Ruben Dias has well and truly cemented himself as a starter for the Portugal national team - but is he ready to be considered one of the best defenders in world football?
Contrary to popular belief, players in the Portuguese Primeira Liga really can be world class. The likes of Ederson and Bruno Fernandes have already proven their extensive ability in the Premier League, and many across the globe today would deem them world class talents.
Interestingly though, a substantial proportion of those people wouldn’t have said this whilst this duo played for Benfica and Sporting respectively, but they would be somewhat absurd if they believe these players suddenly became world class solely because they made the move out of Portugal and into England.
The point, therefore, is that players in Portugal can be world class, even if they aren’t well-known to the rest of the world.
That’s not to say Ruben Dias himself is world class though, but simply proves that it is more than conceivable that he is. After all, playing for the reigning champions of Portugal in Benfica, Dias has not only featured in, but started and played the entirety of, 39 matches across all competitions this season alone, including every single minute of Benfica’s Primeira Liga and Europa League campaigns.
It’s a stunning achievement in reality, one that is surely unmatched by anyone in Europe’s top divisions. For someone that is just 22 years of age to have played over 3,500 minutes of football over the last 8 months, even captaining his side on a handful of occasions, is truly exceptional, and shows that he is not just your average centreback.
It does help Dias that there isn’t a wealth of competition for a starting place for his Portuguese club, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that his number of minutes this season is practically unrivalled in all of professional football.
This isn’t the first season he has been indispensible for Benfica, either. Last campaign, he played an insane 55 games across all competitions, the entirety of all but two of them, and only missed two league matches, both of which were through suspension.
Dias therefore already has more top level experience than most 22 year old defenders, and with a strong physical presence, an excellent reading and understanding of the game and the composure and willingness to start moves from the back with his passing game, he offers excellent defensive cover - and a clear desire and energy to play week in, week out.
That Benfica have given him a 100 million euro release clause, which shows just how highly regarded he is at Benfica, and how desperate they are to see him cement himself as the latest long-serving club legend. How feasible that is is another question.
Has he done enough to prove to the world that he is already a world class talent? After all, not only is he a star of the Primeira Liga, but he is arguably the best centreback Portugal currently have, Dias the undisputed partner of Pepe for the Portugal national team at the heart of defence, having already picked up 17 caps for the national team, starting each and every one of Portugal’s last 16 senior international matches.
But Dias is still something of a raw talent; while he is already an all-round accomplished defender, his decision making can, at times, be questionable, and he does tend to lunge in on tackles. Small and subtle changes to his game will certainly push him much closer to becoming a world beater in the years to come, and there’s plenty of reason to be excited about his future.
Nevertheless, what Ruben Dias did in the Nations League finals against Switzerland and The Netherlands last summer was truly extraordinary, one of the most complete defensive displays across two matches as he completely dominated every opponent he came up against.
What ensures Dias is more likely to be deemed world class is that there actually aren’t all that many quality centrebacks currently playing in the beautiful game. For that, you could certainly make the case that he is already one of the best in the world at this moment in time - and the fact he ‘only’ plays in Portugal certainly shouldn’t prevent that.
Is he world class? Dias has shown the consistent quality needed to prove that, at the very least, he isn’t far off being considered a world class defender, particularly for the national team, and it is his consistency that means he is already on the brink of deservedly earning that tag, but he probably isn’t quite at that level yet. He still has a bit to prove with regards to some of his decision making and discipline to ensure he can be considered to be one of the very best in all of world football alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk.