We've reached that time of year when people start to put out the lists of the best players in the world. First up is Goal with their 25 best players in the world this year. https://www.goal.com/story/goal-50-2019/index.html 1. Van Dijk 2. Messi 3. Salah 4. Cristiano Ronaldo 5. Mane 6. Sterling 7. Alisson 8. De Jong 9. Bernardo 10. Mbappe 11. Eden Hazard 12. De Ligt 13. Aguero 14. Son 15. Alexander-Arnold 16. Lewandowski 17. Firmino 18. Sancho 19. Griezmann 20. Aubameyang 21. Kane 22. Tadic 23. Robertson 24. Reus 25. Suarez
Is the other thread not good enough? (despite me being a bit pissed there ). I was wondering whether there was any sort of method and found this as the highest hit in the search engine: The Goal 50 is an annual award that brings together the world's 50 best male and female players. The players are divided into two 25-strong groups and ranked on their achievements over the previous year. Chief editors and correspondents from Goal's 42 editions around the world cast their votes based on each candidate's consistency, big-game performances, footballing legacy and success at club and international level. https://www.goal.com/en/news/virgil...goal-50-best-player/qgmapfu14jct10sa5vm5wpsvw P.S. remarkable but typical - for football - change from two years ago ("It is not as bad as it appeared and not as good as it should be").
I just thought I’d put one up for the lists. I saw yours as more for the performances during this season.
It's based on last season or 2019 calendar year ? If the 2019, Lewandowski should to be in TOP 5 at least Ronaldo in TOP 5 in 2019 it's not even funny. Many players were better but his PR is huge
The criteria say it is annual so it should be for this year, but as is often the case the entire previous season chips into the consideration. Lewandowski has to be top 5 most probably (although he didn't have a big CL game against a big opponent - taking aside Tottenham - it might be argued; scored his national team goals against Latvia and Israel) and I expect Mane ahead of Salah in the Ballon d'Or, although Salah has been shoe-horned into a different role compared to the season he scored 42 goals. I expect Lewandowski to be top 10 in the Ballon d'Or but not top five. Normally Messi is #1 when ignoring the national team scene and his injury. Main 'negative' is this season he has only three goals from open play (in all competitions) and those came against Eibar, Slavia Prague and Valladolid - while the stacked team still plays for his excellence and he registers 4+ shots per game. The other goals are from set piece situations. Anyway, let's see where the other lists place Lewandowski, Ronaldo and Salah.
To give an example for this: some buzz and applause has developed around Fabinho this season, but he misses out in above Goal 50 list. The Daily Telegraph ranked him as the 6th best Premier League player for the months September and October (TAA was 2nd) and for example this fansite (click link) ranked him as 2nd most important of his own team (I picked one from today): https://www.rousingthekop.com/2019/...les-liverpools-most-important-players-ranked/ So basically the first half of any season count twice, sort of. See this type of argumentation by Danny Murphy as well. https://talksport.com/football/6272...l-van-dijk-ballon-dor-barcelona-lionel-messi/ Similar to Fabinho now, Van Dijk had already a remarkable second half of the 2017-18 season, which sometimes received a big thumbs up (UCL team of the season by the technical commission) and sometimes not (e.g. no BdO nomination in 2018). edit: Fabinho wasn't part of the Copa America this year.
