Defending has changed since Ive been watching football. I am only 25 by the way, so that doesnt mean Im going to start harking back to the likes of Bobby Moore or how you could go in two footed knee height John Lackey Jersey as long as you got the ball in the good old days, Im talking very recent football history. I have seen some fantastic defenders, the likes of Paulo Maldini, Alesandro Nesta, Tony Adams, Jaap Stam, Marcel De sailly, the list just goes on and on. As a way of wasting time in school we used to make up fantasy elevens and there could be arguments of who were the best defenders around with several names being thrown into the mix. The question I am asking now is, how many world cla s defenders there are at the moment. Vincent Kompany was on Match Alec Mills Jersey of the Day last Saturday and both Redknapp and Hansen said they would put him in a World XI. Now I am not saying Kompany is poor by any stretch of the imagination, but going on his performances this year I just cant see him competing with the defenders I mentioned previously. I agree with both Hansen and Redknapp in that I would probably put him in my World XI right now, but I think this may be down to a lack of competition.I really want to be wrong in this blog and Im hoping that somebody can give me an outline of who exactly the world cla s defenders out there are, but I have been racking my David Ross Jersey brain and Im struggling. The mere fact that the greatest club team Ive ever seen are now playing Javier Mascherano at the back makes me worry that the art of defending may be lost. The role of a centre back has changed dramatically over the past few years and Baez El Mago Jersey a different set of pre sures comes with it. Centre backs are much more comfortable in po se sion than before and play almost as deep lying midfielders in the way they contribute to the attacking side of play. This is an expectation rather than a gift for the ble sed few and as a result the no nonsense if in doubt, get it out style of defending is much le s prominent. The game around the defensive line has changed dramatically too. We now have a much more fluid and pacey game which makes it all the more difficult to defend, but surely that would mean the most talented should shine even more. I could also bring in the fact that diving seems more prominent and almost accepted and robust tackles are made to look much worse but I think it is sadly a case of a lack of top quality defending.So what is it? A lack of quality or am I just out of touch with the modern game? I reckon it could be a mixture Jose Quintana Jersey of the two. I just hope that the old school defender hasnt lost its place in the game and maybe in the next generation of players well have a few more rough diamonds.