The 50 Best Footballers

Thanks o lot for your response. I will allow to comment.

MALDINI: I guess you´re right. I might have him a bit too low. The reason for this is that in my (and my friends) opinion Maldini was no longer "flashy" at this stage. We loved the "new" ones much more Samuel, Ayala, Ferdinand, Lucio, Cannavaro, Nesta etc. However, these rankings should reflect overall worldwide opinions and in that regard I guess you´re right. I will move him up a bit for 2003+2004.

DIDA: When I left him out in 2004 I knew someone (in this forum or the other forums where I post this) would comment. Fair enough. I/We just never saw anything i Dida - NEVER! We saw him as a typically error-prone South American keeper who would have his occasionally world-class super saves. However, once again - this is worldwide so I´ll bring him in for 2004 (he is already in for 2005 which was his peak after my opinion).

RONALDINHO: I´ll admit I do not remember 100% either for summer 2003. What I do remember is this. I´m a loyal Manchester U supporter (has been for 44 years). In the summer of 2003 I seriously regarded David Beckham as one of the worlds finest players. I almost cried when he fell out with Fergie and was to be sold. However, when I heard Ronaldinho were to become his heir I immediately forgot all about Becks as I saw Ronaldinho as the 2003 version of the 2025 Lamine Yamal/Kylian Mbappe. That´s what I remember clearly from summer 2003 and hence I must rank Ronnie very high already that year. (You can imagine how I felt when United sold Becks but Ronaldinho never came. However, United bought someone unknown called Cristiano instead!)

Again thanks a lot for your response. Very helpful.

 

TOP 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS - AUGUST 2005:

GOLD: RONALDINHO (Barcelona)
SILVER: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
BRONZE: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)

4: ADRIANO (Inter)
5: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
6: Samuel ETO´O (Barcelona)
7: Michael BALLACK (Bayern)
8: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
9: KAKA (AC Milan)
10: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Manchester U)

11: Zinedine ZIDANE (Real Madrid)
12: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
13: Alessandro NESTA (AC Milan)
14: RONALDO (Real Madrid)
15: John TERRY (Chelsea)
16: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
17: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
18: Claude MAKELELE (Chelsea)
19: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)
20: DECO (Barcelona)

21: Juan Roman RIQUELME (Villarreal)
22: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
23: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
24: Fabio CANNAVARO (Juventus)
25: Didier DROGBA (Chelsea)
26: Roy MAKAAY (Bayern)
27: Michael ESSIEN (Lyon)
28: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
29: EMERSON (Juventus)
30: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)

31: Arjen ROBBEN (Chelsea)
32: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
33: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
34: JUNINHO Pernambucano (Lyon)
35: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)
36: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
37: Ashley COLE (Arsenal)
38: Ricardo CARVALHO (Chelsea)
39: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
40: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Juventus)

41: LUCIO (Bayern)
42: Gianluca ZAMBROTTA (Juventus)
43: Petr CECH (Chelsea)
44: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
45: Clarence SEEDORF (AC Milan)
46: Luis FIGO (Real Madrid)
47: Robert PIRES (Arsenal)
48: David BECKHAM (Real Madrid)
49: Hernan CRESPO (AC Milan)
50: Mark VAN BOMMEL (PSV)

51: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
52: RAUL (Real Madrid)
53: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
54: JOAQUIN (Betis)
55: Lilian THURAM (Juventus)
56: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
57: CAFU (AC Milan)
58: David VILLA (Valencia)
59: Alberto GILARDINO (Parma)
60: VICENTE (Valencia)

61: Fernando TORRES (Atletico Madrid)
62: DIDA (AC Milan)
63: Julio BAPTISTA (Sevilla)
64: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
65: Michael OWEN (Real Madrid)
66: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
67: Antonio CASSANO (Roma)
68: Joe COLE (Chelsea)
69: LUIS GARCIA (Liverpool)
70: Fernando MORIENTES (Liverpool)

71: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
72: Xabi ALONSO (Liverpool)
73: Walter SAMUEL (Real Madrid)
74: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)
75: Luca TONI (Palermo)
76: Alexander HLEB (Stuttgart)
77: SIMAO Sabrosa (Benfica)
78: Jose Antonio REYES (Arsenal)
79: William GALLAS (Chelsea)
80: Jaap STAM (AC Milan)

81: Mauro CAMORANESI (Juventus)
82: Johan MICOUD (Werder Bremen)
83: Ludovic GIULY (Barcelona)
84: Mahamadou DIARRA (Lyon)
85: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
86: Carlos TEVEZ (Corinthians)
87: ROBINHO (Santos)
88: Dirk KUYT (Feyenoord)
89: Miroslav KLOSE (Werder Bremen)
90: Rafael MARQUEZ (Bracelona)

91: Sami HYYPIÄ (Liverpool)
92: Jorge ANDRADE (Deportivo)
93: Sol CAMPBELL (Arsenal)
94: Giovani VAN BRONCKHORST (Barcelona)
95: Willy SAGNOL (Bayern)
96: CICINHO (Sao Paolo)
97: Shaun WRIGHT-PHILLIPS (Manchester C)
98: Martin DEMICHELIS (Bayern)
99: Ivan HELGUERA (Real Madrid)
100: Maxi RODRIGUEZ (Atletico Madrid)

1: GIANLUIGI BUFFON – JUVENTUS
There was talk in Italy that he wasn´t even the best in Serie A anymore. Dida was. He was also on the brink of being surpassed by Petr Cech. In Spain there was even talk about Casillas being the best. My personal number one at this point was Petr Cech and I didn´t consider it twice back then! However, I want to pick the worldwide consensus name, and I still believe this name was Buffon. Safe to say it was pretty close at this stage.

2: CAFU – AC MILAN
Past his physically peak but still the best RB around.

3: ASHLEY COLE – ARSENAL
At last Roberto Carlos was dethroned. In my opinion there hasn´t been a better LB in the world since Ashley Cole! I guess Zambrotta was his closest rival at this point.

4: ALESSANDRO NESTA – AC MILAN
These damn injuries! However, he was still the reference point in regard to elite CB.

5: JOHN TERRY – CHELSEA
It was a time in world soccer where we were spoilt for choices at CB. After a sensational season I think Terry just might have had the edge on Cannavaro, Puyol and Rio Ferdinand, Madini, Carvalho and Lucio.

6: CLAUDE MAKELELE – CHELSEA
Never understood why Real Madrid let him leave. He did so well that he had the defensive midfield role named after him and this was his absolute peak.

7: STEVEN GERRARD – LIVERPOOL
Captain Fantastic. How he spurred his teammates on to complete the Miracle of Istanbul will never be forgotten. Mind you he was utter world-class even without that performance.

8: MICHAEL BALLACK – BAYERN
I really believe Ballack is underrated in terms of how he is remembered. From around 2002 until around 2008 he was one of the best and most feared midfielders in the world. At least until he was transferred to Chelsea and had this first tough season, I believe he was better than Lampard. The undisputed leader of the German national team and back then that was some feat.

9: ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO – AC MILAN
This was the toughest position to pick. Was it Adriano? – he was so immense everybody called him the new Ronaldo Nazario. Was it Eto´o who excelled in his first season in Catalunya together with Ronaldinho? or was it still Sheva? There was clearly no right and no wrong. It was a matter of who you asked.

10: RONALDINHO – BARCELONA
I might get stoned for this, but I enjoyed Ronaldinho more than I ever enjoyed Messi. I enjoyed the Ronaldinho-Eto´o combo more than I ever enjoyed the Suarez-Neymar-Messi trio. For me Ronaldinho is the pinnacle of fun players to watch since El Diego! By Summer 2005 clearly the finest the world had to offer.

11: THIERRY HENRY – ARSENAL
Had it not been for Ronaldinho he would still be the best in the world. I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again. The best player to ever grace The Premier League. I don´t understand how this can even be discussed.


BENCH: CECH – SAGNOL – ZAMBROTTA – CANNAVARO - MALDINI – VIEIRA – LAMPARD – KAKA – ETO´O – ADRIANO


MANAGER: JOSE MOURINHO
UEFA CUP 2003 – CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2004 – PREMIER LEAGUE 2005. He was now regarded as the best coach in the world.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Wayne ROONEY – MANCHESTER U
2: CRISTIANO RONALDO – MANCHESTER U
3: LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
4: OBAFEMI MARTINS – INTER
5: LUKAS PODOLSKI – FC COLOGNE
6: SERGIO RAMOS – SEVILLA
7: DIEGO - FC PORTO
8 LUKA MODRIC - DINAMO ZAGREB
9: VINCENT KOMPANY - ANDERLECHT
10: IGOR AKINFEEV - CSKA MOSCOW

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2006:

GOLD: RONALDINHO (Barcelona)
SILVER: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
BRONZE: Samuel ETO´O (Barcelona)

4: KAKA (AC Milan)
5: Zinedine ZIDANE (Real Madrid)
6: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
7: Michael BALLACK (Bayern)
8: Fabio CANNAVARO (Juventus)
9: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
10: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)

11: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
12: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
13: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
14: Alessandro NESTA (AC Milan)
15: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
16: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
17: John TERRY (Chelsea)
18: ADRIANO (Inter)
19: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Manchester U)
20: Didier DROGBA (Chelsea)

21: Luca TONI (Fiorentina)
22: Juan Roman RIQUELME (Villarreal)
23: Claude MAKELELE (Chelsea)
24: Patrick VIEIRA (Juventus)
25: Michael ESSIEN (Chelsea)
26: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)
27: Gianluca ZAMBROTTA (Juventus)
28: Lilian THURAM (Juventus)
29: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
30: EMERSON (Juventus)

31: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
32: RAUL (Real Madrid)
33: Cesc FABREGAS (Arsenal)
34: Arjen ROBBEN (Chelsea)
35: DECO (Barcelona)
36: Ashley COLE (Arsenal)
37: Ricardo CARVALHO (Chelsea)
38: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)
39: Luis FIGO (Inter)
40: JUNINHO Pernambucano (Lyon)

