Guardian writers Top 100 footballers list and the No1 is....

mike65

No prizes for guessing Messi is top dog, the full list is here, Barca have 3 of the top 10 no surprise there I guess. The top PL player is Robin Van Persie at No 7, with Yaya Toure at 9.

EdenHazard

LMAO Yaya Toure at 9. I actually like him but in the top 10 players, not a chance.

bohsman

EdenHazard wrote: »

LMAO Yaya Toure at 9. I actually like him but in the top 10 players, not a chance.

Agreed, should really be top 5. Would be the first player in my squad if I was building a team.

GavRedKing

Where's Heskey?

Kess73

Poor Claudio Marchisio. The only one of Juve's senior midfielders not to get a mention.:D

Has been just as effective for Juve over the past 18 months or so as Vidal and Asamoah (although Asamoah has played LM as often as CM).

Not a bad foursome to have as midfield options. Asamoah, Vidal, Pirlo, and Marchisio.

dreamers75

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/dec/20/classic-youtube-best-clips-2012

Top sporting video moments (some fcukin hilarious non football ones)

Shamrock Rovers fans may want to skip past number 1

Where To

Ben Arfa shouldn't be anywhere near that list, and I'm a Newcastle fan.

CSF

Football fans in disagreeing with footballer ranking list shocker.

NIMAN

Rooney No31?

I would say that wouldn't go down too well with a lot of Utd/England fans, but its probably not far off the mark.

rossie1977

edinson cavani number 10 :rolleyes:

TheEscapist

Not the worst Top 100 I've seen, obviously a few strange ones as their is with all of these lists. Think Fernando Duarte put one in for the laugh though just to see people's reactions.

Pro. F

NIMAN wrote: »

Rooney No31?

I would say that wouldn't go down too well with a lot of Utd/England fans, but its probably not far off the mark.

I think an awful lot United fans don't actually rate Rooney that highly. If you read the United thread you will see that he is written off regularly.

The truth is that he has been carrying the United team and has been essential to everything they create for years.

The nonsense of Rooney's rating is evidenced by the fact that Kun Aguero is rated 20 places higher.

elefant

Oscar 37th?

And Wanyama in the top 100 footballers?

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Delighted they put Xavi higher than Iniesta. He's a better player, but because he's not as flamboyant (not that iniesta is) he doesn't get as much recognition. Xavi is the vital cog in the Spanish and Barca teams.

Hank Scorpio

Rooney at 31 is a disgrace imo, he may not be a goal scoring machine every season but he keeps United up there, he works super hard both attacking wise and defensively linking the entire team together. Without him United just aren't the same

ricero

Evra in the top 100 not a chance. Maybe 2 years ago but not now a days

wonga77

Thought Lewandowski would be higher than 70

population

rossie1977 wrote: »

edinson cavani number 10 :rolleyes:

I have watched him play week in week out for close to 3 years. 86 goals in 114 appearances. No rolleyes about it. He is one of the best strikers on the planet and is an extremely intelligent all round player to boot

Rekop dog

Kess73 wrote: »

Poor Claudio Marchisio. The only one of Juve's senior midfielders not to get a mention.:D

Has been just as effective for Juve over the past 18 months or so as Vidal and Asamoah (although Asamoah has played LM as often as CM).

Not a bad foursome to have as midfield options. Asamoah, Vidal, Pirlo, and Marchisio.

Think he should have made the list considering the likes of Sneijder and Ben Arfa are there but I'd definitely have Vidal and Pirlo higher.

Francie Barrett

elefant wrote: »

And Wanyama in the top 100 footballers?

Wanyama is the best footballer in Scotland by a garden mile it has to be said.

Dempsey

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Wanyama is the best footballer in Scotland by a garden mile it has to be said.

Wanyama isnt even the best midfielder at Celtic :rolleyes:

Seans_Username

That's actually a very good list. Almost perfect bar one or two exceptions, in my opinion:
Evra hasn't been one of the top 100 in the world recently.
While he may be good, mostly because I think he's such a wanker, Busquets shouldn't be in the top 20. He could single-handedly ruin a game of football for me. He just pisses me off with his whinging and looking to get people sent off all the time. I know most players will do this, but I think he's the worst for it.

Cavani & Falcao are well placed. Anyone who doesn't think Cavani is good enough for 10th then please gtfo. Glad to see Ozil up so high as well. SES is doing well for 52nd. Well done to Zanetti as well, 39 years old and in the top 50, some job

eugeneious

Seans_Username wrote: »

That's actually a very good list. Almost perfect bar one or two exceptions, in my opinion:
Evra hasn't been one of the top 100 in the world recently.
While he may be good, mostly because I think he's such a wanker, Busquets shouldn't be in the top 20. He could single-handedly ruin a game of football for me. He just pisses me off with his whinging and looking to get people sent off all the time. I know most players will do this, but I think he's the worst for it.

