Thoughts, omissions, comments, recommendations very welcome as always: Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich and Germany) Jacques Songo’o (Deportivo la Coruna and Cameroon) Iker Casillas (Real Madrid and Spain) Fabien Barthez (Monaco and France) Nigel Martyn (Leeds and England) Francesco Toldo (Fiorentina and Italy) Luca Marchegiani (Lazio and Italy) Angelo Peruzzi (Inter and Italy) Gianluigi Buffon (Parma and Italy) Peter Schmeichel (Sporting Lisbon and Denmark) Jerzy Dudek (Feyenoord and Poland) Hans-Jorg Butt (Hamburg and Germany) Claudio Taffarel (Galatasaray and Brazil) Full-back Cafu (Roma and Brazil) Vincent Candela (Roma and France) Juan Velasco (Celta Vigo and Spain) Cosmin Contra (Alaves and Romania) Jocelyn Angloma (Valencia and France) Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid and Brazil) Enrique Romero (Deportivo la Coruna and Spain) Paolo Maldini (Milan and Italy) Agustin Aranzabal (Real Sociedad and Spain) Ian Harte (Leeds and Republic of Ireland) Albert Ferrer (Chelsea and Spain) Gary Kelly (Leeds and Republic of Ireland) Giuseppe Pancaro (Lazio and Italy) Paolo Negro (Lazio and Italy) Michel Salgado (Real Madrid and Spain) Bixente Lizarazu (Bayern Munich and France) Gianluca Pessotto (Juventus and Italy) Willy Sagnol (Monaco and France) Sylvinho (Arsenal and Brazil) Denis Irwin (Manchester United and Republic of Ireland) Rui Jorge (Sporting Lisbon and Portugal) Centre-back Alessandro Nesta (Lazio and Italy) Sinisa Mihajlovic (Lazio and Yugoslavia) Jaap Stam (Manchester United and Netherlands) Sami Hyypia (Liverpool and Finland) Ivan Helguera (Real Madrid and Spain) Lilian Thuram (Parma and France) Paolo Montero (Juventus and Uruguay) Ciro Ferrara (Juventus and Italy) Sol Campbell (Tottenham and England) Abelardo (Barcelona and Spain) Nourredine Naybet (Deportivo la Coruna and Morocco) Donato (Deportivo la Coruna and Brazil) Miroslav Djukic (Valencia and Yugoslavia) Paco (Real Zaragoza and Spain) Marcel Desailly (Chelsea and France) Paolo Cannavaro (Parma and Italy) Aldair (Roma and Brazil) Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany) Laurent Blanc (Inter and France) Philippe Christanval (Monaco and France) Lucas Radebe (Leeds and South Africa) Defensive Midfielder Emerson (Bayer Leverkusen and Brazil) Edgar Davids (Juventus and Netherlands) Mauro Silva (Deportivo la Coruna and Brazil) Massimo Ambrosini (Milan and Italy) Claude Makelele (Celta Vigo and France) Didier Deschamps (Chelsea and France) Jens Jeremies (Bayern Munich and Germany) Damiano Tommassi (Roma and Italy) Igor Biscan (Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia) Niko Kovac (Hamburg and Croatia) Alexei Smertin (Lokomotiv Moscow and Russia) Central Midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron (Lazio and Argentina) Stefan Effenberg (Bayern Munich and Germany) Roy Keane (Manchester United and Republic of Ireland) Patrick Vieira (Arsenal and France) Pep Guardiola (Barcelona and Spain) Fernando Redondo (Real Madrid and Argentina) Dennis Wise (Chelsea and England) Giuliano Giannicheda (Udinese and Italy) Gerard (Valencia and Spain) Steve McManaman (Real Madrid and England) Javier Farinos (Valencia and Spain) Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal and France)’ Steven Gerrard (Liverpool and England) Barry Ferguson (Rangers and Scotland) Attacking Midfielder Zinedine Zidane (Juventus and France) Stefano Fiore (Udinese and