The ESPN 100 is now out as well: Goalkeepers: 10. Onana 9. De Gea 8. Lloris 7. Kepa 6. Szczesny 5. Neuer 4. Ederson 3. Ter Stegen 2. Oblak 1. Alisson Right-backs 10. Wan-Bissaka 9. Azpilicueta 8. Trippier 7. Cancelo 6. Dani Alves 5. Walker 4. Carvajal 3. Ricardo Pereira 2. Kimmich 1. Alexander-Arnold Centre-backs 10. Skriniar 9. Gimenez 8. Marquinhos 7. Bonucci 6. Chiellini 5. Ramos 4. Laporte 3. De Ligt 2. Koulibaly 1. Van Dijk Left-backs 10. Tagliafico 9. Kolarov 8. Grimaldo 7. Ferland Mendy 6. Digne 5. Lucas Hernandez 4. Alex Sandro 3. Alba 2. Alaba 1. Robertson Centre-mid 10. Saul Niguez 9. Verratti 8. Rodri 7. Pjanic 6. Fabinho 5. Casemiro 4. Fernandinho 3. Busquets 2. De Jong 1. Kante Attacking-mid 10. Bruno Fernandes 9. Banega 8. Havertz 7. Koke 6. Pogba 5. Eriksen 4. David Silva 3. Van de Beek 2. De Bruyne 1. Bernardo Silva Wing 10. Everton 9. Sane 8. Neres 7. Di Maria 6. Reus 5. Son Heung-Min 4. Sancho 3. Hazard 2. Mane 1. Sterling Forward 10. Tadic 9. Joao Felix 8. Neymar 7. Aubameyang 6. Griezmann 5. Firmino 4. Salah 3. Mbappe 2. Ronaldo 1. Messi Striker 10. Quagliarella 9. Ibrahimovic 8. Lacazette 7. Zapata 6. Cavani 5. Suarez 4. Benzema 3. Lewandowski 2. Kane 1. Aguero Manager 10. Sarri 9. Belmadi 8. Gallardo 7. Ancelotti 6. Allegri 5. Simeone 4. Pochettino 3. Ten Hag 2. Guardiola 1. Klopp
I don't get how can Van de Beek be so high in this and no Ziyech or Wijnaldum (yesterday captain for the first time & the first midfielder since Neeskens in '72 to score a hat-trick). I really see this different. Vd Beek isn't first choice for the national side and has for now basically only one mental mode to play the game. He moves down a gear when playing as double six but basically still plays the same way. Fabinho wasn't a locked starter last season (the first half at the least), not part of the Copa America, and leapfrogs to a high placement. Well, I can run down a few more of those and who misses out. The Ajax boys are good, but in the meantime it are others who create the goals for the national team. You wouldn't get the impression they're involved in less than 20% of the goals if you see this ESPN list (F. de Jong passes the test for me though, scoring and assisting against Germany and Northern Ireland). Saw today this list: https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/uefa-ranking-memphis-en-frenkie-de-beste-wijnaldum-stijgt-met-stip https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/performancezone/#/how-it-works No, I don't take this too literal for sure, but at the same time you can't say the top names are boosted by playing in particularly easy groups (with no Malta, Luxembourg, Andorra, San Marino in for example). So it still caught my attention.
I don't understand how Neres can be in and Ziyech not in. Wijnaldum is in a very tough category. I could well see him in there but we're also missing the likes of Parejo and all the inclusions have merit. The complete absence of someone like Pique doesn't make sense to me.
While I don't expect much from ESPN, there are some real mind-bogglers here. Ramos above Chiellini? How is that justifiable? Ramos accomplished nothing during the year, his most memorable moment being when he was purposefully and arrogantly sent off vs Ajax therefore missing the second leg, which Real went on to lose. Kane and Aguero above Lewandoski?? Was Kante really the best CM in the world this year? Kepa shouldn't be on the list. It can only be EPL bias. Surely on of Handanovic, Donnarumma, or even Sirigu deserves it more, and probably many other GKs I am missing. Azpilicueta... not even gonna get into that one.
Yes I understand that and maybe there should be an extra category of defensive midfielders. Parejo has to be in too I agree and we're also missing some other likely choices such as Thiago, Jorginho and maybe Kroos, Koke, Brozovic, Witsel. 'Algemeen Dagblad' gave Gini an 8.5 for the entire qualification campaign (8 goals and 2 assists without penalty). Others with a strong grade were De Jong (8), Depay (8), Van Dijk (8), Malen (7), De Ligt (7). I'd say he is my favorite orange player now and yes his tactical profile is sort of a budget Clarence clone (including the 'odd' big goal). I can understand why his team-mates at Oranje and Liverpool voted him as one of the captains, and before the match he had some words to say. One I have my doubts about is Rodri, primarily/exclusively in what he does without the ball. Saw him against Sweden for the national side.
