Lothar Matthäus. The guy was a complete package — capable of handling the opposing #10 (even if it was Maradona himself), dictating the play and scoring countless goals.
Obviously he’s quite young still, but N’Golo Kante is going to end up in this discussion IMO. He does lack the scoring capability that a lot of the best box to box midfielders have had, but still he is an absolutely incredible box to box midfielder.
Is he a B2B though? There are plenty of B2B midfielders who weren't great goalscorers. Both younger Keane and Vieira come to mind. Kante consistently plays as the deepest midfielders for France for example. He is probably the best ball-winner in the world right now, and he has good solid technique as well. If he keeps this up, he should definitely be up for the discussion of being the best at his role, just not the B2B role imo.
It’s a valid question. I’d call him a box to box midfielder, though, because he does relatively often make marauding runs forward with the ball. IMO, a truly defensive ball-winning midfielder stays back more than Kante. So I see him as a box to box midfielder who particularly excels defensively. But obviously this is something of a subjective issue, so I wouldn’t say you’re wrong if you disagree.
I think the role of ball-winner has evolved for sure. Lucas Torreira, the 2nd most productive defensive player in Europe (tackles + interceptions) after Kante is also known for his passing abilities, for example. Just like everyone else, more is expected of them. I just look at the modern B2Bs like Nainggolan, Vidal, Pogba, and Milinkovic-Savic, and I don't see Kante being able to offer as much as they do at both ends of the field.
Kante is a full-fledged box-to-box midfielder under Sarri. He's only 27 so he's still got time to make his name in this role.
He looks to be a fish out of water in this new role of his !! Wish we could get him to Barca in place of Rakitic !!!
If you think he's uncomfortable in this new role, why would you want him to replace Rakitic? Surely the person he'd have to replace would be Busquets, who isn't that old, and still look like top 3 DM in the world. I think the person to replace Rakitic should be Eriksen. Just a better version of Rakitic in almost every way.
Yeah but getting him from Spurs at a realistic price ain't gonna happen .. Kante isn't happy and he's far better , younger , faster than Rakitic who's been very poor for ages in a Barca shirt .... the feeling is he's got some compromising photos of Valverde
Is there perhaps a case to be made for lampard being the best box to box midfielder in history (or at least in contention) I really don’t think he is particularly lacking in aspect in terms of tangible things (creativity/end product) He is always discriminated against for being technically unimpressive but I think he had more then enough technique to make good use of it Here is a comp on his prime as a complete box to box player (I’ve never seen a more complete midfielder since perhaps Ruud Gullit) I always thought he was undervalued even in his prime.he was at the heart of Chelseas midfield for the best part of a decade All their play ran through him so there is really no telling how influential he was to Chelsea’s golden period (beyond goals and assists) Is there a player like him today? If there is I haven’t seen him yet
The best ‘box to box’ player I’ve ever seen- in all my years - was Roy Keane . He was THAT good that he had a clause in his contracts that ensured that he was always the top earner so every time they signed a top new player on a great contract..Keane got a rise ... everytime Beckham , Giggs or Scholes renegotiated their contracts ... Keane got a payrise .
It's funny because the British press slaughtered Sarri for playing Kante box-to-box despite the team eventually going on to win the UEL and placing a respectable 3rd place in the EPL. Sarri intended to use Kante similar as he did with Allan at Napoli, though it did seem like Kante lacked some of the necessary skills to dribble and distribute to excel at this role.
Indeed, the Kante experiment under Sarri failed. Kante, in his natural role, is the best in the world, imo. He's out of the B2B conversation, but can enter the DM conversation.