Dean Saunders has named a former Liverpool player as the best defender to ever grace the game and it is someone who almost became his teammate.
Saunders was never one to stick around at a club for long and his time at Anfield was no exception, staying for a single season in 1991–1992 before joining Aston Villa. In his 14 months at Liverpool, the Welsh striker scored 25 goals in 61 appearances and lifted the FA Cup in 1992.
Had Saunders joined a season earlier, he would have been able to play alongside Alan Hansen. The legendary Scotland and Liverpool defender retired just months before Saunders made the move from Derby County to Merseyside.
This would have been quite the experience for Saunders, as in a recent interview, he emphatically named Hansen as the greatest defender he ever played against.
“Alan Hansen. His shirt, his shorts, never dirty, never on the floor. The first two yards are in your head. I used to anticipate a flick on or a cross going to the near post, he was already there.
Whereas some defenders see it late and after lunge, slide tackle and everybody claps, the fans say what a tackle. But Alan Hansen made it look easy, he was already there.
The fans are going, all right, that’s just gone straight on his head. No it hasn’t. He already got there five minutes before the ball was crossed. He used to get you up the pitch, as well.”
Saunders continued to praise Hansen for his tremendous pace, but he also revealed former Manchester United defender Paul McGrath was on a similar level to the Scotsman.
“When Liverpool cleared the ball up the pitch, he’d get the back four up to the halfway line. And before the ball was hooked back over his head, he’d already be running back towards Bruce Grobbelaar.
I thought I could get there, but he’s already there. And if he didn’t get there, if he got it wrong, he had Bruce Grobbelaar behind him. And he did play with Mark Lawrenson, who was a massive compliment to him.
He was quicker than him, more aggressive. Mark Lawrenson was a great centre-half, and he was my manager at Oxford, so he’s going to watch this. He’d come off with all mud all over him, and Alan Hansen had white kit on, not a spot of mud on it because his brain used to make you look stupid.
Paul McGrath was the same. What a player. I would have struggled if you said Paul McGrath or Alan Hansen. I would have struggled.”
Hansen made more than 600 appearances across all competitions during his time at Liverpool, with 434 of these coming in the First Division. Despite playing at the heart of defence, he registered 14 goals and 19 assists during his career.
The former Reds captain won 17 major honours in his 13 seasons at Anfield, including eight league titles and three European Cups.