Italy) Marcelo Gallardo (Monaco and Argentina) Paul Scholes (Manchester United and England) Rui Costa (Fiorentina and Portugal) Djalminha (Deportivo la Coruna and Brazil) Rodolfo Cardoso (Hamburg and Argentina) Thomas Hassler (1860 Munich and Germany) Gheorghe Hagi (Galatasaray and Romania) Winger Luis Figo (Barcelona and Portugal) Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia and Spain) Pavel Nedved (Lazio and Czech Republic) Ryan Giggs (Manchester United and Wales) David Beckham (Manchester United and England) Fran (Deportivo la Coruna and Spain) Harry Kewell (Leeds and Australia) Angelo Di Livio (Fiorentina and Italy) Martin Jorgenson (Udinese and Denmark) Arnold Bruggink (PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands) Marc Overmars (Arsenal and Netherlands) Christian Brocchi (Verona and Italy) Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus and Italy) Kily Gonzalez (Valencia and Argentina) Pedro Munitis (Racing Santander and Spain) Joseba Etxeberria (Athletic Bilbao and Spain) Laurent Robert (Paris Saint-Germain and France) Forward Rivaldo (Barcelona and Brazil) Raul (Real Madrid and Spain) Francesco Totti (Roma and Italy) Dwight Yorke (Manchester United and Trinidad & Tobago) Thierry Henry (Juventus/Arsenal and France) Youri Djorkaeff (Kaiserslautern and France) Paulo Sergio (Bayern Munich and Germany) Alvaro Recoba (Inter and Uruguay) Giuseppe Signori (Bologna and Italy) Claudio Lopez (Valencia and Argentina) Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal and Netherlands) Striker Kevin Phillips (Sunderland and England) Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan and Ukraine) Gabriel Batistuta (Fiorentina and Argentina) Hernan Crespo (Parma and Argentina) Mario Jardel (Porto and Brazil) Sonny Anderson (Lyon and Brazil) David Trezeguet (Monaco and France) Marco Simone (Monaco and Italy) Martin Max (1860 Munich and Germany) Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands) Pierre van Hooijdonck (Vitesse and Netherlands) Salva (Racing Santander and Spain) Catanha (Malaga and Brazil) Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Atletico Madrid and Netherlands) Savo Milosevic (Real Zaragoza and Yugoslavia) Roy Makaay (Deportivo la Coruna and Netherlands) Diego Tristan (Mallorca and Spain) Andy Cole (Manchester United and England) Alan Shearer (Newcastle and England) Michael Bridges (Leeds and England) Marcelo Salas (Lazio and Chile) Christian Vieri (Inter and Italy) Marco Delvecchio (Roma and Italy) Emile Heskey (Leicester and England) Mark Viduka (Celtic and Australia) Hakan Sukur (Galatasaray and Turkey) Serkan Aykut (Samsunspor and Turkey)
So these were my tentative ratings: Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich and Germany) 27 games, 0 goals *** Francesco Toldo (Fiorentina and Italy) 34 games, 0 goals ** Gianluigi Buffon (Parma and Italy) 32 games, 0 goals ** Iker Casillas (Real Madrid and Spain) 27 games, 0 goals * Fabien Barthez (Monaco and France) 24 games, 0 goals * Jacques Songo’o (Deportivo la Coruna and Cameroon) 36 games, 0 goals * Nigel Martyn (Leeds and England) 38 games, 0 goals * Luca Marchegiani (Lazio and Italy) 28 games, 0 goals * Angelo Peruzzi (Inter and Italy) 33 games, 0 goals * Peter Schmeichel (Sporting Lisbon and Denmark) 28 games, 0 goals * Jerzy Dudek (Feyenoord and Poland) 34 games, 0 goals * Hans-Jorg Butt (Hamburg and Germany) 34 games, 9 goals * Claudio Taffarel (Galatasaray