I think many would pick the same top two (leaving aside whether that's correct). The rest is more random, but the full-backs are traditionally not the strongest positions. Kyle Walker was last season quite weak, this season a bit better but not always playing or completing matches (with his team winning, thus no need to field an extra attacker or so).
Voetbal International made a combined Holland-Belgium team, presumably based on this year. https://www.vi.nl/pro/opinie/bene-t...ederland-en-belgie-de-wereld-kunnen-veroveren Most of the readers comments are about the goalkeeper choice (while acknowledging Courtois didn't have a good year for club and country), with a few sporadic remarks on the absence of Mertens, Alderweireld or Wijnaldum.
There are now strong rumors Messi will win the Ballon d'Or (which doesn't surprise me, given the always tight voting blocks and that also Tuvalu and St. Kitts can vote) and Ronaldo will finish third... F. de Jong said something about him changing his playing style a bit: "The freedom of movement here is different. At Ajax the intention was to get me in control during the build-up, now I have to change my position. Running away to get others in the best possible possession of the ball, or finding a space on the field to receive the ball itself. That sort of thing is searching." https://www.vi.nl/pro/overig/frenki...jn-eerste-barca-rondo-en-de-snelle-aanpassing Basically he admits in the piece he and the team as a whole isn't playing as well as he did for Ajax or for the national team this season. He admits he's still learning the language. He makes some interesting comments though. Some other comments: Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler "Barcelona is top of the top, but there is the atmosphere of a friends club that knows each other for a while. I was surprised about that. The bond between the players is very close and meant, there is not jealousy. Everyone realizes that together we have to achieve performance and that you have to make the best of it. We are of course often together. With Ajax we had a training camp during preparation, mostly in Austria. At Barcelona I suddenly flew literally all over the world. Physiologically I don't know if that has been so good, but commercially I understand. No leading player is complaining about it. [...] In the meantime I have mastered the football language. When the trainer starts to slide on the board with magnets, I understand exactly what he means and I understand what my duties are. In the dressing room I can already talk to the boys, but as soon as they start to laugh, when jokes are made, or jokes are told, I need a little longer to understand them. [...] Playing and training together with Messi, Griezmann, Busquets, Piqué ... Not that it made me very nervous, or something, but when you are on the field with them for the first time, you are curious. I went there for the first time with a different feeling in my stomach, a bit like on your first day of school. I also knew all those stories beforehand, of how well those guys can play with each other. I was also curious about that, the position games, the rondo, they control them. I just thought: As long as I am not in the middle for twenty minutes. But it wasn't a problem. " [...] But then it's about that extra quality. Then it may be that you are standing in the field watching how Luis scores a bicycle goal with his wrong leg. Yes, of course I enjoy, alone, it doesn't surprise me anymore. I also see him doing things during training, so that it starts to become almost normal too. [...] You have already had all positions in midfield. 'Not a problem for me. Everyone starts talking about the location of Sergio Busquets, that I can really do justice there. If he does not participate, I would indeed like to play there, but you do talk about Busquets, do you? One of the biggest players in the world in that position. That I then come to play to his left, sometimes even in a more attacking role, does not matter to me at all. The only thing is that I only get to the ball at a later stage of the build-up, so that my influence on the game is different. In the beginning I didn't play my best game yet, that is going much better now. Then I can play in that place without any problems. I also see the benefit of it. Everyone knows what I can do at 6, I have played there so many times. Now I am forced to develop in positions that demand other aspects of a midfielder. It makes me more complete. " The question that everyone wants to ask ... "... what is it like to play with Messi? Haha. No, I don't get tired of it, I get it. I would also have asked. Messi is my teammate, it is this simple, but at the same time I can see and feel that he is a superstar. When we get off the bus at the hotel or stadium and people see Messi, yes, something happens. You see them all change. He is often the last person to come out, so they have to wait just a little longer. This provides even more sound.[...] During the matches you can always play the ball to him, that's the plan, and you know that he can do something decisive with it. And even if he plays to you, there is an idea behind that pass. I think it is an honor and special to be able to play with him. " That honor seems mutual, because Messi recently voted for Frenkie de Jong as the best midfielder in the Champions League of the past season. Also Cristiano Ronaldo, the other all-time great, gave his voice to Frenkie de Jong, as Antoine Griezmann, now a teammate at Barcelona, called him the most difficult opponent he had ever played against. "I learned later that Messi and Ronaldo voted for me, but it is beautiful, of course. Just as Griezmann's compliment is, "says De Jong. "It matters to me because it comes from such big players. I am therefore particularly proud of it. As a little boy I was watching those guys in front of the TV when they were already playing in the Champions League and I was in school. But that's it immediately, that's all, isn't it? I don't think about it when I'm on the field with them. Then I only want one thing: to use that ball as well as possible. Exactly as I have always done. " As often remarked, those things work better by season instead of by year.
