Gago is OK, but certainly not one of the best in the world. Real Madrid was hoping he would become Redondo. It hasn't worked out. Against the best competition he is over matched(see Liverpool Real Madrid game) He has done nothing with the full Argentina side either. Again, not bad, but not in the upper echelon.
Roma gave up the 4th most goals in Serie A last year yet De Rossi is one of the 3 best Dmids in the world, what am I missing?
roma had a ton of injuries last year and there defense sucks. thats not de rossi's fault. he still one of the best d-mids in the game.
Roma's fullbacks are horrible, and had tons of injuries and missed time by their CBs. Their keeper is not the best around either. You realize that there are 11 men on the pitch at a time, De Rossi can't stop goals going in on his own.
Yaya Toure is definately top 5. The guy bullied both Essien and Mikel at the same time in the first Chelsea v Barcelona game. He also has a pretty good offensive game as well.
I hope you realize that just because a player can defend well doesn't make him a DM. He simply is very good at defending. Both Redondo and Keane brought much more to the game than their defensive skills, which were still very good. They were both complete central midfielders with many strong characteristics. Best example is Keane, I don't know why people just mark him as a DM without actually paying attention to his game...
no he didn't, the first chelsea vs barca game the entire barca midfield was getting bullied and owned, including Yaya
I think Redondo was often deployed as a DM. 4 goals in over 6 years at Real Madrid. A good playmaker but was more of an anchor. You have a stronger point with Keane because of the way he was deployed. But either guy is as capable of filling the DM role.
Not overboard at all, the guy was defensively as good as Makelele and every bit as good as Pirlo bar his long range passing ability. He was like a freight train, no one could stop him once he got going due to his size, strength and technical flawlessness. To me, he is mixture of Makelele, Pirlo and Yaya Toure. In the 1999-2000 season, Real Madrid lined-up like this in Europe: -------Anelka------Morientes ---Raul-------------------McManaman -------------Redondo------------ ---Carlos-----Karanka----Helguera----Campos---Salgado Redondo was the only true midfielder in this set-up, I don't think there is anyone who could do the job he did that season in today's game. Such an underrated player.
But the combination of them definitely would do the job. It is not unlike Argentina pairing Redondo with Simeone.
except keane performed redondo and simeone's job for a better part of his prime at a top top level. i think redondo would just be a luxury in any team with keane.
Yeah that was probably because RM has 3 CB's so they were allowed to do that. But even then it looks very risky on paper. Teams today would have at least one full time DM and another CM in that formation. One of my favorite players because he was one of the few players who was strong defensively and had fantastic technique and vision. Arguably there's no one like that in the game today, Xavi and Pirlo play deep, but they lack his defensive skills, players like Maka recover the ball and hand it off to more gifted teammates.
Lassana is one of the current best at combining the defensive prowess with the technical ability to spring attacks.
Without a shadow of a doubt the best player in this position is lassana Diarra. He didn't play at Chelsea much but when he did he was quite good.He left for Arsenal , the club that needed him more than any other ,and was so scared by the amount of playing time he would get soon left for Portsmouth.IF only he knew he was brought in to replace a soon to leave Flamini Arsenal would have had a better season. Anyway at Pompey is where everyone ELSE started to realize his potential,he manhandled Man u in the cup ,and everyone else prompting a move to Real madrid. NOw, up until Lass Diarra joined the Spanish club they were on a slide ,after loosing M.Diarra to injury. You can check the stats ,but i will tell you now that the day he joined Real Madrid they went on a 17 game unbeaten streak. Coincidence? I your dreams,so impressive was he that even the REal madrid fans actually made him a favourite. the thing that gives Lass the edge over all others is because of these variables.... 1) He is lightning quick. 2) He is an impeccable tackler 3) He starts an attack without a second thought. 4) He has very good passing range 5) He is all over the field the whole game. He just has more tools to his game than any other defensive mid and in fact he is a rare gem in the world of football. I think with the addition of Alonso to partner him Real Madrid is NOW on paper a legitimate Champions league threat make no mistake. Before Alonso i was hoping Real would play both Diarra's in the mid field ,with Lass more of a roaming role going from box to box and M.Diarra sitting back. BUt the option of both Alonso and L.Diarra as threats make them more dangerous ,if the manager can get them thinking in sync. That my thoughts.
Wilson Palacios....he is good but not world class yet. I have Essien, Yaya, Masch, De Rossi. Gago cannot even be considered for this.
indeed , amd how anyone can put Gago in thier list and not him is beyond comprehension, gago is trash in comparison. All you have to do is watch a real madrid game with both players on the field, diarra made him look like a lazy poser.Real madrid don't derserve Diarra that much is a fact ,because with addition of these so called " mega stars" his input will be overlooked as is usually the case in this glamour consumed society of ours. It's a shame ,but a fact of life that i hope will change.