17 World Football Defenders Who Provide a Serious Goal Threat

Defenders don't always get their due. Today that changes.

Most of the time, midfielders and forwards score the goals. With goals come accolades and glory. Defenders, meanwhile, often find themselves forgotten.

Some defenders, though, can attack just as well as they can defend—and sometimes even better. You know the types: full-backs who fly forward into the final third; central defenders who power towering headers into the back of the net.

This is a list of those guys.

Did we miss your favorite attacking defender? Let us know in the comments.

Club: Barcelona

Country: Brazil

After that thunderbolt he scored Wednesday night against Real Madrid (see the video at left), Dani Alves of Barcelona has to be the first name on the team sheet.

Alves has scored just 14 times for Barcelona since joining from Sevilla in 2008. But as he showed Wednesday, he's always a threat to uncork something special.

Club: Anzhi Makhachkala

Country: Brazil

Roberto Carlos has made a career out of playing decent defense and scoring absolutely spectacular goals. Check out the free kick he scored against France in 1997 (video at left).

Now 38, Carlos is still playing. He's a player/manager of Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. At the international level, he finished his career with 11 goals in 125 caps for Brazil.

Club: Genoa

Country: Sweden

Andreas Granqvist is a name you might not recognize as well. But if you watched Holland's Eredivisie last season, you probably noticed that Granqvist scored 11 goals for FC Groningen.

He scored a signature goal in 2008, embarking on a lengthy, Maradona-style solo run before blasting a rocket into the top corner.

Now with Genoa in the more defensive-minded Serie A, the goals have dried up somewhat. Granqvist is scoreless so far this season.

Club: Real Madrid

Country: Spain

Sergio Ramos has scored 35 goals since joining Real Madrid in 2005. Always a threat on set pieces and corners, Ramos has scored six times in four different seasons.

With Spain, he's hit the back of the net six times in 82 caps.

Club: Arsenal

Country: Brazil

Before he joined Arsenal last August, Andre Santos scored five league goals in 2010-11 for Turkish club Fenerbahce (more from them later).

He slotted right into Arsenal's setup this season, scoring twice before going down with an injury. When he returns, Arsenal should instantly become more dangerous.

Club: PSG

Country: Uruguay

There must be something about former Fenerbahce defenders and scoring. Despite playing in the back, Uruguayan captain Diego Lugano always seems to have a nose for goal, especially on set pieces.

Lugano scored eight times for the Turks in 2010-11 before moving on to Paris St. Germain in France. He has scored just once this season for PSG, but he has eight goals in 68 career international appearances.

Club: Manchester United

Country: Serbia

Serbian international Nemanja Vidic is called "The Terminator" for good reason. Besides playing some stout defense, he's also a fearsome attacker on set pieces.

Club: Arsenal

Country: Belgium

Thomas Vermaelen exploded onto the scene at Arsenal, scoring eight goals in 2009-10, his debut season with the Gunners.

After an injury-ravaged second season, he's back at it with three strikes so far this term.

Club: Fulham

Country: Norway

A 1992 movie tried to convince us that white men can't jump. Fulham's Brede Hangeland puts that notion to rest.

The Norwegian scored six league goals for Fulham in 2010-11, most of them on towering headers like the one you see at left.

Club: Reading

Country: Republic of Ireland

Yes, Ian Harte is still playing. And at 34, he's still scoring with his trademark beautiful free kicks.

Club: Fulham

Country: Norway

Release the Kraken!

Norwegian international John Arne Riise can play as a defender or midfielder, but no matter where he plays, his right foot makes him dangerous.

Check out some of his best goals in the video at left. Would you stand in the way?

Club: Ajax

Country: Belgium

Ajax's Jan Vertonghen has built his burgeoning reputation in Holland based on his defending skills. But he's also handy in front of goal, as the video at left shows. (Here's another, but it's more fluky.)

Vertonghen scored seven goals for Ajax in 2010-11, and he has five so far this season.

Club: Borussia Dortmund

Country: Germany

German international Mats Hummels helped Borussia Dortmund win the Bundesliga last season with strong defense. But he's also dangerous in the attacking third, especially on set pieces.

Hummels has scored 10 goals for Dortmund since joining from Bayern Munich in 2009. He also scored five times for the German Under-21 team in 21 appearances.

Club: QPR

Country: Nigeria

Taye Taiwo is another defender who can get a lot of power behind his shots. Just look at what he can do with a free kick.

With Taiwo, the goal is always in range.

Club: Bayern Munich

Country: Belgium

How hard must one kick a ball to puncture it? Apparently this hard.

In all seriousness, Daniel Van Buyten knows how to score. Sometimes used as an emergency forward for Bayern, Van Buyten tallied nine goals for Bayern in 2009-10 and has scored four times so far this season.

Club: Aris FC

Country: Brazil

Brazilian full-back Neto scored eight goals for Greek club Aris last season, and it's not hard to see why.

When he gets forward, Neto's speed and finishing make him look more like a forward.

Club: Chelsea

Country: England

John Terry is never going to be mistaken for a good guy. But his finishing ability—mostly from headers, but not always—almost makes you wonder if he's not a forward in disguise.