and Brazil) 30 games, 0 goals * Full-back Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid and Brazil) 35 games, 4 goals *** Cafu (Roma and Brazil) 28 games, 2 goals ** Jocelyn Angloma (Valencia and France) 30 games, 1 goal ** Vincent Candela (Roma and France) 26 games, 2 goals ** Juan Velasco (Celta Vigo and Spain) 29 games, 1 goal * Cosmin Contra (Alaves and Romania) 33 games, 2 goals * Enrique Romero (Deportivo la Coruna and Spain) 34 games, 1 goal * Paolo Maldini (Milan and Italy) 27 games, 1 goal * Agustin Aranzabal (Real Sociedad and Spain) 31 games, 1 goal * Ian Harte (Leeds and Republic of Ireland) 33 games, 6 goals * Albert Ferrer (Chelsea and Spain) 25 games, 1 goal * Gary Kelly (Leeds and Republic of Ireland) 31 games, 0 goals * Giuseppe Pancaro (Lazio and Italy) 28 games, 3 goals * Paolo Negro (Lazio and Italy) 26 games, 2 goals * Michel Salgado (Real Madrid and Spain) 29 games, 0 goals * Bixente Lizarazu (Bayern Munich and France) 22 games, 1 goal * Gianluca Pessotto (Juventus and Italy) 30 games, 1 goal * Willy Sagnol (Monaco and France) 26 games, 0 goals * Sylvinho (Arsenal and Brazil) 31 games, 2 goals * Denis Irwin (Manchester United and Republic of Ireland) 25 games, 3 goals * Rui Jorge (Sporting Lisbon and Portugal) 33 games, 2 goals * Centre-back Alessandro Nesta (Lazio and Italy) 28 games, 0 goals *** Sinisa Mihajlovic (Lazio and Yugoslavia) 26 games, 6 goals ** Jaap Stam (Manchester United and Netherlands) 33 games, 0 goals ** Lilian Thuram (Parma and France) 33 games, 0 goals ** Abelardo (Barcelona and Spain) 25 games, 1 goal ** Sol Campbell (Tottenham and England) 29 games, 0 goals ** Fabio Cannavaro (Parma and Italy) 31 games, 2 goals ** Sami Hyypia (Liverpool and Finland) 38 games, 2 goals ** Ivan Helguera (Real Madrid and Spain) 33 games, 0 goals ** Paolo Montero (Juventus and Uruguay) 28 games, 0 goals ** Nourredine Naybet (Deportivo la Coruna and Morocco) 25 games, 0 goals * Donato (Deportivo la Coruna and Spain) 29 games, 3 goals * Miroslav Djukic (Valencia and Yugoslavia) 33 games, 0 goals * Paco (Real Zaragoza and Spain) 34 games, 0 goals * Ciro Ferrara (Juventus and Italy) 31 games, 1 goal * Marcel Desailly (Chelsea and France) 23 games, 1 goal * Aldair (Roma and Brazil) 34 games, 1 goal * Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany) 33 games, 1 goal * Laurent Blanc (Inter and France) 34 games, 3 goals * Tony Adams (Arsenal and England) 21 games, 0 goals * Philippe Christanval (Monaco and France) 25 games, 0 goals * Lucas Radebe (Leeds and South Africa) 31 games, 0 goals * Defensive Midfielder Emerson (Bayer Leverkusen and Brazil) 29 games, 5 goals *** Edgar Davids (Juventus and Netherlands) 27 games, 1 goal *** Mauro Silva (Deportivo la Coruna and Brazil) 33 games, 0 goals ** Massimo Ambrosini (Milan and Italy) 29 games, 2 goals * Claude Makelele (Celta Vigo and France) 34 games, 1 goal * Didier Deschamps (Chelsea and France) 27 games, 0 g0als * Jens Jeremies (Bayern Munich and Germany) 30 games, 3 goals * Damiano Tommassi (Roma and Italy) 33 games, 2 goals * Igor Biscan (Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia) 29 games, 6 goals * Niko Kovac (Hamburg and Croatia) 30 games, 8 goals * Alexei Smertin (Lokomotiv Moscow and Russia) 29 games, 6 goals * Central Midfielder Roy Keane (Manchester United and Republic of Ireland) 29 games, 5 goals *** Juan Sebastian Veron (Lazio and Argentina) 31 games, 8 goals *** Stefan