Top 10 Soccer Players in the World: Pre-Champions League Knockout Stage Edition
By Mike Cardillo
Maybe you’re not supposed to tell how the proverbial blog sausage is made, but allow me a moment here so the rest of this list makes sense. During the World Cup last July, I hastily assembled a “Top 10” list of the best soccer players in the world. Thanks to the powers of Google, the post generated a steady, insane amount of traffic despite the fact it’s (admittedly) not the greatest list ever assembled and uploaded to the Internet. Then again, the function of Internet lists isn’t to be accurate, but rather to spur debate and/or outrage about someone’s fully arbitrary opinion.
So with that in mind, it was time to revisit the list and make amends. This updated list is taking current form of early February 2015 into account, more than long-standing reputation and or ratings in FIFA 15, so apologies, Andres Iniesta.
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Honorable mentions: Carlos Tevez, Thiago Silva, Yaya Toure, Kevin De Bruyne, Philipp Lahm, Luis Suarez, Ángel Di María (cooled off, as of late but will probably be back in the Top 10 if we ever do this list again), Thibaut Courtois, Alexandre Lacazette, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Agüero.
Special Notation No. 1: Every Real Madrid player not named Ronaldo — Ever notice Real Madrid boasts an insane amount of talent on one team? James Rodríguez, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos would all appear if this was a Top 25 list.
Special Notation No. 2: The Zlatan — The PSG star would be a shoo-in for a Top 10 list, if not for some recent injuries and a slight slip in form for the Paris club. Once again Ibrahimovic will be under the microscope in the Champions League. Let’s go out on a limb and agree Zlatan doesn’t need the validation of this (again) arbitrary list to confirm his awesomeness.
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10. Diego Godín, Atletico Madrid/Uruguay
As if you didn’t already know, the Ballon d’Or is a flimsily disguised popularity contest. This year it completely ignored Atletico Madrid’s excellent season. Is Godín the best center back in the world? Possibly, although the unofficial mantle is held by PSG’s Thiago Silva. Full disclosure: this list probably needs one defensive player on and Godín is the best of the shallow pool, plus he’s excellent on set pieces, meriting a few bonus points.
9. Neymar, Barcelona/Brazil
Few players prompt such dividing opinions as the now 23-year-old Brazil captain. Is he a one-trick show pony or a legit superstar and the most-talented player in Spain after the Big Two?
Many players cashed in thanks to YouTube mixtapes and highlight reels. In isolation, trick moves entertain but often mean nothing toward the outcome of matches. What sets Neymar apart is that beyond dribbling, he’s an efficient scorer with an insanely powerful shot. 37 goals across 67 games for Barcelona is impressive, even by the clubs’s high-scoring standards. More impressive is 42 international goals in a mere 60 games for Brazil, albeit most of them friendlies.
8. Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich/Germany
Confirmed as the best keeper in the world via a third-place finish at the Ballon d’Or voting. He also likes to do crazy stuff like this when he strays off his line to become a #sweeperkeeper:
7. Diego Costa, Chelsea/Spain
Let’s consider these facts about the Brazil-born Spanish international. Atletico Madrid fended off both Real Madrid and Barcelona last season, winning La Liga title thanks in no small part to Costa — the offensive spear at the end of Diego Simeone’s compact, defensive system — scoring 27 goals. In August he made an instant impact at Chelsea, turning Jose Mourinho’s team into the Premier League favorites — a mantle the Blues haven’t relinquished. Costa now has 17 goals in 19 EPL games, not too shabby given how many strikers (Andriy Shevchenko, Afonso Alves, Mateja Kezman, etc.) struggle after moving to England.
Yes Costa might be a master of the dark arts. No, he won’t receive a Christmas card from Martin Skrtel or Emre Can any time soon. Either way, Costa’s current form makes him the best old-fashioned, traditional No. 9 in the world.
6. Alexis Sánchez, Arsenal/Chile
In the mood for a strained, dated music comparison? Too bad, you’re getting one. Alexis Sánchez at Barcelona was a bit like Phil Collins in Genesis, a part of a greater whole. At Arsenal, Sánchez is Phil Collins’ solo career. Does that make sense? Here’s a link to Sussudio. Sing along. It’ll brighten your day.