So, Messi will win thanks to tight voting blocks and also Tuvalu and St. Kitts ? The criteria aren't clear. We give it to the best player individualy? Or to the best/most infuential player of the winning team ( WC, Euro, UCL ) In first case it should to be Messi. In second, some Liverpool player
He's doing really well so far. Let's see how he does at the crunch end of the season and at the Euros. No doubt he is an absolutely superb player but it's not the first time he's had a sensational autumn and then faded.
Yes, undoubtedly this plays a part. See this thread (multiple tweets): And this: https://lmgtfy.com/?q=ballon+d'or+biases+strategic "Finally, sharing a continent with a jury member is also positively and significantly associated with a candidate being voted best player, though the odds ratio is fairly small. The odds to be voted best player by a given jury member are about 54 per cent higher if a candidate shares his continent with the jury member, compared to the candidate not sharing a continent with the jury member. Using the scenarios described above, for Messi in 2014, not sharing his continent with a jury member would get him 9.7 per cent of the votes, compared with 14 per cent in the case of sharing a continent with the jury member. For Ronaldo in 2014, these percentages would be 52.2 per cent and 62.3 per cent, respectively, while for Iniesta, these percentages would be 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent. While, in relative terms, these are still sizeable differences, for candidates with a low chance of being selected as the best player in the case of absence of similarity with the candidate, the absolute change in probability is small." Where South American voters are more united in their support for Neymar than European voters for 'their' guys (although we can see South Europeans are more likely to vote for Ronaldo than North Europeans). In other words: it will not result in a #7 becoming a #1 but can easily swing results around and make a difference of 10+ percent points. There are criteria but cannot find them right now, and it is questionable to what extent voters follow it. One of the criteria is professional conduct and showing exemplary behavior. It's also by calander year and then it doesn't make real sense (imho) to see Ronaldo third. Messi is of course much better and more deserved, but is unusually dependent on penalties and set pieces this season for his goals and assists (also recently vs Brazil and Uruguay for his national side).
Looking at all of this again, I think they are mixing up both timeframes. Lewandowski is 'only' third because of last season. Neuer is 5th because of this season. Allison is #1 because of last season (+ Copa America), not because of the current campaign where he was injured (Liverpool doing fine in the meantime with the league's best defense) and hasn't looked at his previous best so far (2.2 saves per match, 0.9 goals conceded per match). It's likely he'll get back to his best form though. https://www.goal.com/en-ph/news/ali...-form-after-injury/1lfcagac5854013x1hcbve0ccx
So, who should to vote and who should to win ? If the player win WC or UCL with amazing ko performance and great consistency during a year, he is a "clear" winner. Both VVD and Messi aren't "clear" this year
In absolute terms, no, they're not clear. But relatively, they are. There simply isn't anyone you can really make an argument for above these two.