41: Hernan CRESPO (Chelsea)
42: Fernando TORRES (Atletico Madrid)
43: David VILLA (Valencia)
44: Xabi ALONSO (Liverpool)
45: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
46: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
47: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Juventus)
48: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
49: RONALDO (Real Madrid)
50: Franck RIBERY (Marseille)

51: LUCIO (Bayern)
52: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
53: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
54: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
55: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
56: Clarence SEEDORF (AC Milan)
57: CAFU (AC Milan)
58: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
59: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
60: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)

61: Roy MAKAAY (Bayern)
62: Dani ALVES (Sevilla)
63: Ze ROBERTO (Bayern)
64: Robert PIRES (Arsenal)
65: Joe COLE (Chelsea)
66: Daniele DE ROSSI (Roma)
67: Lukas PODOLSKI (FC Cologne)
68: Miroslav KLOSE (Werder Bremen)
69: Carlos TEVEZ (Corinthians)
70: Mark VAN BOMMEL (Barcelona)

71: Walter SAMUEL (Inter)
72: Torsten FRINGS (Werder Bremen)
73: William GALLAS (Chelsea)
74: Wesley SNEIJDER (Ajax)
75: ROBINHO (Real Madrid)
76: Marcos SENNA (Villarreal)
77: Javier MASCHERANO (Corinthians)
78: JOAQUIN (Betis)
79: Owen HARGREAVES (Bayern)
80: Alberto GILARDINO (AC Milan)

81: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Manchester U)
82: Willy SAGNOL (Bayern)
83: Mahamadou DIARRA (Lyon)
84: Tomas ROSICKY (Dortmund)
85: Eric ABIDAL (Lyon)
86: Esteban CAMBIASSO (Inter)
87: Maxi RODRIGUEZ (Atletico Madrid)
88: Jens LEHMANN (Arsenal)
89: DIDA (AC Milan)
90: CICINHO (Real Madrid)

91: Florent MALOUDA (Lyon)
92: Cristian CHIVU (Inter)
93: Marco MATARAZZI (Inter)
94: Gilberto SILVA (Arsenal)
95: Dimitar BERBATOV (Leverkusen)
96: Ludovic GUILY (Barcelona)
97: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
98: Mauro CAMORANESI (Juventus)
99: Dirk KUYT (Feyenoord)
100: Pedro PAULETA (Paris SG)
100: LUCHO Gonzalez (FC Porto)


BEST XI:

1: GIANLUIGI BUFFON – JUVENTUS
Had it not been for the World Cup then surely, I would put Petr Cech here. But the World Cup just gave Buffon the edge once more.

2: GIANLUCA ZAMBROTTA – JUVENTUS
Zambrotta was now the best full-back on the planet. If not before the World Cup then after it.

3: ASHLEY COLE – ARSENAL
Not his best season but he was still the best left-back the world had to offer. That is of course when Zambrotta is moved to the right which his versatility allowed.

4: FABIO CANNAVARO – JUVENTUS
Among the best but not the best or even the second best before the World Cup. However, there is no way around him after the World Cup. The best defender in the world.

5: ALESSANDRO NESTA – AC MILAN
Nesta vs Terry. That was probably a question of whether you were a Premier League fan or not. Nonbiased Premier League fans would say Terry.

6: CLAUDE MAKELELE – CHELSEA
For a pure DM Gattuso could have been the pick. I just feel Chelsea was the best club team in the world at that exact moment and Makelele controlled that midfield.

7: STEVEN GERRARD – LIVERPOOL
Stevie G – Captain Fantastic. Even if I never ever supported Liverpool, I was in awe.

8: KAKA – AC MILAN
Nearing his Ballon d´Or peak, he was now one of the best players in the world.

9: SAMUEL ETO´O – BARCELONA
This was his absolute peak. What a fabulous and watchable player he was.

10: THIERRY HENRY – ARSENAL
This was his last season of his absolute peak seasons. So close to adding a Champions League medal.

11: RONALDINHO – BARCELONA
He couldn´t produce the goods at the World Cup where he flopped big time. However, he had been the best player in the world for around two years, and he was probably Player of the Season 2005/2006 before the World Cup. So, he deservedly keeps the no one spot for one more year.

SUBS: CECH – CAFU – CARLOS – TERRY – FERDINAND – PIRLO – BALLACK – LAMPARD – ZIDANE – ROONEY – CRISTIANO RONALDO


JOSE MOURINHO - CHELSEA
There was no shortage of candidates around this time. Lippi, Capello, Rijkaard, Wenger and Ferguson to name a few. Of course, Lippi or Rijkaard would win a Manager of the Season award. However, The Special One had made his Chelsea team the best in the world. He had an aura at the time that made him the best around.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Cesc FABGREGAS – ARSENAL
2: Lionel MESSI – BARCELONA
3: Sergio RAMOS – REAL MADRID
4: Sergio KÜN AGÜERO – ATLETICO MADRID
5: Theo WALCOTT – ARSENAL
6: Vincent KOMPANY – ANDERLECHT
7: David SILVA – CELTA VIGO
8: Gerard PIQUE – MANCHESTER U/ZARAGOZA
9: Valeri BOJINOV – FIORENTINA/JUVENTUS/MANCHESTER C
10: Hatem BEN ARFA - LYON

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2007:

GOLD: KAKA (AC Milan)
SILVER: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)
BRONZE: RONALDINHO (Barcelona)

4: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
5: Didier DROGBA (Chelsea)
6: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
7: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
8: Samuel ETO´O (Barcelona)
9: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
10: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
11: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
12: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Inter)
13: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
14: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Real Madrid)
15: Michael ESSIEN (Chelsea)
16: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
17: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)
18: John TERRY (Chelsea)
19: Alessandro NESTA (AC Milan)
20: Cesc FABREGAS (Arsenal)

21: DECO (Barcelona)
22: Ashley COLE (Chelsea)
23: Petr CECH (Chelsea)
24: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
25: Fabio CANNAVARO (Real Madrid)
26: Clarence SEEDORF (AC Milan)
27: David VILLA (Valencia)
28: Michael BALLACK (Chelsea)
29: Dani ALVES (Sevilla)
30: Juan Roman RIQUELME (Villarreal)

31: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
32: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
33: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
34: Ricardo CARVALHO (Chelsea)
35: Fernando TORRES (Atletico Madrid)
36: LUCIO (Bayern)
37: Danielle DE ROSSI (Roma)
38: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
39: Carlos TEVEZ (West Ham)
40: Florent MALOUDA (Lyon)

41: Dimitar BERBATOV (Tottenham)
42: Wesley SNEIJDER (Ajax)
43: Arjen ROBBEN (Chelsea)
44: David SILVA (Valencia)
45: Owen HARGREAVES (Bayern)
45: Luca TONI (Fiorentina)
47: ROBINHO (Real Madrid)
48: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (Chelsea)
49: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
50: Dejan STANKOVIC (Inter)

51: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
52: Andres INIESTA (Barcelona)
53: David SUAZO (Cagliari)
54: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
55: Hernan CRESPO (Inter)
56: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
57: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)
58: Miroslav KLOSE (Werder Bremen)
59: Joe COLE (Chelsea)
60: Franck RIBERY (Marseille)

61: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Manchester U)
62: EMERSON (Real Madrid)
63: DIEGO (Werder Bremen)
64: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
65: RONALDO (Real Madrid)
66: ZE ROBERTO (Santos)
67: ALEX (PSV)
68: SIMAO Sabrosa (Benfica)
69: JUNINHO Pernambucano (Lyon)
70: David ALBELDA (Valencia)

71: William GALLAS (Arsenal)
72: Frederic KANOUTE (Sevilla)
73: Diego FORLAN (Villarreal)
74: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
75: Kolo TOURE (Arsenal)
76: Torsten FRINGS (Werder Bremen)
77: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)
78: Gianluca ZAMBROTTA (Barcelona)
79: JOAQUIN (Valencia)
80: Javier MASCHERANO (Liverpool)

81: RAUL (Real Madrid)
82: Mahamdou DIARRA (Real Madrid)
83: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
84: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
85: Maxi RODRIGUEZ (Atletico Madrid)
86: Nemanja VIDIC (Manchester U)
87: Robin VAN PERSIE (Arsenal)
88: Rafael VAN DER VAART (HSV)
89: Patrick VIEIRA (Inter)
90: Ricardo QUARESMA (FC Porto)

91: PEPE (FC Porto)
92: EDUARDO Da Silva (D Zagreb)
93: Filippo INZAGHI (AC Milan)
94: MAICON (Inter)
95: Adrian MUTU (Fiorentina)
96: Claude MAKELELE (Chelsea)
97: Raul ALBIOL (Valencia)
98: Mark VAN BOMMEL (Bayern)
99: YAYA Toure (Monaco)
100: Roy MAKAAY (Bayern)

BEST XI:


1: PETR CECH – CHELSEA
As mentioned in previous editions, my personal opinion was that Cech was already ahead of Buffon in 2005+2006 but I felt Buffon was the consensus pick. This season, however, Buffon played in Serie B and Cech must get at least one year as the no. 1 in the world because he really was the best for at least one year. So, I´ve chosen 2007.

2: DANI ALVES – SEVILLA
The new sensation at RB. Already the best in the world in his position.

3: ASHLEY COLE – CHELSEA
Stays as the best LB in the world. A true legend.

4: JOHN TERRY – CHELSEA
It could have been All Italian with Cannavaro and Nesta. I´ve chosen All English because that´s the way we saw it back then where I come from. I´m not totally sure about European consensus at this point but I believe it was so close that it isn’t wrong to go All English.

5: RIO FERDINAND – MANCHESTER U
He had restored global recognition. The following years Vidic would get more attention so this might be his peak.