Effenberg (Bayern Munich and Germany) 27 games, 2 goals ** Fernando Redondo (Real Madrid and Argentina) 30 games, 0 goals ** Patrick Vieira (Arsenal and France) 30 games, 2 goals * Dennis Wise (Chelsea and England) 30 games, 4 goals * Pep Guardiola (Barcelona and Spain) 25 games, 0 goals * Giuliano Giannicheda (Udinese and Italy) 29 games, 1 goal * Gerard (Valencia and Spain) 33 games, 4 goals * Steve McManaman (Real Madrid and England) 28 games, 3 goals * Javier Farinos (Valencia and Spain) 34 games, 5 goals * Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal and France)’26 games, 3 goals * Steven Gerrard (Liverpool and England) 29 games, 1 goal * Barry Ferguson (Rangers and Scotland) 31 games, 4 goals * Attacking Midfielder Pavel Nedved (Lazio and Czech Republic) 28 games, 5 goals *** Zinedine Zidane (Juventus and France) 32 games, 4 goals *** Stefano Fiore (Udinese and Italy) 33 games, 9 goals ** Marcelo Gallardo (Monaco and Argentina) 28 games, 8 goals ** Paul Scholes (Manchester United and England) 31 games, 9 goals ** Rui Costa (Fiorentina and Portugal) 30 games, 4 goals * Djalminha (Deportivo la Coruna and Brazil) 31 games, 10 goals * Rodolfo Cardoso (Hamburg and Argentina) 28 games, 8 goals * Thomas Hassler (1860 Munich and Germany) 33 games, 8 goals * Gheorghe Hagi (Galatasaray and Romania) 19 games, 12 goals * Winger Luis Figo (Barcelona and Portugal) 32 games, 9 goals *** Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia and Spain) 33 games, 13 goals *** Harry Kewell (Leeds and Australia) 36 games, 10 goals ** Ryan Giggs (Manchester United and Wales) 30 games, 6 goals ** David Beckham (Manchester United and England) 31 games, 6 goals ** Angelo Di Livio (Fiorentina and Italy) 30 games, 1 goal * Martin Jorgenson (Udinese and Denmark) 30 games, 7 goals * Arnold Bruggink (PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands) 30 games, 19 goals * Marc Overmars (Arsenal and Netherlands) 31 games, 7 goals * Christian Brocchi (Verona and Italy) 27 games, 2 goal * Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus and Italy) 32 games, 1 goal * Kily Gonzalez (Valencia and Argentina) 32 games, 3 goals * Pedro Munitis (Racing Santander and Spain) 35 games, 6 goals * Joseba Etxeberria (Athletic Bilbao and Spain) 35 games, 11 goals * Laurent Robert (Paris Saint-Germain and France) 28 games, 9 goals * Fran (Deportivo la Coruna and Spain) 22 games, 1 goal HM Forward Raul (Real Madrid and Spain) 34 games, 17 goals *** Rivaldo (Barcelona and Brazil) 31 games, 12 goals ** Francesco Totti (Roma and Italy) 27 games, 7 goals ** Dwight Yorke (Manchester United and Trinidad & Tobago) 32 games, 20 goals ** Thierry Henry (Arsenal and France) 31 games, 17 goals * Youri Djorkaeff (Kaiserslautern and France) 25 games, 11 goals * Paulo Sergio (Bayern Munich and Germany) 28 games, 13 goals * Alvaro Recoba (Inter and Uruguay) 27 games, 10 goals * Giuseppe Signori (Bologna and Italy) 31 games, 15 goals * Luc Nilis (PSV Eindhoven and Belgium) 26 games, 19 goals * Claudio Lopez (Valencia and Argentina) 33 games, 11 goals * Paolo Di Canio (West Ham and Italy) 30 games, 16 goals * Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal and Netherlands) 28 games, 6 goals HM Striker Kevin Phillips (Sunderland and England) 36 games, 30 goals *** Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan and Ukraine) 32 games, 24 goals *** Gabriel Batistuta (Fiorentina and Argentina) 30 games, 23 