The 6 Most Exciting Full-Backs in World Football

A composed, reliable full-back is one of the most valuable assets a team can have in the modern game.

If that same player can be counted on as a consistent attacking threat as well, he belongs to an even rarer breed.

As tactical expert Jonathan Wilson argued in The Guardian prior to the last World Cup, the position is one of the most crucial in football:

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It was, strangely, Jack Charlton who first gave voice to the thought, claiming after the 1994 World Cup that the most important attacking player on the team was the full-back. At first, it sounds preposterous, until you consider that every World Cup since has been won by the team with the best pair of attacking full-backs: Jorginho and Branco for Brazil in 1994; Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu for France in 1998; Cafu and Roberto Carlos for Brazil in 2002; and Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso for Italy three years ago.

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Here we are not necessarily interested in the best full-backs going around at the moment, but the most entertaining.

Some of the names who make the list are fine defenders. Others less so.

All of them, however, are terrific to watch whenever they ignore their defensive duties to streak down the flank with attacking intent. 

Philipp Lahm

Nationality: German

Club: Bayern Munich

Age: 29

Is there anything this pocket dynamo can't do? Long passing, short passing, composed tackling, desperate slide tackling, overlapping down the right, sending in pinpoint crosses; Lahm is the complete package for a full-back.

He can play on either side and is also a leader, captaining both his club and country.

Lahm is arguably the best right-back (slash left-back) in the world, but he makes this list because it makes for highly entertaining viewing when he bombs forward, sets up his teammates with slick passes or fires in long-range missiles at goal.

Dani Alves

Nationality: Brazilian

Club: Barcelona

Age: 30

His transfer to Barcelona in 2008 helped transform the Catalan club from a very good side to an astonishingly good side.

At 30, Alves' best days might be behind him, but he remains one of the most talented players in the game, in any position. 

Though he spends half the game in the attacking third, it has taken years for his opponents to figure out how to exploit the space behind him.

Marcelo

Nationality: Brazilian

Club: Real Madrid

Age: 25

The Real Madrid dynamo proves that some cliches are true. He's a Brazilian full-back who often appears to have very little idea of how to defend, yet is so brilliant going forward that such minor faults are forgiven.

Marcelo's skills on the ball are extraordinary, and his defensive bungles are always entertaining.

To be fair, he has worked hard to round out his game and is nowadays a mostly reliable fixture at the back for club and country, especially when well-supported by teammates. 

Jordi Alba

Nationality: Spanish

Club: Barcelona

Age: 24

Zippy and skillful, Jordi Alba only knows how to play at one speed: fast-forward.

Sure, he leaves yawning gaps behind him as he plummets forward, but that is all part of the fun.

Watching him interact with Andres Iniesta down the left for Barcelona and Spain can be nothing short of joyous, never mind that they don't win as much anymore.

Guillermo Varela

Nationality: Uruguayan

Club: Manchester United

Age: 20

Perhaps the most defense-minded of the defenders on this list, this Uruguayan young gun has all the makings of a world-class right-back.

His unyielding displays for Uruguay's U-20 side at the South American championships earned him a five-year contract with Manchester United, and at the recent U-20 World Cup he was just as impressive.

That is not to say he is not a thrilling player to watch when he ventures forward, however. Varela has the abilities to breeze past opponents and set up goals with his curled crosses.

The Da Silva boys better watch their backs, as their fellow South American has the game to eventually take over the right-back role at United.

Alex Sandro

Nationality: Brazilian

Club: Porto

Age: 22

Lightning-quick and, of course, attack-minded, this ex-Santos man is tipped to challenge Marcelo for the left-back spot in the Brazilian national side after the 2014 World Cup.

He's as rugged as he is fleet-footed and has established himself as a favorite at Porto after initially struggling to make the first team.

Alex Sandro is capable of scoring the odd cracking goal as well, which is always a good way for defenders to sneak into "most exciting" lists.