The most prolific defenders of 2023 have been determined.
Idman.biz reports that IFFHS announced the most prolific year for defenders.
In 2023, James Tavernier (26), Benjamin Mata (21) and Ladislav Krejčí (20) were the first defenders in football history to score 20 or more top-level goals.
Only once before, in 1976, more than one defender reached that total (Daniel Passarella 27, Nelinho 20).
This ranking summarizes the examples of defenders who scored the most points in a calendar year.
Daniel Passarella still holds the record, as he mentioned 27 goals in 1976. So, James Tavernier needed only one goal to tie Passarella's season record.
Fernando Hierro once scored 27 goals in a calendar year, but this was in 1992 when he was frequently utilized as a midfielder. As a result, the Hierro achievement cannot be counted in this category.
Tavernier has hit the 20-goal mark for the second time in his career and the second year in a row (2022, 2023), joining Edgardo Bauza in 1980 and 1981.
Only Ronald Koeman achieved 20 annual goals more often (3 times), but unlike Bauza and Tavernier, he did not manage to do it twice in a row.
A player was taken into account only if he featured as defender in vast majority of his games inside the year in consideration (regardless his positions in other years).
Idman.biz
