The modern-day centre back is expected to be able to head, tackle, and block shots and try to stop the other team from scoring but also be part of a team's build-up play. Some of today's top centre backs can be seen threading balls through to the final third - K League's best are no exception. We take a look at the top three centre backs in different areas to see who comes out on top.
Defensive duels won
But first, let's take a look at the defensive side of a centre back's game. Defensive duels are their bread and butter and Daejeon Hana Citizen's experienced centre back was the best in that regard in 2022 a win rate of 77.83%. Behind Han were Seoul E-Land's Lee In-jae at 75% exactly and Kim Hyun-hoon of title winners Gwangju FC with just under 74%.
1. Kwon Han-jin, Daejeon Hana Citizen - 77.83% (2nd overall)
2. Lee In-jae, Seoul E-Land - 75% (5th overall)
3. Kim Hyun-hoon, Gwangju FC - 73.95% (7th overall)
Aerial duels won
Likewise, a centre back needs to be able to get up and head the ball away. It's a different trio entirely when looking at which centre backs won the most aerial duels. FC Anyang's Lee Chan-yong was the best with 72.15%, followed by Busan IPark's Lee Han-do at 70.77%, and Jeonnam Dragons' Choi Jeong-won at just a touch under 70%.
1. Lee Chan-yong, FC Anyang - 72.15% (1st overall)
2. Lee Han-do, Busan IPark - 70.77% (2nd overall)
3. Choi Jeong-won, Jeonnam Dragons - 69.49% (3rd overall)
Aerial duels won in own penalty area
A team might get pinned back, unable to get out of their own half, or have to face a barrage of crosses into the box. If that's ever the case for Gyeongnam, Gwangju, or Anyang then they have the personnel to deal with the onslaught. Gyeongnam's Kim Myoung-jun ranked top with 82.76%, Gwangju's Ahn Young-kyu second with 66.67%, and FC Anyang's Lee Chan-yong at 64.29%.
1. Kim Myoung-jun, Gyeongnam FC - 82.76% (1st overall)
2. Ahn Young-kyu, Gwangju FC - 66.67% (2nd overall)
3. Lee Chan-yong, FC Anyang - 64.29% (3rd overall)
Interceptions
The modern centre back reads the game well too and can smell danger. Interceptions can also help turn defence into attack. Seoul E-Land's Kim Yeon-su made the most interceptions in 2022 with 250; shortly behind were Lee Sang-min of Chungnam Asan with 243, and Bucheon's Nilson Junior with 239.
1. Kim Yeon-su, Seoul E-Land - 250 (1st overall)
2. Lee Sang-min, Chungnam Asan - 243 (2nd overall)
3. Nilson Junior, Bucheon FC 1995 - 239 (3rd overall)
Clearances
Ideally, you want your team to be able to regain possession and try to work the ball up the pitch and into an attacking situation. Sometimes, this just isn't possible and you have to punt the ball into Row Z or as far away as possible. Lee Sang-min, Kim Yeon-su, and Kim Tae-hwan seemed to understand and endorse this concept the most as they ranked top overall for clearances made in K League 2 last term.
1. Lee Sang-min, Chungnam Asan - 313 (1st overall)
2. Kim Yeon-su, Seoul E-Land - 306 (2nd overall)
3. Kim Tae-hwan, Gimpo FC - 295 (3rd overall)
Tackles
Italian football legend Paolo Maldini once said that "If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake." That may be true but the top three sliding tacklers in K League probably won't mind too much if it helped with their cleansheet bonuses. Bucheon's Nilson Junior was top with 50, Kim Yeon-su second with 39, and Gwangju's Park Han-bin third with 37.
1. Nilson Junior, Bucheon FC 1995 - 50 (2nd overall)
2. Kim Yeon-su, Seoul E-Land - 39 (6th overall)
3. Park Han-bin, Gwangju FC - 37 (7th overall)
Blocked shots
Sometimes, all you can do is put your body on the line and try to get in the way of a shot. It's too late to make the interception or even get a tackle in as the attacking player has already lined themselves up to shoot. The traditional role of the centre back was, largely, to get in the way of shots. Gyeongnam's Kim Myoung-jun ranked top in K League 2 last season for blocks with 32 made while Lee Sang-min of Chungnam Asan was second. Three players shared the number three spot, though, both among the centre backs and overall, those being Kim Yeon-su (Seoul E-Land), Nilson Junior (Bucheon), and Cho Yu-min (Daejeon).
1. Kim Myoung-jun, Gyeongnam FC - 32 (1st overall)
2. Lee Sang-min, Chungnam Asan - 25 (2nd overall)
3. Kim Yeon-su, Seoul E-Land - 23 (Joint 3rd overall)
3. Nilson Junior, Bucheon FC 1995 - 23 (Joint 3rd overall)
3. Cho Yu-min, Daejeon Hana Citizen - 23 (Joint 3rd overall)
Pass accuracy
Moving into the transition phase of play when a team has regained possession, centre backs will usually make the most passes in the team. These are often side to side or even back to their goalkeepers but they still need to be accurate. Gyeongnam's Kim Young-chan was the best passer among the centre backs according to his rate of success (90.51%). Gwangju's Park Han-bin is very close behind at 90.5% while Daejeon's Kwon Han-jin was third at 90.03%.
1. Kim Young-chan, Gyeongnam FC - 90.51%
2. Park Han-bin, Gwangju FC - 90.5%
3. Kwon Han-jin, Daejeon Hana Citizen - 90.03%
Passes to final third
Some centre backs even get involved in the final phase of an attack or even end up playing the ball through into the final third. Cho Yu-min made the most among the centre backs with 285, followed by Chungnam Asan's Lee Sang-min with 271, and Gyeongnam's Kim Myoung-jun.
1. Cho Yu-min, Daejeon Hana Citizen - 285 (3rd overall)
2. Lee Sang-min, Chungnam Asan - 271 (5th overall)
3. Kim Myoung-jun, Gyeongnam FC - 254 (7th overall)
Accuracy of passes to final third
The passes, of course, need to be accurate and this is where some of the high-performing centre backs from other categories seemed to excel at. Park Han-bin in particular who showed an accuracy rate of 79.41%, he was followed by Kim Yeon-su of Seoul E-Land at 77.82%, and Kim Hyun-hoon of Gwangju with 74.16%.
1. Park Han-bin, Gwangju FC - 79.41% (11th overall)
2. Kim Yeon-su, Seoul E-Land - 77.82% (18th overall)
3. Kim Hyun-hoon, Gwangju FC - 74.16% (26th overall)
