The 200 best players in the world: 109-101

With this entry I've finally reached the top 100 and when I look at all the players to come all I see are writeups that I can't wait to write and individual rankings that I'm mostly pretty happy with.

The last thing is the most important. Countless of times this has been delayed by me instead of doing writeups preferring to waste hours messing with the order. No more of that!

Surely this will be smooth sailing from here with entries at least every other day? Right? Right...

Introduction to the list

The list:

New order

200-195
200: Alberto Zapater - Genoa - Spain
199: Nikola Zigic - Valencia - Serbia
198: Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid - Spain
197: Lucio - Inter - Brazil
196: John Obi Mikel - Chelsea - Nigeria
195: Sergio Busquets - Barcelona - Spain
194-193
194: Philippe Mexes - Roma -France
193: Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Bayern München - Ukraine
192-189
192: Theo Walcott - Arsenal - England
191: Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal - Wales
190: Pepe - Real Madrid - Portugal
189: Sergei Semak - Rubin Kazan - Russia
188
188: Alberto Aquilani - Liverpool - Italy
187-185
187: Clarence Seedorf - Milan - Holland
186: Diego Capel - Sevilla - Spain
185: Yossi Benayoun - Liverpool - Israel
184-182
184: Riccardo Montolivo - Fiorentina - Italy
183: Kolo Toure - Manchester City -Côte d'Ivoire
182: Yuri Zhirkov - Chelsea - Russia
181-177
181: Martin Demichelis - Bayern Munich - Argentina
180: Marouane Fellaini - Everton - Belgium
179: Cristian Zapata - Udinese - Colombia
178: Tim Cahill - Everton - Australia
177: Paul Scholes - Manchester United - England
176-173
176: Arda Turan - Galatasaray - Turkey
175: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Napoli - Argentina
174: Klaas Jan Huntelaar - AC Milan - The Netherlands
173-170
173: William Gallas - Arsenal - France
172: Shaun Wright Phillips - Manchester City - England
171: Pavel Pogrebnyak - VBF Stuttgart - Russia
170: Darijo Srna - Shakhtar Donetsk - Croatia
169-167
169: Bojan Krkic and Pedro - Barcelona - Spain
168: Ronaldinho - AC Milan - Brazil
167: Tranquillo Barnetta - Bayer Leverkusen - Switzerland
166-163
166: Stiliyan Petrov - Aston Villa - Bulgaria
165: Amauri - Juventus - Brazil
164: Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool - The Netherlands
163: Bruno Alves - FC Porto - Portugal
162-160
162: Lorik Cana - Sunderland - Albania
161: Carlton Cole - West Ham - England
160: Lukas Podolski - FC Köln - Germany
159-155
159: Felipe Melo - Juventus - Brazil
158: Craig Bellamy - Manchester City - Wales
157: Simon Kjaer and Daniel Agger - Palermo and Liverpool - Denmark
156: Alessandro Nesta -Milan-Italy
155: Aly Cissokho - Lyon -France
154-152
154: Walter Samuel - Inter - Argentina
153: Diego Lugano - Fenerbahce - Uruguay
152: Mauro Zarate - Lazio - Argentina
151-148
151: Sebastian Giovinco - Juventus and Luca Cigarini - Napoli - Italy
150: Taye Taiwo - Marseille - Nigeria, Rod Fanni - Rennes and Benoit Tremoulinas - Bordeaux - France
149: Domenico Criscito - Genoa - Italy
148: Fernando Llorente - Atletic Bilbao - Spain
147-144
147: Juan Roman Riquelme, Juan Sebastian Veron, Lucho Gonzalez, Pablo Aimar and Javier Pastore - Boca Juniors, Estudiantes, Marseille, Benfica and Palermo - Argentina
146: Alexis Sanchez - Udinese - Chile
145: Tom Huddlestone - Tottenham - England
144: Gerard Pique - Barcelona - Spain
143-139
143: Raul Meireles, Porto - Joao Moutinho - Miguel Veloso, Sporting Lissabon - Portugal
142: Bacary Sagna - Arsenal - France
141: Eljero Elia - Hamburger SV - Netherlands
140: Marko Marin - Werder Bremen - Germany
139: Giuseppe Rossi - Villarreal - Italy
138-135
138: Raul - Real Madrid-Spain and Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Hamburger SV-Netherlands
137: Konstantin Zyryanov - Zenit Saint Petersburg - Russia
136: Simon Rolfes - Bayern Leverkusen - Germany
135: Ze Roberto - Hamburger SV - Brazil
134 - 129
134: Mauro Camoranesi - Juventus - Italy
133: Simone Perrotta - Roma - Italy
132: Marcelo - Real Madrid - Brazil
131: Christian Chivu - Inter - Romania
130: Simäo - Atletico Madrid - Portugal
129: Marcell Jansen - Hamburger SV - Germany
128 - 122
128: Hatem Ben Arfa - Marseille - France and Goran Pandev - Inter - Macedonia
127: Rafael Marquez - Barcelona - Mexico
126: Nigel De Jong - Manchester City - Netherlands
125: Grafite - Wolfsburg - Brazil
124: Pablo Hernandez - Valencia - Spain
123: Daniel Guiza - Fenerbahce - Spain
122: Ramires - Benfica - Brazil
121-117
121: Mohamed Sissoko - Juventus - Mali
120: Dejan Stankovic - Inter - Serbia
119: Stefan Kiessling - Bayer Leverkusen - Germany
118: Frederic Kanoute - Sevilla - Mali
117: Jermain Defoe - Tottenham - England
116-110
116: Carlos Puyol - Barcelona - Spain
115: Alou Diarra - Bordeaux - France
114: Antonio Cassano - Sampdoria - Italy
113: Deco - Chelsea - Portugal
112: Ryan Giggs - Manchester United - Wales
111: Thomas Vermaelen - Arsenal - Belgium
110: Gareth Barry - Manchester City - England