6: ANDREA PIRLO – AC MILAN
Back then my personal pick would be Fabregas. However, Pirlo was bossing the midfield of a Champions League winning team, so I think he was the consensus pick.

7: STEVEN GERRARD – LIVERPOOL
The best Box-to-box midfielder of his era. He will stay in the team for another year.

8: KAKA – AC MILAN
He was phenomenal this season. Especially in the Champions League where he demolished Man United. I remember I clearly felt he was deserving of his Ballon d´Or.

9: DIDIER DROGBA – CHELSEA
The best striker in the world this season. He might even be the best player in the world in this season. In a Player of The Season Award he would at least get second place. What a beast.

10: RONALDINHO – BARCELONA
Declining – surely. But not yet enough to throw him out the window. He would still be Barcelona´s best player but only for a few weeks more.

11: CRISTIANO RONALDO – MANCHESTER U
The third best player this season after Kaka and Drogba. A phenomenal season and if his ascending to superstardom hadn´t started earlier it had surely started now.

BENCH: BUFFON – RAMOS – ZAMBROTTA - CANNAVARO – NESTA – ESSIEN – LAMPARD – MESSI – ETO´O – HENRY


MANAGER: CARLO ANCELOTTI – AC MILAN
This is tough because once again I have to go against my own opinion. Ancelotti must be the pick due to his Champions League exploits. However, as I saw it back then I preferred both Mourinho and Fergie.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: Lionel MESSI – Barcelona
2: Cesc FABREGAS – Arsenal
3: Sergio AGÜERO – Atl. Madrid
4: Alexandre PATO – AC Milan
5: Samir NASRI – Marseille
6: Hatem BEN ARFA – Lyon
7: Karim BENZEMA – Lyon
8: Giovanni DOS SANTOS – Barcelona
9: Gerard PIQUE – Zaragoza/Manchester U
10: NANI – Sporting Lissabon

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS - AUGUST 2008:

GOLD: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)
SILVER: KAKA (AC Milan)
BRONZE: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)

4: Fernando TORRES (Liverpool)
5: David VILLA (Valencia)
6: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Inter)
7: Samuel ETO´O (Barcelona)
8: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
9: Didier DROGBA (Chelsea)
10: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)

11: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
12: Sergio AGÜERO (Atl. Madrid)
13: Franck RIBERY (Bayern)
14: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
15: Cesc FABREGAS (Arsenal)
16: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)
17: John TERRY (Chelsea)
18: Dani ALVES (Sevilla)
19: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
20: Michael ESSIEN (Chelsea)

21: Wesley SNEIJDER (Real Madrid)
22: Michael BALLACK (Chelsea)
23: ROBINHO (Real Madrid)
24: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Real Madrid)
25: Luca TONI (Bayern)
26: Carlos TEVEZ (Manchester U)
27: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
28: Nemanja VIDIC (Manchester U)
29: Andres INIESTA (Barcelona)
30: Emmanuel ADEBAYOR (Arsenal)

31: Thierry HENRY (Barcelona)
32: Rafael VAN DER VAART (HSV)
33: Danielle DE ROSSI (Roma)
34: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
35: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
36: Ashley COLE (Chelsea)
37: Arjen ROBBEN (Real Madrid)
38: DECO (Barcelona)
39: Dimitar BERBATOV (Tottenham)
40: Andrey ARSHAVIN (Arsenal)

41: Esteban CAMBIASSO (Inter)
42: Ricardo CARVALHO (Chelsea)
43: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
44: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
45: RAUL (Real Madrid)
46: Petr CECH (Chelsea)
47: MAICON (Inter)
48: Javier MASCHERANO (Liverpool)
49: David SILVA (Valencia)
50: Luis FABIANO (Sevilla)

51: Patrice EVRA (Manchester U)
52: Seydou KEITA (Sevilla)
53: Joe COLE (Chelsea)
54: Marcos SENNA (Villarreal)
55: RONALDINHO (Barcelona)
56: Alessandro NESTA (AC Milan)
57: Fabio CANNAVARO (Real Madrid)
58: NIHAT Kahvechi (Villarreal)
59: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
60: Anatoliy TYMOSHCUCK (Zenit)

61: DIEGO (Werder Bremen)
62: DANNY (Dynamo Moscow)
63: Cristian CHIVU (Roma)
64: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)
65: PEPE (Real Madrid)
66: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
67: Jose BOSINGWA (FC Porto)
68: Karim BENZEMA (Lyon)
69: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
70: Luka MODRIC (D Zagreb)

71: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Manchester U)
72: Giorgio CHIELLINI (Juventus)
73: YAYA Toure (Barcelona)
74: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
75: Florent MALOUDA (Chelsea)
76: Ricardo QUARESMA (FC Porto)
77: Alexander HLEB (Arsenal)
78: Diego FORLAN (Atl. Madrid)
79: Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER (Bayern)
80: Mario GOMEZ (Stuttgart)

81: Miroslav KLOSE (Bayern)
82: Rafael MARQUEZ (Barcelona)
83: Roque SANTA CRUZ (Blackburn)
84: Owen HARGREAVES (Manchester U)
85: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
86: JUNINHO Pernambucano (Lyon)
87: Mahamadou DIARRA (Real Madrid)
88: Yuri ZHIRKOV (CSKA Moscow)
89: XABI ALONSO (Liverpool)
90: Daniel GÜIZA (Mallorca)

91: Santi CAZORLA (Villarreal)
92: Klass-Jan HÜNTELAAR (Ajax)
93: AMAURI (Palermo)
94: SIMAO Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid)
95: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
96: Mark VAN BOMMEL (Bayern)
97: LISANDRO Lopez (FC Porto)
98: LUCIO (Bayern)
99: Michael CARRICK (Manchester U)
100: Diego CAPEL (Sevilla)


BEST XI

1: IKER CASILLAS – REAL MADRID
Let it be said. We never rated Casillas. In fact, we thought he was one of the most overrated players ever. His shot stopping and super saves were world class, however, he would have been crushed in a more physical league. He was insure coming out for crosses and he couldn´t command his area like Schmeichel or Kahn. That´s our view. However, as said before these rankings should not be our opinion. Instead, I do my best to reflect a worldwide opinion, hence, Iker is the world’s best goalkeeper at this point.

2: DANI ALVES – SEVILLA
Sensational and of course he would move to one of the best teams in the world. Ramos, Maicon, Bosingwa and Sagna were his closest rivals but they were nowhere near him.

3: ASHLEY COLE – CHELSEA
Evra, Lahm, Abidal might have been better choices had it been a team of the season. Overall, Cole was still the best though.

4: RIO FERDINAND – MANCHESTER U
The best ball playing centre-back in the world at this stage.

5: JOHN TERRY – CHELSEA
Nesta was still respected. Puyol, Pepe, Chiellini, Vidic, Kolo Toure were emerging.

6: XAVI HERNANDEZ – BARCELONA
Sensational in Spain´s quest for Euro glory and soon to become the cornerstone in Pep´s Barca team. This was still before his absolute peak though, so I was tempted to field Gerrard as DM and Lampard as AM.

7: STEVEN GERRARD – LIVERPOOL
Lampard or Cesc it could have been but then Gerrard would have pushed Xavi to the bench.

8: KAKA – AC MILAN
One year on from his Ballon d´Or and one year before his move to Madrid. Not at his Ballon d´Or level but still one of the very best players around.

9: FERNANDO TORRES – LIVERPOOL
Sensational season and if I couldn´t remember it I would probably have a difficult time believing that he was in fact regarded as the best striker in the world at that exact moment. Luckily, I remember. Torres was the best in summer 2008. I have no doubt about this pick.

10: CRISTIANO RONALDO
The best player in the world by this time. No questions asked. There are years throughout history where I´m having a little doubt whether I´ve picked the right number one. This year is NOT one of them. CR7 ruled the world.

11: LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
We would have to wait another year before we truly began to see Messi´s peak. By summer 2008, he was a top 3 player in the world already though.


MANAGER: ALEX FERGUSON – MANCHESTER U
This was the peak of his THIRD legendary Manchester United team. Having already been knighted in 1999 he had now secured legendary status.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Sergio AGÜERO – Atletico Madrid
2: Alexandre PATO – AC Milan
3: ANDERSON – Manchester U
4: BOJAN Krkic – Barcelona
5: MARCELO – Real Madrid
6: Toni KROOS – Bayern
7: Theo WALCOTT – Arsenal
8: Gio DOS SANTOS – Barcelona/Tottenham
9: RAFAEL Da Silva – Manchester U
10: Ivan RAKITIC – Schalke 04

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLER - AUGUST 2009:

GOLD: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
SILVER: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)
BRONZE: KAKA (AC Milan)

4: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
5: Samuel ETO´O (Barcelona)
6: Andres INIESTA (Barcelona)
7: David VILLA (Valencia)
8: Fernando TORRES (Liverpool)
9: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Inter)
10: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)

11: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
12: Didier DROGBA (Chelsea)
13: Franck RIBERY (Bayern)
14: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
15: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)
16: Cesc FABREGAS (Arsenal)
17: Thierry HENRY (Barcelona)
18: Michael ESSIEN (Chelsea)
19: Dani ALVES (Barcelona)
20: Sergio AGÜERO (Atletico Madrid)

21: Xabi ALONSO (Liverpool)
22: Nemanja VIDIC (Manchester U)
23: John TERRY (Chelsea)
24: Karim BENZEMA (Lyon)
25: DIEGO (Werder Bremen)
26: Danielle DE ROSSI (Roma)
27: Alexandre PATO (AC Milan)
28: Andrey ARSHAVIN (Arsenal)
29: Yaya TOURE (Barcelona)
30: Arjen ROBBEN (Real Madrid)

31: Michael BALLACK (Chelsea)
32: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
33: Diego FORLAN (Atl. Madrid)
34: ROBINHO (Manchester C)
35: Patrice EVRA (Manchester U)
36: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
37: Yoann GOURCUFF (Bordeaux)
38: MAICON (Inter)
39: Emmanuel ADEBAYOR (Arsenal)
40: Javier MASCHERANO (Liverpool)

