✍️ What Makes Willian Pacho One of the Best Defenders in World Football?

Willian Pacho has elevated his game at Paris Saint-Germain, and is now in the conversation for best defender alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba, and Éder Militão.

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It has been nothing short of a meteoric rise for Willian Pacho.

Over the past six years, he’s gone from making his professional debut for Independiente del Valle and leading them to a first-ever championship under Renato Paiva, to kicking off his European journey in Belgium with Royal Antwerp, to cutting his teeth with German side Eintracht Frankfurt. And today, he’s established himself as an indispensable figure in Luis Enrique’s backline at Paris Saint-Germain.

One day after turning 24, Pacho came off the bench for the final half-hour in a 3-3 draw vs. Strasbourg, before relegating Lucas Beraldo to the bench and starting alongside summer arrival Illia Zabarnyi in central defense in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League match. Whilst Zabarnyi embarrassed himself with two penalties conceded and an early red card, Pacho stole the show by scoring his first-ever senior goal in his 203rd club appearance and keeping the likes of Christian Kofane, Ernest Poku, and Claudio Echeverri quiet with a composed display at the back, steering the reigning champions to a 7-2 victory vs. Bayer Leverkusen. It was yet another reason why, at just 24 years of age, Willian Pacho belongs in the upper echelon of Europe’s finest center-backs.