA Ballon dOr 2015 press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: FIFA Ballon dOr 2015 nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid answer media questions during the FIFA Ballon dOr 2015 press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) /
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13. Diego Godin

Eindhoven, Netherlands 13.09.2016, UEFA Champions League – 2016/17 Season, Group D – Matchday 1, PSV Eindhoven – Club Atletico de Madrid, 0:1, Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)n (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
Eindhoven, Netherlands 13.09.2016, UEFA Champions League – 2016/17 Season, Group D – Matchday 1, PSV Eindhoven – Club Atletico de Madrid, 0:1, Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)n (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

There’s no right answer for who the best defender in the world is, but if you were to make an argument for Diego Godin, it’d be hard to be wrong.

Along with Koke, he’s the leader for an Atletico Madrid club that’s considered among the world’s best thanks to a recent La Liga title and a pair of trips to the Champions League final. Despite both Real Madrid and Barcelona possessing world-class center backs of their own, there’s more pressure on Godin to perform every week because Atleti simply won’t put up the same goal tally as its Spanish rivals.

If there’s an underrated part of Godin’s game, it’s his nose for goal. Standing at a smallish 6-foot-1, Godin has shown an uncanny ability to win headers in the opposing box, in addition to of course winning nearly every 50-50 ball defensively.

At this point, it won’t be a success for Atletico to simply challenge for a La Liga title or make a deep Champions League run. The club is after silverware this season, and with Godin holding down the back line, you wouldn’t want to bet against them.

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