41: Ashley COLE (Chelsea)
42: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Manchester U)
43: Wesley SNEIJDER (Real Madrid)
44: Dimitar BERBATOV (Manchester U)
45: Nicolas ANELKA (Chelsea)
46: Julio CECAR (Inter)
47: David SILVA (Valencia)
48: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
49: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
50: Frederic KANOUTE (Sevilla)

51: Ricardo CARVALHO (Chelsea)
52: Gerard PIQUE (Barcelona)
53: Gonzalo HIGUAIN (Real Madrid)
54: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
55: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
56: Esteban CAMBIASSO (Inter)
57: Mario GOMEZ (Stuttgart)
58: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)
59: Giorgio CHIELLINI (Juventus)
60: Edin DZEKO (Wolfsburg)

61: Diego MILITO (Genoa)
62: Luka MODRIC (Tottenham)
63: Robin VAN PERSIE (Arsenal)
64: Klass-Jan HÜNTELAAR (Ajax/Real Madrid)
65: Carlos TEVEZ (Manchester U)
66: GRAFITE (Wolfsburg)
67: RAUL (Real Madrid)
68: Luis FABIANO (Sevilla)
69: Alberto GILARDINO (Fiorentina)

70: Lassana DIARRA (Portsmouth/Real Madrid)
71: Felipe MELO (Fiorentina)
72: Petr CECH (Chelsea)
73: Thiago MOTTA (Genoa)
74: William GALLAS (Arsenal)
75: Jesus NAVAS (Sevilla)
76: Santi CAZORLA (Villarreal)
77: LUCIO (Bayern)
78: Gael CLICHY (Arsenal)
79: Antonio CASSANO (Sampdoria)

80: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
81: Andre-Pierre GIGNAC (Toulouse)
82: Zvjezdan MISIMOVIC (Wolfsburg)
83: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
84: Anatoliy TYMOSHCHUK (Zenit/Bayern)
85: Pepe REINA (Liverpool)
86: Marcos SENNA (Villarreal)
87: Eric ABIDAL (Barcelona)
88: PEPE (Real Madrid)
89: Fernando GAGO (Real Madrid)
90: Rafael VAN DER VAART (Real Madrid)

91: Juan MATA (Valencia)
92: Dirk KUYT (Liverpool)
93: Luis SUAREZ (Ajax)
94: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
95: Mauro ZARATE (Lazio)
96: Mesut ÖZIL (Werder Bremen)
97: Michael CARRICK (Manchester U)
98: Michel BASTOS (Lille)
99: Marek HAMSIK (Napoli)
100: Ezequel LAVEZZI (Napoli)

For anyone who loves the Messi vs Ronaldo thing – it´s now 1-1. I´ll keep the score between those two throughout.


TEAM OF THE SEASON:

VAN DER SAR; DANI ALVES – PATRICE EVRA – CARLES PUYOL – NEMANJA VIDIC; XAVI HERNANDEZ – ANDRES INIESTA – FRANCK RIBERY; LIONEL MESSI – CRISTIANO RONALDO – SAMUEL ETO´O - MANAGER: PEP GUARDIOLA


BEST OVERALL XI – AUGUST 2009:

1: IKER CASILLAS – REAL MADRID
He was not as hot as the year before just after the Euro´s. He was not our choice. In fact, he would even only be our fifth choice after Van der Sar, Cech, Cesar and Buffon. However, I´m still convinced Casillas was the pick if you asked worldwide. Hence, he continues in this team even if it hurts going so much against my own opinion.

2: DANI ALVES – BARCELONA
Initially, I would say sure number one, but he was not. Maicon was breathing down his neck. Alves was sensational though and his move to Barca didn´t slow his reputation down – on the contrary.

3: PATRICE EVRA – MANCHESTER U
It was a three-horse race at this stage. Evra vs Cole vs Lahm. This was Evra´s peak so if he was ever to warrant a place in this team it would be now.


4: CARLES PUYOL – BARCELONA
Almost as always, the battle for places in central defence was tight. This was a four-horse race between Puyol, Ferdinand, Vidic and Terry. Puyol gets the nod due to being the most talked about this season after Barca´s CL triumph. Rio and Vidic had a slightly better season than Terry. Carvalho had dipped ever so slightly but enough not to be in contention. Chiellini and Pique weren´t quite there yet.


5: RIO FERDINAND – MANCHESTER U
I think some would prefer Vidic. I would not – not yet anyway.

6: XAVI HERNANDEZ – BARCELONA
The heartbeat of Spain - the World´s best NT – the heartbeat of Barcelona – the World´s best club team. Maybe the first name on the manager´s team sheet.

7: CRISTIANO RONALDO – MANCHESTER U
Fergie couldn´t keep him anymore. Ronaldo had wanted the move already in 2008 but promised Fergie one more season if Fergie then would let him go. So, he went as the world´s second best player.

8: ANDRES INIESTA – BARCELONA
Now a key cog in the best midfield in the world. If not before then the equalizer vs Chelsea in the CL semi-final put him on the map.

9: SAMUEL ETO´O – BARCELONA
After an injury riddled 2007-08 he was back to his best in 2008-09. When Eto´o was at his best he was the world´s best striker at this stage.

10: LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
Now the King of World Soccer. Crowned by Barca´s Champions League win.

11: KAKA – AC MILAN
Not the best anymore. Not at his Ballon d´Or peak anymore. But still good enough for Florentino and still good enough for this team.


BENCH: VAN DER SAR – MAICON – COLE – TERRY – VIDIC – GERRARD – XABI ALONSO - LAMPARD – RIBERY – ZLATAN - VILLA


NOTE! Do you like VAR or do you hate VAR? I love it and I will tell you why. In 2008/09 Chelsea faced a formidable Barca team in CL semi-finals. Tom Henning Ovrebo was the ref. He stole the victory from Chelsea and handed it to Barcelona who then went on to win the final. I still wonder if Messi would have surpassed Ronaldo yet in 2009 if Chelsea had knocked Barca out. I still wonder if this Barca team would have been categorized as one of the best in history. Puyol probably wouldn´t have been in this team either nor would Iniesta. I´ve nothing against these legendary world-class players. They deserve their place in history. But with VAR Chelsea would have beaten Barca and the above rankings would probably have looked different. Strange to think that in 2009 VAR could have corrected history and made it look different than it does now. Strange to think that Tom Henning Ovrebo had power to write a chapter in the football history book.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: Alexandre PATO – AC MILAN
2: Theo WALCOTT – ARSENAL
3: Stevan JOVETIC – FIORENTINA
4: BOJAN Krkic – BARCELONA
5: Eden HAZARD – LILLE
6: Alan DZAGOEV – CSKA MOSCOW
7: Davide SANTON – INTER
8: Rafael DA SILVA – MANCHESTER U¨
9: Javier PASTORE – PALERMO
10: Iker MUNIAIN - BILBAO

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS - AUGUST 2010:

GOLD: Lionel MESSI – Barcelona
SILVER: Cristiano RONALDO – Real Madrid
BRONZE: XAVI Hernandez – Barcelona

4: Andres INIESTA – Barcelona
5: Wesley SNEIJDER – Inter
6: David VILLA – Valencia
7: Samuel ETO´O – Inter
8: Didier DROGBA – Chelsea
9: Wayne ROONEY – Manchester U
10: Arjen ROBBEN – Bayern

11: Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER – Bayern
12: Frank LAMPARD – Chelsea
13: Cesc FABREGAS – Arsenal
14: Diego FORLAN – Atletico Madrid
15: Franck RIBERY – Bayern
16: Michael ESSIEN – Chelsea
17: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC – Barcelona
18: Diego MILITO – Inter
19: Iker CASILLAS – Real Madrid
20: Fernando TORRES – Liverpool

21: Carles PUYOL – Barcelona
22: Nemanja VIDIC – Manchester U
23: Gerard PIQUE – Barcelona
24: Mesut ÖZIL – Werder Bremen
25: Xabi ALONSO – Real Madrid
26: KAKA – Real Madrid
27: Steven GERRARD – Liverpool
28: Sergio AGÜERO – Atletico Madrid
29: Carlos TEVEZ - Manchester City
30: MAICON – Inter

31: Dani ALVES – Barcelona
32: Philipp LAHM – Bayern
33: Thomas MÜLLER – Bayern
34: Ashley COLE – Chelsea
35: Gonzalo HIGUAIN – Real Madrid
36: LUCIO – Inter
37: John TERRY – Chelsea
38: Sergio RAMOS – Real Madrid
39: Yaya TOURE – Barcelona
40: Florent MALOUDA – Chelsea

41: Danielle DE ROSSI – Roma
42: Sergio BUSQUETS – Barcelona
43: Paul SCHOLES – Manchester U
44: Gianluigi BUFFON – Juventus
45: Petr CECH - Chelsea
46: Angel DI MARIA – Benfica
47: David SILVA – Valencia
48: Javier MASCHERANO – Liverpool
49: Giorgio CHIELLINI – Juventus
50: Luka MODRIC – Tottenham

51: Mark VAN BOMMEL – Bayern
52: Esteban CAMBIASSO – Inter
53: Rio FERDINAND – Manchester U
54: Robin VAN PERSIE – Arsenal
55: Patrice EVRA – Manchester U
56: Luis FABIANO – Sevilla
57: PEDRO – Barcelona
58: Luis SUAREZ – Ajax
59: Rafael VAN DER VAART – Real Madrid
60: Antonio CASSANO – Sampdoria

61: ROBINHO – Manchester C
62: Andrey ARSHAVIN – Arsenal
63: Alexandre PATO – AC Milan
64: Dimitar BERBATOV – Manchester U
65: Yoann GOURCUFF – Bordeaux
66: Edin DZEKO – Wolfsburg
67: Sami KHEDIRA – Stuttgart
68: Michael BALLACK - Chelsea
69: Andrea PIRLO – AC Milan
70: Nicolas ANELKA – Chelsea