Long term, putting Sánchez ahead of the likes of Bale, Di María or Rodriguez is questionable, but at the moment — pending his current hamstring injury — he’s performing as one of the world’s best, carrying Arsenal at times this season in EPL play with 12 goals and seven assists.
5. Paul Pogba, Juventus/France
The French midfielder checked in at No. 7 on my July list, and that was before he picked up Best Young Player honors at the World Cup and carried his form into the Serie A season with Juventus, where the 21-year-old’s staked a claim as the best player in Italy. If you were starting a team from scratch today you’d want Pogba as the anchor, given he can play any midfield role and only keeps improving as an offensive weapon on the edge of the penalty area thanks to a rasping shot. Eventually you could see Pogba develop into a 10-goal per year scorer, possibly more if he takes penalties.
In January I wrote, well, speculated about Pogba’s probable future away from Turin. On the subject of his future, will Pogba’s growth merit a place on the Ballon d’Or shortlist by the time France hosts Euro 2016?
4. Eden Hazard, Chelsea/Belgium
This is going to sound almost moronically simplistic: Eden Hazard is a great soccer player and the best in the EPL at the moment. What stands out to me about Hazard is how his greatness almost blends in with the scenery at Stamford Bridge. Most great players, regardless of the sport, tend to provoke strong feelings or opinions among fans. Aside from the isolated incident when he kicked the ball boy — it turned out later the kid bragged about trying to impact the game — what is there to say about Hazard?
Actually, it’s quite refreshing to find a star athlete that let’s his or her play stand alone on its own merits independent of anything else.
Bonus fun fact: Hazard doesn’t use an agent.
3. Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich/The Netherlands
Here’s a statement you wouldn’t expect to read about Arjen Robben: He is the Dave Grohl of soccer. Like Grohl performing with Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and Tenacious D, Robben finds success wherever he goes, although the Dutchman is the consummate solo artist on the field. Still, whatever his (mostly negative) reputation is to Americans, Robben remains an amazing player, one with winner’s medals in England, Spain and Germany along with a Champions League triumph with Bayern Munich. He’s been the primary reason why the Netherlands finished runner-up and third at consecutive World Cups, too.
Simply put: add Robben to your starting XI and you’re immediately a zillion times better. Try to forget about the flopping and the reactions afterward. Perhaps the reason Robben is hacked down so often is that once he cuts inside on his left foot it’s the only way to stop him, even though you know it’s coming.
Although he looks like an ancient human being with bones that could shatter into dust at a moment’s notice, Robben is only 31 and the top-rated player in the Bundesliga this season and is second with 11 goals in league play.
2. Lionel Messi, Barcelona/Argentina
There is really nothing left to say about Messi that hasn’t already been said, aside from speculating on his future and if it lies away from the Camp Nou. Anyways, Messi vs. Ronaldo is a ready-made, easy debate, but a better way to look at it is that as soccer fans we’re lucky to be alive to watch them both at the peak of their all-time, historic powers.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid/Portugal
Portugal flamed out in the Group Stage at the World Cup, which is the only blemish on Ronaldo’s on-field resume the last 16 months or so … if you forget he carried his nation into the tournament by himself in the playoff vs. Sweden. Should elite players like Ronaldo or Messi be judged on their isolated performances at major international tournaments, often in three game bursts, or let their standing on the club level suffice? If we do that, Ronaldo’s resume remains flawless and in 2013-14 he set the record for most goals in a Champions League campaign with 17, as Real Madrid knocked Barcelona and Bayern off the unofficial “Best Club in the World” perch. That form carried into the 2014-15 season where he’s already totaled 34 goals in 24 games.
Ronaldo, by any measuring tool, is the best soccer player in the world at the moment. That’s hardly a bold stance or original thought, yet it’s odd that global adulation seems to elude Ronaldo, unlike his rival Messi. Unless you’re a Madridista or Portugal diehard, it’s much easier to loathe Ronaldo for his preening, egocentric activities than it is to embrace. That said, if you’re a soccer fan and you don’t at least respect what Ronaldo can do in all areas of the game: free kicks, headers, dribbling, scoring, etc. then you probably don’t like anything and, ultimately, that’s your loss.