Cavani & Falcao are well placed. Anyone who doesn't think Cavani is good enough for 10th then please gtfo. Glad to see Ozil up so high as well. SES is doing well for 52nd. Well done to Zanetti as well, 39 years old and in the top 50, some job

Busquets is probably the best player in the world at what he does. Absolutely he deserves a place in the top 20.

Seans_Username

eugeneious wrote: »

Busquets is probably the best player in the world at what he does. Absolutely he deserves a place in the top 20.

I'm not dissing his ability. I just can't stand him and the way goes about looking to get people booked all the time. If he cut out the play-acting too I'd fully appreciate his talents and would have no bother in rating him as a great player.

I wasn't saying he isn't talented enough to be top 20. Read back over my post, I was saying that I dislike him so much that I pretty much don't like the fact he's in the top 20. His attitude is as big a part of his game as his ability with/without the ball.

Cienciano

As these lists go, it's actually fairly good. I'd still have Buffon ahead of Casillias though.

Blatter

Oscar ahead of di Mara, Tevez, Modric, Bale, Higuain (did he even make the list!?) and 46 places ahead of Cazorla. Rooney at 31 (should be much higher), Pique at 24, Toure ahead of Busquets, Drogba and Zanetti in the top 50.

Pretty poor list imo.

CSF

Blatter wrote: »

Oscar ahead of di Mara, Tevez, Modric, Bale, Higuain (did he even make the list!?) and 46 places ahead of Cazorla. Rooney at 31 (should be much higher), Pique at 24, Toure ahead of Busquets, Drogba and Zanetti in the top 50.

Pretty poor list imo.

Yeah I thought it was aswell having finally gotten a look. Xavi ahead of Iniesta and Falcao after the last 18 months is a bit mad.

Andersonisgod

elefant wrote: »

Oscar 37th?

And Wanyama in the top 100 footballers?

He's Brazil's starting number 10 (one of the most prestigious roles in football) and he's done well at Chelsea so far. He isn't that out of place at 37.

Mr.Nice Guy

THFC wrote: »

Delighted they put Xavi higher than Iniesta. He's a better player, but because he's not as flamboyant (not that iniesta is) he doesn't get as much recognition. Xavi is the vital cog in the Spanish and Barca teams.

Disagree. Iniesta was the vital cog in Spain's Euro 2012 success, not Xavi.

markie29

Dempsey wrote: »

Wanyama isnt even the best midfielder at Celtic :rolleyes:

who would you have as Celtics best player?

Andersonisgod

CSF wrote: »

Yeah I thought it was aswell having finally gotten a look. Xavi ahead of Iniesta and Falcao after the last 18 months is a bit mad.

Again hardly an opinion that warrants a huge amount of surprise. Xavi Hernandez is, IMO, the greatest midfielder of his generation, certainly he is the best midfielder I've ever seen play and he is, arguably, the greatest midfielder ever. He is the very embodiment of La Masia, the heartbeat of both Barcelona and Spain. Iniesta has been excellent this year and is probably the only midfielder that truly rivals Xavi, like those at The Guardian is also have Xavi ahead of him, not by much but either way it's not a decision that merits a shocked reaction.

CSF

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Again hardly an opinion that warrants a huge amount of surprise. Xavi Hernandez is, IMO, the greatest midfielder of his generation, certainly he is the best midfielder I've ever seen play and he is, arguably, the greatest midfielder ever. He is the very embodiment of La Masia, the heartbeat of both Barcelona and Spain. Iniesta has been excellent this year and is probably the only midfielder that truly rivals Xavi, like those at The Guardian is also have Xavi ahead of him, not by much but either way it's not a decision that merits a shocked reaction.

2 years ago I'd have agreed. I think in that time Iniesta has gone a clear level above him though.

Dempsey

markie29 wrote: »

who would you have as Celtics best player?

Gary Hooper or Fraser Forster

CSF

Dempsey wrote: »

Gary Hooper or Fraser Forster

Granted, I don't watch every game like you, but I watch a decent amount, and for me Wanyama is streets ahead of the rest of the squad.

eagle eye

I'd be in agreement with the top 3 but Rooney and Tevez are definitely top 10 imo. I'd have both of them ahead of RVP. When you see a list like this you have to wonder about how many games these guys watch. Cavani isn't in the top 25 imo and they have him at no.10 and Neymar is only 13 because he doesn't play in Europe.

