Best Central midfielders in the world

[mufc4life]

Everyone seems to talk about Cesc Fabregas, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Pirlo, Riquelme etc, who are all good players but why dont people talk as much about Paul Scholes is it bcos he has quit from internationals. Personally i would rate him top 5 in the world, cos if u look at his control,movement and passing during matches there is nobody in the world like that.

[xTottixCorex]

for me, it's riquelme (when healthy) and Scholes as the best. gerrard is good, vieira when in form is scary at the position. and kaka in the central role is better then lampard.

[jagr68]

I don't know if you would classify Essien as a central midfielder, but I would say he's the best.

[vancity eagle]

I don't know if you would classify Essien as a central midfielder, but I would say he's the best.

I have to agree, I don't think one man can affect a team so much single handedly.

[Catel]

I have to agree, I don't think one man can affect a team so much single handedly.
Tiago does. ;) Many Lyon fans prefer him to Essien !

[Bertje]

Deco.

[vancity eagle]

Tiago does. ;) Many Lyon fans prefer him to Essien !

Tiago doesn't even start every game for Lyon. What kind of a joke comparison is that.

[Inara]

Tiago doesn't even start every game for Lyon. What kind of a joke comparison is that.That's because of substitutions and suspensions. He's still the manager's (and the fan's) preference. Essien might have brought muscle, but Tiago has offered the intelligent playmaking that brings out the best in Juninho and the rest of those around him.

He's a very underrated player, and if he had played this well for Chelsea (I put down his less than par performances there due to his being forced to play more defensively than he does at Lyon), you can bet he'd be more well-known.

Michael Essien hasn't been missed by Lyon. Or Diarra in fact. :cool:

[schafer]

That's because of substitutions and suspensions. He's still the manager's (and the fan's) preference. Essien might have brought muscle, but Tiago has offered the intelligent playmaking that brings out the best in Juninho and the rest of those around him.

He's a very underrated player, and if he had played this well for Chelsea (I put down his less than par performances there due to his being forced to play more defensively than he does at Lyon), you can bet he'd be more well-known.

Michael Essien hasn't been missed by Lyon. Or Diarra in fact. :cool:

Tiago didn't do poorly at Chelsea, and I would have rather seen him given more of a shot, but I think he was needed in order to secure the Essien deal, unfortunately. As you said, a very smart, technically sound player.

[Paul_NL]

If I could pick 5 I would pick

1: Kaka
2: Gago
3: Cesk
4: Essien
5: Carrick

Age considered :)

Non age related

1: Kaka
2: Lampard
3: Xavi
4: Gago
5: Cesk

[GringoTex]

Diego at Werder Bremen has earned a spot in the conversation.

[Inara]

Juninho Pernambucano. He is one of the biggest reasons that Lyon is such a strong club.

[ForeverRed]

Diego at Werder Bremen has earned a spot in the conversation.

I'll do you one better.

Thorsten Frings.

[chao]

Steven Gerrard.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Gerrard
Kaka

[Affliction]

At the moment, judging on this season, I'd have to say Kaka is the best, his technical ability is superb and not only that but he gets box to box which is rare for someone as good as him on the ball. Essien, Gago and Scholes are also exceptional.

Not long ago I'd have seen Michael Ballack and Steven Gerrard were the best centre midfielders without question, they both carried their teams to glory and more or less controlled the game. This season Ballack has struggled to settle in at Chelsea and as a result hasn't been playing anywhere near his best. He'd have been better going to Man United or Barcelona where he'd have been the hub of the midfielder rather than just another slot. Gerrrard hasn't had a good season at all compared to his usual standards and much of that can be attributed to Benitez playing him in all sorts of positions than he's not used to.

[9_kezman]

I think Stephen Appiah.He is a fantastic player!!!

[Quaresma]

LMAO at whoever said Carrick.

We will have the luxery of seeing fantastic midfielders in the years to come, theres quite a few good ones out there right now.

Cesc
Fernandes
Denilson
Gago
Diaby
Aqualini
Moutinho
Kaka



etc etc

[Cassano]

well for a name not mentioned in this thread, Daniele De Rossi of Roma.

[Quaresma_7]

deco, kaka, juninho, lucho, fabergas, scholes, diego, lampard....

i htink that Diego is better the Frings....

ANderson def on fer future

when speaking of central midfielders i considered DM, CM and AM...any one who plays in the middle