71: Emmanuel ADEBAYOR – Manchester C
72: NANI – Manchester U
73: Klass-Jan HÜNTELAAR – AC Milan
74: Javier ZANETTI – Inter
75: Seydou KEITA – Barcelona
76: Julio CESAR – Inter
77: Nigel DE JONG – Manchester C
78: Karim BENZEMA – Real Madrid
79: Javier HERNANDEZ – Manchester U
80: Juan MATA – Valencia

81: ALEXIS Sanchez – Udinese
82: Javier PASTORE – Palermo
83: Edinson CAVANI – Palermo
84: Miroslav KLOSE - Bayern
85: Manuel NEUER – Bayern
86: Thomas VERMAELEN – Arsenal
87: Jesus NAVAS – Sevilla
88: Ibrahim AFELLAY - PSV
89: Thiago SILVA – AC Milan
90: Jerome BOATENG – HSV

91: Dirk KUYT – Liverpool
92: Felipe MELO – Juventus
93: Ricardo CARVALHO – Chelsea
94: DIEGO – Juventus
95: JUAN – Roma
96: Arturo VIDAL – Leverkusen
97: Alberto GILARDINO – Fiorentina
98: Victor VALDES – Barcelona
99: Fabio COENTRAO - Benfica
100: Branislav IVANOVIC - Chelsea



WORLD TEAM OF THE SEASON

CESAR; MAICON – EVRA – LUCIO – PUYOL; SCHWEINSTEIGER – XAVI – SNEIJDER – ROBBEN – MESSI; ROONEY; MOURINHO.

PLAYER OF THE SEASON: WESLEY SNIEJDER

TEAM OM THE WORLD CUP 2010

CASILLAS; MAICON – PUYOL – COENTRAO; SCHWEINSTEIGER – XAVI – INIESTA – SNEIJDER – MÜLLER; FORLAN – VILLA

PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE SEASON:

HART; IVANOVIC – EVRA – VERMAELEN – KING; FABREGAS – LAMPARD – MILNER; TEVEZ – DROGBA – ROONEY; ANCELOTTI

PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 1:ROONEY – 2ROGBA – 3:TEVEZ – 4:FABREGAS – 5:LAMPARD


BEST XI:


IKER CASILLAS – REAL MADRID
This was the first time I thought Casillas should be in this team. So, by summer 2010 the whole world – including me – had him as their number one.

MAICON – INTER
I think a lot of people would still pick Dani Alves. That includes me. However, I think Maicon – for just a very brief spell around summer 2010 – might have surpassed Alves in general view.

ASHLEY COLE – CHELSEA
This one is tough because no one stands out. But I think Cole was slightly ahead of his rivals.

CARLES PUYOL – BARCELONA
Captain of the best NT in the world and the best club team in the world. I think this was his peak in general conception.

NEMANJA VIDIC – MANCHESTER U
This could have been Pique, Lucio or Terry. This year and the next was Vidic´s peak and he are regarded as one of the best central defenders the Premier League has ever seen.

XAVI HERNANDEZ – BARCELONA
The third best player in the world, so naturally he is in the team.

ANDRES INIESTA – BARCELONA
With the legacy Iniesta has, he must of course be in the team in one of his peak years. The World Cup final alone would give him a place in the team.

WESLEY SNEIJDER – INTER
Player of the season. Treble winner with Inter and dragged The Netherlands to the World Cup final. It has been a discussion ever since if Sneijder was robbed of the Ballon d´Or this year. Actually, I think this was one of the very few years where The Ballon d´Or got it right. If you – like me – would like The Ballon d´Or to go to the finest player in the world, then Sneijder was NOT robbed because he was NOT the finest player in the world. But if you – like many others – would like the Ballon d´Or to go the Player of The Season, then surely Sneijder was robbed.

CRISTIANO RONALDO – REAL MADRID
I do not like it when people remove Cristiano from being the second-best player in the world in summer 2010. I do not like it. In summer 2010. Cristiano trails Messi 2-1 by summer 2010 but he was still number two without a shadow of a doubt.


LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
Counting how many times they stood atop of the world as the finest footballer the world had to offer, Messi now leads Cristiano 2-1. However, his World Cup was really, really underwhelming. People tend to forget that nowadays.


DAVID VILLA – VALENCIA
This could easily have been Eto´o. But even if Eto´o became a treble winner in 2010, I actually believe his hype went marginally down when Pep Guardiola decided to call it time on his Barca career. Had these rankings been 1st April (and not 1st August) this would have been Rooney´s spot. He was sensational until he got injured in late March. Even to a degree where United fans didn´t miss Cristiano anymore.

JOSE MOURINHO – INTER
Some might have thought Jose was finished after his Chelsea sacking. He was no such thing. He was still The Special One. Of course, Pep´s stock was high. Of course, Ancelotti´s was. Del Bosque and Ferguson were not out of the running either. But there was only one Special One and you would have to be a hardcore Premier League fan or a diehard Spain fan to disagree.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Mario BALOTELLI – Inter
2: Eden HAZARD – Lille
3: Toni KROOS – Leverkusen
4: Miralem PJANIC – Lyon
5: David DE GEA – Atletico Madrid
6: BOJAN Krkic – Barcelona
7: NEYMAR – Santos
8: JAMES Rodriguez – Banfield
9: Romelu LUKAKU – Anderlecht
10: Sergio CANALES - Santander

 

It´s almost New Year. That means we are around halfway through the 2025/26 season. I thought I would post my mid-season rankings as they would look if it was 1st August today.

Please note. Some players are very high even if they have been out injured for a while or even if they are totally off form at the moment (Doue, Salah, Dembele, V Junior, Palmer, Bellingham, Wirtz, Musiala etc). That´s because I truly believe these players are still ranked among the best in the world by general footy fans around the world despite their troubles and people would still expect them to bounce back. The other way around there might be players who perform at a world class level right now but are ranked too low. That´s because these players haven´t shown enough overall yet to be considered among the very best.

THE 60 BEST FOOTBALLER 1st JANUARY 2026:

GOLD: Kylian MBAPPE (Real Madrid)
SILVER: Erling HAALAND (Manchester C)
BRONZE: Lamine YAMAL (Barcelona)

4: Harry KANE (Bayern)
5: PEDRI (Barcelona)
6: VITINHA (Paris SG)
7: Declan RICE (Arsenal)
8: Vini JUNIOR (Real Madrid)
9: RAPHINHA (Barcelona)
10: Michael OLISE (Bayern)

11: Bukayo SAKA (Arsenal)
12: Moises CAICEDO (Chelsea)
13: Jude BELLINGHAM (Real Madrid)
14: Mo SALAH (Liverpool)
15: Ousmane DEMBELE (Paris SG)
16: GABRIEL Magalhaes (Arsenal)
17: Desire DOUE (Paris SG)
18: Jeremy DOKU (Manchester C)
19: Julian ALVAREZ (Atletico Madrid)
20: HAKIMI (Paris SG)

21: Luis DIAZ (Bayern)
22: Kvicha KVARATSKHELIA (Paris SG)
23: Enzo FERNANDEZ (Chelsea)
24: William SALIBA (Arsenal)
25: Lautaro MARTINEZ (Inter)
26: Jamal MUSIALA (Bayern)
27: ALISSON Becker (Liverpool)
28: Joao NEVES (Paris SG)
29: Joshua KIMMICH (Bayern)
30: Virgil VAN DIJK (Liverpool)

31: Arda GÜLER (Real Madrid)
32: Kenan YILDIZ (Juventus)
33: Bruno FERNANDES (Manchester U)
34: Phil FODEN (Manchester C)
35: Cole PALMER (Chelsea)
36: Hugo EKITIKE (Liverpool)
37: Rayan CHERKI (Manchester C)
38: Lennart KARL (Bayern)
39: Willian PACHO (Paris SG)
40: Dominik SZOBOSZLAI (Liverpool)

41: Ruben DIAS (Manchester C)
42: RODRYGO Goes (Real Madrid)
43: Florian WIRTZ (Liverpool)
44: MARQUINHOS (Paris SG)
45: Josko GVARDIOL (Manchester C)
46: Lionel MESSI (Miami FC)
47: Alessandro BASTONI (Inter)
48: Scott MCTOMINAY (Napoli)
49: Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Barcelona)
50: Cristiano RONALDO (Al-Nassr)

51: Ferran TORRES (Barcelona)
52: Nuno MENDES (Paris SG)
53: Martin ODEGAARD (Arsenal)
54: Frenkie DE JONG (Barcelona)
54: Aurelien TCHOUAMENI (Real Madrid)
55: Martin ZUBIMENDI (Arsenal)
56: GRIMALDO (Leverkusen)
57: Aleksandar PAVLOVIC (Bayern)
58: Jurien TIMBER (Arsenal)
59: Jonathan TAH (Bayern)
60: ESTEVAO (Chelsea)

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS 2011:


GOLD: Lionel MESSI – Barcelona
SILVER: Cristiano RONALDO – Real Madrid
BRONZE: XAVI Hernandez – Barcelona

4: Andres INIESTA – Barcelona
5: Wayne ROONEY – Manchester U
6: David VILLA – Barcelona
7: Wesley SNEIJDER – Inter
8: Cesc FABREGAS – Arsenal
9: Samuel ETO´O – Inter
10: Sergio AGÜERO – Atletico Madrid

11: Mesut ÖZIL – Real Madrid
12: Robin VAN PERSIE – Arsenal
13: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC – AC Milan
14: Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER – Bayern
15: Dani ALVES – Barcelona
16: Xabi ALONSO – Real Madrid
17: Arjen ROBBEN – Bayern
18: Nemanja VIDIC – Manchester U
19: Yaya TOURE – Manchester C
20: Thiago SILVA – AC Milan