109:

Wilson Palacios

Tottenham

Midfielder - Honduras



Palacios has quickly established himself as one of the most reliable midfielders in the world.

Defensively in many ways I think he is comparable to previously ranked Nigel De Jong.

Palacios like De Jong has a great work rate and at least comparable tackling ability where De Jong of course is a master, but what puts Palacios just ahead is that both athletically and when it comes to overall technical ability he has a bit more to offer.

Something that I don't think should be underrated as a deciding matter in what team is winning the midfield battle on the given day.
If a player like Palacios not only defends well but through running (especially that) or passing (he does actually have a tendency to lose the ball at times which is his one weakness I guess) can add some pressure coming from the primarily defensive players also, then it's just even more to deal with for the opposition and slowly but surely the midfield that does the best, or most it can, on the attacking front while not making mistakes defensively can gradually, or very quickly sometimes, take over the game. Make it one way traffic instead of back and forth. A certain Scottish Manchester United enforcer is a very good example of this currently.

Perhaps especially in England where it still isn't always given what team goes out there with the defensive mindset and who's looking to attack in numbers. Perhaps both sides are looking to attack in numbers! Then we have the battle, and while Palacios isn't one of those players I'll call a great two-way player, for Tottenham he hasn't been much of a factor further upfield and is first and foremost at his best defensively, his good work with at least constructiveness both ways (well one way it's supposedly destructiveness) is something opponents consistently have to deal with both when they try to attack and when they defend.

On second thought I should probably simply have said that Palacios has great midfield presence.


108:

Gabriel Agbonlahor

Aston Villa

Striker - England



For me the second best English striker after Wayne Rooney and I think it's only a matter of time before that also becomes the popular view.

The way Aston Villa plays he doesn't get nearly the number of goal scoring chances that some other strikers enjoy the luxury of and therefore there hasn't been that breakout goalscoring season just yet. But his outstanding pace, work-rate plus underrated power and technical ability (control and shooting) in my opinion puts him ahead of the pack.

If he is a good enough tactical fit compared to the various rivals in order to earn a World Cup place is an interesting question though.

Some forwards automatically will get selected ahead of him because of what their size brings to the table and then there are some who are still a little bit better in and around the box in tight space including with their back to the goal and are perhaps more proven finishers (even if I think that's somewhat dubious), where Agbonlahor is at his very best running into space.

How much of that Capello thinks England will need from a reserve, with the main guy being better at that and everything else, will make or break Agbonlahor's World Cup hopes.

107:

Ashley Young

Aston Villa

Winger/Forward - England



Ashley Young made the PFA team of the year both in 2008 and 2009 but after an inconsistent 2010 wasn't particular close this time around.

Just like the many previously ranked players of his type, difference making speed is his main weapon and he has good dribbling ability.

He is ranked ahead of all of them so far cause I feel he is a little bit more of a complete player or with a better trackrecord.
He is good in second-striker type of roles as well, and at least until this season, was a very consistent weapon creating and scoring goals through effective crossing and shooting. Better (even much better) than most of the wingers ranked so far.

In true Martin O'Neill Aston Villa style he also has a good work-rate but could improve creativity and short passing.