Andersonisgod

CSF wrote: »

2 years ago I'd have agreed. I think in that time Iniesta has gone a clear level above him though.

They play a different role for both club and country. Xavi is the orchestrater, everything goes through him, he keeps things ticking over, he collects the ball deep, he always an option. Iniesta has occasionally played from a wide left position, getting the freedom to come inside. When he does play through the centre it is usually as the one pushing forward the most of the 3. While Iniesta was undoubtedly the best player at Euro 2012 you could make a strong argument that Xavi was infancy the most important player in the final as he man marked Pirlo out of the game (a great tactical move by Del Bosque, instigating the kind of press that Spain hadn't performed throughout the tournament)

Xavi has been in sterling form this season, he remains the heartbeat of Barcelona. Not as spectacular as Iniesta, however arguably he is more important. I'm not Iniesta bashing by the way, I'm a huge fan and it's a joy to watch them both play together for club and country.

General Relativity

At least Stephen Gerrard is in the right place on that list.

Also, Fabregas at 36? Is this real life?

Skylinehead

eagle eye wrote: »

I'd be in agreement with the top 3 but Rooney and Tevez are definitely top 10 imo. I'd have both of them ahead of RVP. When you see a list like this you have to wonder about how many games these guys watch. Cavani isn't in the top 25 imo and they have him at no.10 and Neymar is only 13 because he doesn't play in Europe.

Van Persie's been better than both for 2 years now. Easy decision. As for Cavani, he's easily as good as where they have him, class striker.

dfx-

THFC wrote: »

Delighted they put Xavi higher than Iniesta. He's a better player, but because he's not as flamboyant (not that iniesta is) he doesn't get as much recognition. Xavi is the vital cog in the Spanish and Barca teams.

I'd have to disagree. I'd have Iniesta a clear second behind the little guy. Iniesta is perhaps more dynamic and can take it out of the opposition's hands in a way I don't think Xavi can.

His touch and turn are worth top spot alone...

eagle eye

Skylinehead wrote: »

Van Persie's been better than both for 2 years now. Easy decision. As for Cavani, he's easily as good as where they have him, class striker.

Better as a finisher for sure but as an all around player Rooney and Tevez are much better.

CSF

eagle eye wrote: »

Better as a finisher for sure but as an all around player Rooney and Tevez are much better.

They might be more rounded but if you think having either of them in your team ahead of someone who is so much better than anyone else (Falcao maybe closer than the rest) in his particular role, I'm a bit worried for you.

Eathrin

Ibrahimovic at 5
Alonso at 15
Suarez at 21

I don't think these should be quite that high.

Rooney at 31 is a bad call, he should be in the 12-25 bracket if you ask me.
And Vidic at 64 is worse.

Gbear

Eathrin wrote: »

Ibrahimovic at 5
Alonso at 15
Suarez at 21

I don't think these should be quite that high.

Rooney at 31 is a bad call, he should be in the 12-25 bracket if you ask me.
And Vidic at 64 is worse.

Vidic has played very little football in the last year or so.

I think Rooney having gone off in a bit of a huff at the start of the season has counted against him. I don't see how the likes of Reus, Muller, Pigclimber, Willian or Ribery should be ahead of him.

Alonso is the still the best deep-lying playmaker in the world and has won a European Championship with Spain and a league with Madrid in the last year.

Suarez is a very good footballer in general but he's occasionally capable of things that only maybe Messi and 1 or 2 other players can do. This season he's started doing them on a more consistent basis as well.

I'm not sure what Terry is doing on the list. Despite being a nutter Pepe is a far better defender and always has been.
Benzema should probably be higher. He's better than Rooney or Suarez and by extension, every one else in between.

Blatter

When Southampton striker Emmanuel Mayuka makes the list and Gonzalo Higuain doesn't, you know it's pretty fcked up.

CSF

Blatter wrote: »

When Southampton striker Emmanuel Mayuka makes the list and Gonzalo Higuain doesn't, you know it's pretty fcked up.

This was by far the weirdest inclusion.