21: Carlos TEVEZ – Manchester C
22: Gerard PIQUE – Barcelona
23: Steven GERRARD – Liverpool
24: Franck RIBERY – Bayern
25: Luis SUAREZ – Ajax/Liverpool
26: David SILVA – Manchester C
27: Luka MODRIC – Tottenham
28: John TERRY – Chelsea
29: Ashley COLE – Chelsea
30: Carles PUYOL – Barcelona

31: Didier DROGBA – Chelsea
32: Edinson CAVANI – Napoli
33: Fernando TORRES – Chelsea
34: Radamel FALCAO – FC Porto
35: Angel DI MARIA – Real Madrid
36: Frank LAMPARD – Chelsea
37: Iker CASILLAS – Real Madrid
38: Gareth BALE – Tottenham
39: PEDRO – Barcelona
40: Gonzalo HIGUAIN – Real Madrid

41: Karim BENZEMA – Real Madrid
42: Vincent KOMPANY – Manchester C
43: Samir NASRI – Arsenal
44: NANI – Manchester U
45: Sergio RAMOS – Real Madrid
46: NEYMAR – Santos
47: Eden HAZARD – Lille
48: Mario GÖTZE – Dortmund
49: Manuel NEUER – Schalke
50: Thomas MÜLLER – Bayern

51: Michael ESSIEN – Chelsea
52: Philipp LAHM – Bayern
53: MARCELO – Real Madrid
54: KAKA – Real Madrid
55: MAICON – Inter
56: Rio FERDINAND – Manchester U
57: Edwin VAN DER SAR – Manchester U
58: Javier PASTORE – Palermo
59: Ezequiel LAVEZZI – Napoli
60: Rafael VAN DER VAART – Tottenham

61: Danielle DE ROSSI – Roma
62: Sami KHEDIRA – Real Madrid
63: Alexis SANCHEZ – Udinese
64: Andrea PIRLO – AC Milan
65: HULK – FC Porto
66: Arturo VIDAL – Leverkusen
67: Patrice EVRA – Manchester U
68: Juan MATA – Valencia
69: Nuri SAHIN – Dortmund
70: Diego FORLAN – Atletico Madrid

71: Alexandre PATO – AC Milan
72: Eric ABIDAL – Barcelona
73: Fabio COENTRAO – Real Madrid
74: Javier HERNANDEZ – Manchester U
75: Antinio DI NATALE – Udinese
76: Giorgio CHIELLINI – Juventus
77: Jack WILSHERE – Arsenal
78: Shinji KAGAWA – Dortmund
79: ROBINHO – AC Milan
80: Hugo LLORIS – Lyon

81: Javier MASCHERANO – Liverpool/Barcelona
82: Javi MARTINEZ – Bilbao
83: LUCIO – Inter
84: Santi CAZORLA – Villarreal
85: PEPE – Real Madrid
86: Marek HAMSIK – Napoli
87: Gianluigi BUFFON – Juventus
88: Mario BALOTELLI - Manchester C
89: Joe HART – Manchester C
90: Edin DZEKO – Manchester C

91: Lucas BARRIOS – Dortmund
92: Esteban CAMBIASSO – Inter
93: Florent MALOUDA – Chelsea
94: Francesco TOTTI – Roma
95: RAUL – Schalke
96: Lukas PODOLSKI – FC Cologne
97: Branislav IVANOVIC – Chelsea
98: Dimitar BERBATOV – Manchester U
99: Papiss CISSE - Freiburg
100: GERVINHO – Lille

WORLD BEST XI:

CASILLAS – ALVES – MARCELO – VIDIC – THIAGO SILVA – SCHWEINSTEIGER – XAVI – FABREGAS – INIESTA – MESSI – RONALDO – PEP GUARDIOLA

Neuer would beat Casillas in a goalkeeper of the season contest, however, I do not think Neuer had overtaken Iker´s crown yet.

In central defence it could have been Pique or Puyol and there might have been many fans who would say that. We didn´t at the time. We had Vidic and Silva as the world´s best potential pairing. In a team of the season contest Kompany might have been in for a shout.

The rest of the team picks itself. You could replace Cesc with Rooney, Villa or Sneijder depending on your preferred formation but that´s it.


PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE SEASON:

VAN DER SAR – SAGNA – COLE – VIDIC – KOMPANY – WILSHERE – NANI – NASRI – BALE – TEVEZ – BERBATOV – FERGUSON.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: NEYMAR – Santos
2: Eden HAZARD – Lille
3: Mario GÖTZE – Dortmund
4: Jack WILSHERE – Arsenal
5: LUCAS Moura – Sao Paolo
6: Christian ERIKSEN – Ajax
7: JAMES Rodriguez – FC Porto
8: Phil JONES – Blackburn
9: THIAGO Alcantara – Barcelona
10: David DE GEA – Atletico Madrid

 

As always - very much appreciated.

Yes, the way I go about my project is sometimes difficult because how much should you consider current form vs overall status. But in fact, it is not at all difficult for me because I´m always able to feel in my stomach how much I expect players to bounce back from injuries and loss of form and feel which level I´m confident they will come back to. The hard part for me is only to assess what others feel because - as you know - I would like my rankings not only to my own opinion. That´s the hard part and that´s where comments from you and others become extremely valuable.

Many Liverpool players are totally off form. However, even if I´m not supporting Liverpool by any means I expect them all to bounce back. That´s why not many of them have sunken drastically in my rankings. Bellingham will be back to his old level too - I´m sure of it. I´m a little bit more worried about a player like GAVI down in Catalunya because he was not in the starting XI even before he got injured. So, I would like him to get transferred out of Barcelona to fully reach his potential.

I know it sounds dumb but if I had continued my rankings beyond no. 60 the next two in line were in fact Gravenberch and Rogers. I like Gravenberch - he is world-class. He will probably be higher up the list come August. Morgan Rogers I´m not fully sold on yet... I feel he contribute way too less defensively and loses the ball more frequently than the players I compare him to (Wirtz, Bellingham, McTominay, Palmer, Enzo etc) and furthermore I would like him to be world-class for a longer stretch before moving him up.

Semenyo is another a player I could have added. Osimhen, Mbuemo were others. Of course, I also considered keeping Rodri in. But he has been out so long now that you really start to doubt if he will ever be the same. I know I doubt it. About Rice. Well, I suppose you English guys are proud. I would be if he was a Dane. I really think he is the best box-to-box midfielder the world has to offer right now. If anything, I would move Rice up in the rankings - not down!

About Rogers it doesn´t come down to my own opinion anyway. The reason players like Bellingham, Pedri, Palmer are considerably higher than Rogers is because I´m pretty sure that outside England these players are regarded way higher than Rogers - still. In fact, I think many general football fans outside England have not even heard about Rogers yet whereas they see the beforementioned players as some of the best in the world. But of course, guys like @Titanlux could answer how they see it in Spain/Southern Europe.

Thanks again for your input and thoughts. Very nice.

 

And by the way. I guess you follow all football like me. If so, I expect you are as crazy about Lennart Karl as I am. I really believe we have a future Ballon d´Or winner in him. He is the best young kid I have seen since Messi and Cristiano.

 

Well, as you say. Sometimes we jump the gun on new prospects. Let´s see how Bayern will fit Musiala and Karl together now that Musiala is almost fit again.

Yes, I surely remember Jan Schlaudrauff. I expected way more from him too. I believe you are right about McAtee being ahead of Palmer in their Man City youth. In fact, when Chelsea bought Palmer I really didn´t believe he would be a success. It seems I was wrong! I´m really excited about Dowman too. I just feel Arteta is not the right manager for him. For all the good things I can say about Saka, I really feel Arteta are holding him back. Saka is clearly told from the bench to think more about his defensive duties than he is allowed to just take on the fullbacks. I think Saka could be even better with a less cautious manager and so could Dowman.

About nostalgic years vs the newest seasons (2009-present) (If I remember right, it was 2009 you stopped when you assisted me with how you saw it) I´m 50/50. Like all guys in this forum, I´m in love with the nostalgic years. Had it not been because I work 50-60 hours a week, and have 4 children and dog and a beautiful wife to attend to and on top of that my 80km-a-week half marathon running schedule then I could dream away doing research all day for the nostalgic years. However, I have by no means lost interest for the more modern seasons. I still love following football every day just for the purpose of doing my project come August. What I especially love about the post 2000 seasons is that I can remember everything. So, for these lists, the only research I have to do is to get a feeling about how my own opinions compare to the rest of the world.