goals *** Hernan Crespo (Parma and Argentina) 34 games, 22 goals ** Mario Jardel (Porto and Brazil) 32 games, 38 goals ** Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands) 23 games, 29 goals ** Salva (Racing Santander and Spain) 36 games, 27 goals ** Catanha (Malaga and Brazil) 33 games, 24 goals ** Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Atletico Madrid and Netherlands) 34 games, 24 goals ** Roy Makaay (Deportivo la Coruna and Netherlands) 26 games, 22 goals ** Sonny Anderson (Lyon and Brazil) 32 games, 23 goals * David Trezeguet (Monaco and France) 30 games, 22 goals * Marco Simone (Monaco and Italy) 34 games, 21 goals * Martin Max (1860 Munich and Germany) 32 games, 19 goals * Pierre van Hooijdonck (Vitesse and Netherlands) 29 games, 25 goals * Vincenzo Montella (Roma and Italy) 31 games, 18 goals * Savo Milosevic (Real Zaragoza and Yugoslavia) 37 games, 23 goals * Diego Tristan (Mallorca and Spain) 35 games, 19 goals * Andy Cole (Manchester United and England) 28 games, 19 goals * Alan Shearer (Newcastle and England) 37 games, 23 goals * Michael Bridges (Leeds and England) 34 games, 19 goals * Marcelo Salas (Lazio and Chile) 28 games, 11 goals * Christian Vieri (Inter and Italy) 19 games, 13 goals * Marco Delvecchio (Roma and Italy) 28 games, 12 goals * Mark Viduka (Celtic and Australia) 28 games, 25 goals * Hakan Sukur (Galatasaray and Turkey) 32 games, 14 goals * Serkan Aykut (Samsunspor and Turkey) 33 games, 30 goals * Giovane Elber (Bayern Munich and Brazil) 26 games, 14 goals *
I think Juventus' defense/keeper need more credit/stars, they only allowed 20 goals that season, by far the fewest in the league, 13 less than the next best Lazio. Juve's problem was they could not score, they scored. You have to go all the way down to 9th place Verona to find a team that scored fewer. They scored almost 20 fewer goals than Laxzio and AC Milan. I do no think this is a *** club year for Zidane. I think you have underrated La Liga all the way around. At this point they are by far the best league in the world. Look at the number of teams going deep in the CL and the depth of teams competitive for the league title. Specifically Naybet and Djalminha need at least **. Redondo is a must for **** in my opinion. Canizares needs to be rated. Gerard Lopez could easily go **, was probably considered Valencia's second most important player after Mendiata.
I included 35 players from La Liga which is clearly a lot. The problem is that they didn't do that well on multiple fronts, but I'm happy to make those tweaks.
This is what Don Balon said, although it's only restricted to the league (not Champions League certainly and I think also not the domestic cup although indirectly it might still crawl in)
I think this is one of the three seasons where Redondo actually merits a *** rating, but it's true - I feel - that the single backheel against Manchester United has defined the entire season for him (added to UEFA Club footballer of the year and Real Madrid player of the year). He was (joint) 18th in both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA vote, in a tournament year of course.
Which was part of my challenge with him. It is very hard (not impossible) to be *** in my book if you aren't the best player in your position in the league because the league is the core of the season. He also only got one nomination in the ESM XI. But I do remember him being great at this point.