Reekwind

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Xavi is the orchestrater, everything goes through him, he keeps things ticking over, he collects the ball deep, he always an option

I think that's a really good way of putting it but my favourite description of Xavi (courtesy of Sid Lowe) is as an 'ideologue'. Messi and Ronaldo are great players but they would be for any team; Xavi defines how Barcelona and Spain play. He's the metronome at the heart of the two most successful teams of this past decade and deserves all the praise he gets

Some thoughts from the rest of the list:

• The top ten seems reasonable enough and while we can quibble about the ranking, I think it's fair that (almost) all the players in the top thirty deserve to be there...
• ...with the notable exception of David Silva at 18, who I don't think has been in particularly good form (by his own standards) since about this time last year
• I'm surprised that Lahm is only at 25. He's probably the best full back in the world at the moment... admittedly not a hard task given that Evra makes it onto the list at 78
• Zanetti at 41 was a surprise, as was Muller at 33
• Not sure why the difference between Pique (24) and Puyol (46)
• Alonso definitely deserves his place. One of the best midfielders to play in both England and Spain (the latter obviously being the more impressive) over the past decade. Remember the impact when he left Liverpool?

Gbear wrote:

I think Rooney having gone off in a bit of a huff at the start of the season has counted against him. I don't see how the likes of Reus, Muller, Pigclimber, Willian or Ribery should be ahead of him

Muller and Ribery (although his form is finally coming back to his old standards) are questionable but I'd definitely put Schweinsteiger (one of the best midfielders in Europe), Reus (probably the most exciting wideman in Europe) and Willian (a criminally under-rated attacking midfielder) before Rooney

I don't think there's any question that Rooney isn't a very good striker (he's still a 20-30 goal a season man) but his form has been inconsistent and, more damningly, he's not delivered on his early promise. Maybe that's the fault of those who expected too much from him but I don't think he's turned out to be a genuine world class talent. Controversial, I know, but I don't think I'd pick him in front of any of the other, higher ranked, strikers on that list

Bertser

I don't watch enough Liga BBVA football, but can someone tell me is Sergio Ramos' high place warranted? From my limited knowledge I would say no.

Andersonisgod

Reekwind wrote: »

I think that's a really good way of putting it but my favourite description of Xavi (courtesy of Sid Lowe) is as an 'ideologue'. Messi and Ronaldo are great players but they would be for any team; Xavi defines how Barcelona and Spain play. He's the metronome at the heart of the two most successful teams of this past decade and deserves all the praise he gets

Some thoughts from the rest of the list:

• The top ten seems reasonable enough and while we can quibble about the ranking, I think it's fair that (almost) all the players in the top thirty deserve to be there...
• ...with the notable exception of David Silva at 18, who I don't think has been in particularly good form (by his own standards) since about this time last year
• I'm surprised that Lahm is only at 25. He's probably the best full back in the world at the moment... admittedly not a hard task given that Evra makes it onto the list at 78
• Zanetti at 41 was a surprise, as was Muller at 33
• Not sure why the difference between Pique (24) and Puyol (46)
• Alonso definitely deserves his place. One of the best midfielders to play in both England and Spain (the latter obviously being the more impressive) over the past decade. Remember the impact when he left Liverpool?

Muller and Ribery (although his form is finally coming back to his old standards) are questionable but I'd definitely put Schweinsteiger (one of the best midfielders in Europe), Reus (probably the most exciting wideman in Europe) and Willian (a criminally under-rated attacking midfielder) before Rooney

I don't think there's any question that Rooney isn't a very good striker (he's still a 20-30 goal a season man) but his form has been inconsistent and, more damningly, he's not delivered on his early promise. Maybe that's the fault of those who expected too much from him but I don't think he's turned out to be a genuine world class talent. Controversial, I know, but I don't think I'd pick him in front of any of the other, higher ranked, strikers on that list

Terrific description of the little genius, metronome is exactly the right word for him and, as Lowe says, he defines how both Spain and Barcelona play, he is the embodiment of an ideology.

Andersonisgod

Bertser wrote: »

I don't watch enough Liga BBVA football, but can someone tell me is Sergio Ramos' high place warranted? From my limited knowledge I would say no.

As a regular watcher I'd actually say he warrants an even higher place than that which he achieved. He was superb at the Euros and has been a truly polished all rounder at centre back for Real Madrid. Currently I think you would struggle to find a better centre back on world football, he really is an outstanding and consistent player.

The Floyd p

How can Evra, Mayuka and Balotelli get in it but Marchisio or Inler not get in it? Like seriously, Marchisio got to the Euro 2012 final and went unbeaten the whole season with Juventus, yet Mayuka, who hasn't even scored for Southampton yet in the Premier League gets in it.

Blatter

Rooney is so much more than a 20-35 goal a season striker. His defensive work is always unbelievable and he's awesome at linking midfield with attack. He's such a complete player.

The fact his talent isn't fully appreciated by many is something that baffles me every year.