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2012:

GOLD: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
SILVER: Cristiano RONALDO (Real Madrid)
BRONZE: Andres INIESTA (Barcelona)

4: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
5: Radamel FALCAO (Atletico Madrid)
6: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Inter)
7: Robin VAN PERSIE (Arsenal)
8: Andrea PIRLO (Juventus)
9: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
10: Sergio AGÜERO (Manchester C)

11: Yaya TOURE (Manchester C)
12: Mesut ÖZIL (Real Madrid)
13: Thiago SILVA (AC Milan)
14: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
15: Xabi ALONSO (Real Madrid)
16: David SILVA (Manchester C)
17: Franck RIBERY (Bayern)
18: Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER (Bayern)
19: Cesc FABREGAS (Barcelona)
20: Edinson CAVANI (Napoli)

21: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)
22: Karim BENZEMA (Real Madrid)
23: Sergio BUSQUETS (Barcelona)
24: Vincent KOMPANY (Manchester C)
25: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
26: Luis SUAREZ (Liverpool)
27: Gareth BALE (Tottenham)
28: NEYMAR (Santos)
29: Dani ALVES (Barcelona)
30: Manuel NEUER (Bayern)

31: Juan MATA (Chelsea)
32: Gerard PIQUE (Barcelona)
33: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
34: Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Dortmund)
35: David VILLA (Barcelona)
36: Angel DI MARIA (Real Madrid)
37: Mats HUMMELS (Dortmund)
38: Eden HAZARD (Lille)
39: Luka MODRIC (Tottenham)
40: Arjen ROBBEN (Bayern)

41: Giorgio CHIELLINI (Juventus)
42: Arturo VIDAL (Juventus)
43: Sami KHEDIRA (Real Madrid)
44: Gonzalo HIGUAIN (Real Madrid)
45: Marco REUS (Dortmund)
46: Samuel ETO´O (Inter)
47: Wesley SNEIJDER (Inter)
48: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
49: Danielle DE ROSSI (Roma)
50: Mario GÖTZE (Dortmund)

51: Alexis SANCHEZ (Barcelona)
52: Jordi ALBA (Barcelona)
53: Ashley COLE (Chelsea)
53: Mario GOMEZ (Bayern)
54: Klass-Jan HÜNTELAAR (Schalke)
55: MARCELO (Real Madrid)
56: Claudio MARCHISIO (Juventus)
57: Mario BALOTELLI (Manchester C)
58: PEDRO (Barcelona)
59: Carlos TEVEZ (Manchester C)
60: Diego MILITO (Inter)

61: Nemanja VIDIC (Manchester U)
62: PEPE (Real Madrid)
63: Toni KROOS (Bayern)
64: Samir NASRI (Manchester C)
65: RAMIRES (Chelsea)
66: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
67: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
68: Shinji KAGAWA (Dortmund)
69: Javier MASCHERANO (Barcelona)
70: Petr CECH (Chelsea)

71: OSCAR (International)
72: Santi CAZORLA (Malaga)
73: Javier PASTORE (Paris SG)
74: JAMES Rodriguez (FC Porto)
75: Antonio VALENCIA (Manchester U)
76: LUCAS Moura (Sao Paolo)
77: Antonio DI NATALE (Udinese)
78: HULK (FC Porto)
79: Joao MOUTINHO (FC Porto)
80: Marek HAMSIK (Napoli)

81: Christian ERIKSEN (Ajax)
82: Lukas PODOLSKI (FC Cologne)
83: Victor VALDES (Barcelona)
84: Thomas VERMAELEN (Arsenal)
85: KAKA (Real Madrid)
86: Thiago ALCANTARA (Barcelona)
87: Roberto SOLDADO (Valencia)
88: DIEGO (Atletico Madrid)
89: Fernando LLORENTE (Bilbao)
90: Javi MARTINEZ (Bilbao)

91: Joe HART (Manchester C)
92: John TERRY (Chelsea)
93: Michael CARRICK (Manchester U)
94: NANI (Manchester U)
95: Thomas MÜLLER (Bayern)
96: RAUL (Schalke)
97: HERNANES (Lazio)
98: Miroslav KLOSE (Lazio)
99: Ezequel LAVEZZI (Napoli)
100: Sebastian GIOVINCO (Parma)

BEST XI:


1: IKER CASILLAS – Real Madrid
Neuer was really close. Cech and Buffon were still elite. Joe Hart was hyped. But Casillas remains the best.

2: DANI ALVES – Barcelona
He played better seasons, but no one was close.

3: PHILIPP LAHM – Bayern
Marcelo was not far behind. Jordi Alba was pushing. Ashley Cole was still elite. Clichy and Alaba could also be mentioned.

4: THIAGO SILVA – AC MILAN
Now regarded as the best Centre back in the world.

5: SERGIO RAMOS – REAL MADRID
This was his real breakthrough as a central defender. Close to being the best in the world.

6: ANDREA PIRLO – JUVENTUS
Reemerging as the deep laying playmaker in the world.

7: XAVI HERNANDEZ – BARCELONA
Still the brain and heart of both Barcelona and Spain.

8: ANDRES INIESTA – BARCELONA
If you must pick one time in history where the world saw Iniesta at his absolute peak THIS was it.

9: RADAMEL FALCAO
Not at the same supernatural level as Messi & Ronaldo but he was not far behind. The best no. 9 the world had to offer at this point.

10: LIONEL MESSI
50 La Liga goals. Need I say more. If I should, I could but it´s not necessary.

11: CRISTIANO RONALDO
46 La Liga goals. I know some fans had Ronaldo ahead of Messi that summer. I am not telling you who. I just know.

BENCH:

NEUER – IVANOVIC – MARCELO – KOMPANY – PIQUE – XABI ALONSO – YAYA TOURE - ÖZIL – ROONEY – ZLATAN – VAN PERSIE

MANAGER: JOSE MOURINHO
After steering Real Madrid to the La Liga title, he was once again regarded as the best manager in the world.

MESSI vs RONALDO debate:
It was now 4-1 advantage Messi regarding most 1st places since 2008. But in terms of being ahead of each other it was 5-4 advantage Ronaldo since 2004. That is what I believe is the consensus opinion. However, in 2012 I/We had Ronaldo ahead of Messi but I do not believe our opinions were world-wide consensus.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: NEYMAR (Santos)
2: Mario GÖTZE (Dortmund)
3: ISCO (Malaga)
4: LUCAS Moura (Sao Paolo)
5: Christian ERIKSEN (Ajax)
6: Jack WILSHERE (Arsenal)
7: Stephan EL SHAARAWY (AC Milan)
8: Julian DRAXLER (Schalke)
9: Raphael VARANE (Real Madrid)
10: Thibaut COURTOIS (Atl. Madrid)
11: Iker MUNIAIN (Bilbao)
12: BERNARD (Atl. Mineiro)

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2013

GOLD: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
SILVER: Cristiano RONALDO (Real Madrid)
BRONZE: Franck RIBERY (Bayern)

4: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Paris SG)
5: Andres INIESTA (Barcelona)
6: Gareth BALE (Tottenham)
7: Luis SUAREZ (Liverpool)
8: Edinson CAVANI (Napoli)
9: Robin VAN PERSIE (Manchester U)
10: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)

11: Radamel FALCAO (Atletico Madrid)
12: Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Dortmund)
13: Thomas MÜLLER (Bayern)
14: Arturo VIDAL (Juventus)
15: Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER (Bayern)
16: Sergio AGÜERO (Manchester C)
17: Mesut ÖZIL (Real Madrid)
18: Arjen ROBBEN (Bayern)
19: NEYMAR (Santos)
20: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)

21: Andrea PIRLO (Juventus)
22: Yaya TOURE (Manchester C)
23: Sergio BUSQUETS (Barcelona)
24: Thiago SILVA (Paris SG)
25: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
26: Marco REUS (Dortmund)
27: Manuel NEUER (Bayern)
28: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
29: David SILVA (Manchester C)
30: Dani ALVES (Barcelona)

31: Juan MATA (Chelsea)
32: Mats HUMMELS (Dortmund)
33: Xabi ALONSO (Real Madrid)
34: Giorgio CHIELLINI (Juventus)
35: Mario GÖTZE (Dortmund)
36: Vincent KOMPANY (Manchester C)
37: Ilkay GÜNDOGAN (Dortmund)
38: Toni KROOS (Bayern)
39: Cesc FABREGAS (Barcelona)
40: Gerard PIQUE (Barcelona)

41: Gonzalo HIGUAIN (Real Madrid)
42: JAMES Rodriguez (FC Porto)
43: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
44: Sami KHEDIRA (Real Madrid)
45: Eden HAZARD (Chelsea)
46: OSCAR (Chelsea)
47: Mario BALOTELLI (Manchester C)
48: Claudio MARCHISIO (Juventus
49: ISCO (Malaga)
50: David ALABA (Bayern)

51: Angel DI MARIA (Real Madrid)
52: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
53: Danielle DE ROSSI (Roma)
54: WILLIAN (Anzhi)
55: Jerome BOATENG (Bayern)
56: DANTE (Bayern)
57: PEDRO (Barcelona)
58: Carlos TEVEZ (Juventus)
59: Mario MANDZUKIC (Bayern)
60: Marek HAMSIK (Napoli)

61: Thibaut COURTOIS (Atl. Madrid)
62: Michael CARRICK (Manchester U)
63: Santi CAZORLA (Arsenal)
64: Karim BENZEMA (Real Madrid)
65: Luka MODRIC (Real Madrid)
66: FERNANDINHO (Shakhtar)
67: MARCELO (Real Madrid)
68: Arda TURAN (Atl Madrid)
69: Javi MARTINEZ (Bayern)
70: Jordi ALBA (Barcelona)

71: Leonardo BONUCCI (Juventus)
72: Aaron RAMSEY (Arsenal)
73: Javier MASCHERANO (Barcelona)
74: Joao MOUTINHO (FC Porto)
75: Erik LAMELA (Roma)
76: MICHU
77: Stevan JOVETIC (Fiorentina)
78: KOKE (Atl Madrid)
79: Petr CECH (Chelsea)
80: Hugo LLORIS (Lyon/Tottenham)

81: Andrea BARZAGLI (Juventus)
82: Paul POGBA (Juventus)
83: Jakub BLASZCZYKOWSKI (Dortmund)
84: Lukasz PISZCZEK (Dortmund)
85: Roberto SOLDADO (Valencia)
86: Asier ILLARRAMENDI (Sociedad)
87: Miralem PJANIC (Roma)
88: Mario GOMEZ (Bayern)
89: Thiago ALCANTARA (Barcelona)
90: Alvaro NEGREDO (Sevilla)

91: Axel WITSEL (Benfica/Zenit)
92: PAULINHO (Corinthians)
93: Ivan RAKITIC (Sevilla)
94: MARQUINHOS (Roma)
95: Kevin STROOTMAN (Roma)
96: Yohan CABAYA (Newcastle)
97: Andre SCHÜRRLE (Leverkusen)
98: Keisuke HONDA (CSKA)
99: Jesus NAVAS (Sevilla)
100: Samuel ETO´O (Anzhi)

BEST XI

MANUEL NEUER – BAYERN
The German Goalkeeping Sweeper was now the best in the world. Of course, Casillas´ collapse helped but it was really his own world-class performances which did it for him.

DANI ALVES – BARCELONA
His defensive weaknesses were truly publicly exposed during the Münich massacre. However, he was still regarded as the best RB in the world.

PHILIPP LAHM – BAYERN
Of course, I could have put Lahm at RB and Alaba or Marcelo at LB. As Graeme Souness stated during the CL final “Alaba is now the best LB in the world”. I still wanted to fit in Dani Alves though because he was still the best fullback in the world in my opinion.

THIAGO SILVA – PARIS SG
The best CB in the world. Simple as that.

SERGIO RAMOS – REAL MADRID
Ramos gets the nod. Partly due to Kompany´s injuries. Ramos was always just one foul away from being red carded and you always had the feeling that his team could be let down by it. So, I would have put Kompany in if he could have stayed more fit. In most rankings you will see Dante ranked above Boateng. But that´s really not how it was. Boateng was ahead of Dante and Boateng could also have been the choice in this team.

BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER – BAYERN
I will certainly hear calls for Busquets, but I really don´t care. By summer 2013 “Schweini” was better than Busquets – end of!

ARTURO VIDAL – JUVENTUS
I really loved Vidal around this time. This Juve midfield containing Vidal, Marchisio, Pirlo and Pogba was awesome. In summer 2013 Vidal was the best midfielder around.


FRANCK RIBERY – BAYERN
The best player from the best team. They usually win The Ballon d´Or. So, it might be fair to say Ribery was robbed of the award. As you might have guessed, I think it was one of the very few years where The Ballon d´Or got it right. Ribery was fantastic though.


LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
By August 2013 he was still the best player in the world even despite injuries.

CRISTIANO RONALDO – REAL MADRID
The 2013 Ballon d´Or winner. It´s probable though that he wouldn´t have won have it had been in August.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC – PARIS SG
When compiling these teams, I really like a proper no. 9 in the team. It´s way more fun when a proper no. 9 has been good enough to get in the team. There were surely others very close. Falcao, Lewandowski, Cavani, Suarez and Van Persie were all among the very best players in the world. But in summer 2013 there was no one better than Zlatan.

MANAGER – JUPP HEYNCKES – BAYERN
I´m not sure I would say Heynckes. I would probably still say Pep, Fergie or Mou. But Jupp just delivered one of the best club seasons ever, hence he was the consensus pick.

THE MESSI VS RONALDO DEBATE:

It was now 5-1 Messi since 2008 in first places and 5-5 in terms of being ahead of each other since 2004. But if you asked me Ronaldo would win 2013 and make 4-2. But I still believe Messi was the consensus pick in August where Ronaldo would probably be in December.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: PAUL POGBA – JUVENTUS
2: MARQUINHOS – ROMA
3: RAPHAEL VARANE – REAL MADRID
4: ROMELU LUKAKU – WBA
5: JULIAN DRAXLER – SCHALKE
6: MATEO KOVACIC – ZAGREB
7: MAURO ICARDI - SAMPDORIA
8: ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN – ARSENAL
9: BRUMA – SPORTING
10: MATIJA NASTASIC – MANCHESTER C

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2014

GOLD: Cristiano RONALDO (Real Madrid)
SILVER: Lionel MESSI (Barcelona)
BRONZE: Arjen ROBBEN (Bayern)

4: Luis SUAREZ (Liverpool)
5: Gareth BALE (Real Madrid)
6: NEYMAR (Barcelona)
7: Thomas MÜLLER (Bayern)
8: Angel DI MARIA (Real Madrid)
9: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Paris SG)
10: Sergio AGÜERO (Manchester C)

11: Manuel NEUER (Bayern)
12: Philipp LAHM (Bayern)
13: JAMES Rodriguez (Monaco)
14: Diego COSTA (Atl. Madrid)
15: Eden HAZARD (Chelsea)
16: Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid)
17: Toni KROOS (Bayern)
18: Yaya TOURE (Manchester C)
19: Luka MODRIC (Real Madrid)
20: Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Dortmund)

21: Arturo VIDAL (Juventus)
22: Andres INIESTA (Barcelona)
23: Franck RIBERY (Bayern)
24: David SILVA (Manchester C)
25: Mesut ÖZIL (Arsenal)
26: Paul POGBA (Juventus)
27: Mario GÖTZE (Bayern)
28: Marco REUS (Dortmund)
29: Karim BENZEMA (Real Madrid)
30: Diego GODIN (Atl. Madrid)

31: Bastian SCHWEINSTEIGER (Bayern)
33: Xabi ALONSO (Real Madrid)
33: Cesc FABREGAS (Barcelona)
34: Alexis SANCHEZ (Barcelona)
35: Thibaut COURTOIS (Atl. Madrid)
36: Javier MASCHERANO (Barcelona)
37: Thiago SILVA (Paris SG)
38: Ilkay GÜNDOGAN (Dortmund)
39: Vincent KOMPANY (Manchester C)
40: Mats HUMMELS (Dortmund)

41: Wayne ROONEY (Manchester U)
42: Arda TURAN (Atl. Madrid)
43: KOKE (Atl. Madrid)
44: David ALABA (Bayern)
45: Edinson CAVANI (Paris SG)
46: Andrea PIRLO (Juventus)
47: Carlos TEVEZ (Juventus)
48: Sergio BUSQUETS (Barcelona)
49: Nemanja MATIC (Chelsea)
50: Juan MATA (Chelsea)

51: OSCAR (Chelsea)
52: Robin VAN PERSIE (Manchester U)
53: Ivan RAKITIC (Sevilla)
54: Jerome BOATENG (Bayern)
55: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
55: Gonzalo HIGUAIN (Napoli)
56: Radamel FALCAO (Monaco)
57: Daniel STURRIDGE (Liverpool)
58: David DE GEA (Manchester U)
59: Marco VERRATTI (Paris SG)
60: Miralem PJANIC (Roma)

61: Giorgio CHIELLINI (Juventus)
62: MARCELO (Real Madrid)
63: Leonardo BONUCCI (Juventus)
64: Claudio MARCHISIO (Juventus)
65: Raheem STERLING (Liverpool)
66: Branislav IVANOVIC (Chelsea)
67: Blaise MATIUDI (Paris SG)
68: Danielle DE ROSSI (Roma)
69: Mario MANDZUKIC (Bayern)
70: Dani ALVES (Barcelona)

71: Antoine GRIEZMANN (Sociedad)
72: MIRANDA (Atl. Madrid)
73: Gerard PIQUE (Barcelona)
74: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
75: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
76: ISCO (Real Madrid)
77: Pablo ZABALETA (Manchester C)
78: Santi CAZORLA (Arsenal)
79: John TERRY (Chelsea)
80: Phillippe COUTINHO (Liverpool)

81: Aaron RAMSEY (Arsenal)
82: Hugo LLORIS (Tottenham)
83: PEPE (Real Madrid)
84: Mehdi BENATIA (Roma)
85: PEDRO (Barcelona)
86: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
87: GABI (Atl. Madrid)
88: Edin DZEKO (Manchester C)
89: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Dortmund)
90: FERNANDINHO (Manchester C)

91: Felipe LUIS (Atl. Madrid)
92: Ezequiel GARAY (Benfica)
93: GERVINHO (Roma)
94: Olivier GIROUD (Arsenal)
95: Ciro IMMOBILE (Torino)
96: Wilfried BONY (Swansea)
97: Kaylor NAVAS (Levante)
98: Pierre-Emerick AUBAMEYANG (Dortmund)
99: Laurent KOCIELNY (Arsenal)
100: Jackson MARTINEZ (FC Porto)

BEST XI:

MANUEL NEUER – BAYERN
In my book way way better than Casillas ever was. One of the best goalkeepers of all time. He had to be at his best though because Courtois, De Gea and Keylor were all very good too.

PHILIPP LAHM – BAYERN
By far the best full-back at this point. Actually, he played a lot as a defensive midfielder in this season and the season before he was in the team as a LB.

DAVID ALABA – BAYERN
If there were doubts in 2013 there were none in 2014. Alaba is now the best LB around.

SERGIO RAMOS – REAL MADRID
Still prone for red cards but still clearly the best CB in the world.

DIEGO GODIN – ATLETICO MADRID
This was tough because my own favorite was Hummels. But world-wide I believe Godin, Thiago Silva, Kompany and Hummels were very close with Godin just on top due to Atletico´s brilliant season.

TONI KROOS – BAYERN
Like the CB spot next to Ramos, this was close. It could have been either of Modric, Schweinsteiger, Vidal, Pogba and Xabi Alonso. Kroos just edged the others by a whisker.

GARETH BALE – REAL MADRID
I contemplated putting two central midfielders in at the expense of Bale. If so, it would have been one of the beforementioned.

ARJEN ROBBEN – BAYERN
This was Robben´s peak. Never before and never again was he regarded that highly. So, he is guaranteed a place in this team.

LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
Injury plagued season. This didn’t, of course, by no means stop him being top 2 in the world.

CRISTIANO RONALDO – REAL MADRID
If not before since 2008 then surely now. The best player in the world. There was no doubt this time around.

LUIS SUAREZ – LIVERPOOL
Once again, I wanted a no 9 in the team. It could have been Zlatan once more. It could also have been the excellent Diego Costa had he not flopped tremendously at the World Cup.

MANAGER: JOSE MOURINHO
He still had the aura at this point. It was a toss up between him and Ancelotti. This time I went with my own opinion.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Raheem STERLING – LIVERPOOL
2: Adnan JANUZAJ – MANCHESTER U
3: Memphis DEPAY - PSV
4: Luke SHAW – SOUTHAMPTON
5: Mateo KOVACIC – INTER
6: Max MEYER – SCHALKE
7: John STONES – EVERTON
8: Emre CAN – LEVERKUSEN
9: MARQUINHOS – ROMA
10: Youri TIELEMANS - ANDERLECHT