106:

Giampaolo Pazzini

Sampdoria

Striker - Italy



This was one of the quotes from Pazzini's coach at Sampdoria Luigi Del Neri in my Antonio Cassano writeup:

“Before Cassano couldn't manage many 30m sprints. When he plays further forward he has to sprint 10m so it's different. The question is: when will he do 30 separate 10m sprints?

With Pazzini on the other hand that's a question that doesn't even have to be asked.

Pazzini does those sprints in between opposing defenders tirelessly throughout every game. He has both the work-rate, the acceleration and off the ball movement to be very effective at it.

On top of that he has good ball-control and even some decent dribbling ability that he can use to make way for his very good shooting. In many ways then, a classic Italian dangerman!


At Fiorentina Pazzini was behind in the pecking order to Gilardino and Mutu. With Mutu's career pretty much destroyed this season, Fiorentina could have really used him, but Pazzini moved to Sampdoria instead where, with apologies to Cassano and Palombo, he has been the best player ever since and a big part of their great results lately.

If I had to point out a non strong point it would be that even though he is certainly an option in the middle (if anything) he perhaps isn't the greatest fit in the more and more popular Italian 3 forward lines, at least if you compare to some of his Azzurri World Cup rivals, but he is so good in other areas that he should make the final squad anyway.


105:

Toni Kroos

Bayer Leverkusen (on loan from Bayern Munich)

Attacking midfielder/Winger - Germany



That photo of Kroos the young sensation and the legendary Kaiser himself was taken back in 2007 at the U-17 World Cup where Kroos was awarded the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.

As a 16 year old he had already been signed by Bayern Munich and done so well for their youth team that as a 17 year old he was promoted to their senior squad. There he showed great things as well, for starters he set up two goals in his 2008 debut, but appearances predictably were very limited and he was sent to Leverkusen on loan.

A loan-deal that was then extended into this season in what turned out to be a great move not just for Leverkusen where Kroos played a big part in taking them straight to the top of the table with one brilliant display after another, but for Kroos himself who got the stage where at a young age he could take the Bundesliga and the Germans so much by storm that he'll be very hard to avoid for the World Cup.

When I first saw Kroos he kind of reminded me of young Steven Gerrard. Build and appearance seemed similar and there was that striking ability when kicking a football to have it do whatever he wanted. Especially when it came to shooting.



Now this was a sketchy first impression and Kroos doesn't have that freak athletic ability and unique drive of Gerrard when Gerrard is at his best, making Kroos a less dynamic player, but what he does have is a silky touch when it comes to ballcontrol and the more delicate passes, he even has vision, and then, again like Gerrard, when it comes to crosses, for an example on set pieces, he can really put force into the ball and be accurate at the same time. Or he can just elect to put the ball into the back of the net!

Kroos quite simply has excellent technique involving anything that has to do with kicking a football and that's not a bad thing at all.

104:

Alexandre Song

Arsenal

Midfielder/Defender - Cameroon



Song really started to come into his own last season and has uninterruptedly ever since been a model of consistency. He is also yet another player who has earned a ranking boost through great functionality in two different positions, defensive midfielder as well as sometimes a very capable central defender.

Where Song looks most impressive is man to man duels where he becomes an almost immovable object winning the ball the vast majority of the time. He has great strength and balance in those situations.

While he is not the quickest and doesn't offer much forward I have been impressed with his passing game. He has good distribution and doesn't subtract but definitely adds to Arsenal's possession game.

So does midfield partner Denilson you could say, who often has some of the best passing completion rates out of anyone, but unlike him Song has that clear physical defensive presence and doesn't make the downright gross mistakes without the ball that Denilson continues to do, at times costing Arsenal dearly.
Despite all that secure passing it isn't even given that Denilson is in fact positive value for Arsenal, while in Song's case there is no doubt whatsoever that he is indeed.

Another interesting comparison is much lower ranked Chelsea midfielder Mikel.
For my first few versions of this list Mikel was one the major stumbling blocks obstructing Song's entrance. I couldn't really see Song being much better, or worse for that matter, but it's now clear to me that Song's better passing game and ability to play two positions has him ahead of someone like Mikel by a good margin.

103:

Jérémy Toulalan

Lyon

Midfielder/Defender - France




The least I could do for what is surely one of the most boring players on this list was to find a funny picture...

Toulalan is another defensive midfielder specialist who doesn't offer much the other way and who has received at least somewhat of a ranking boost cause he is a capable central defender as well.

He has a great work rate and is forever harassing the ball holder, is very consistent and doesn't seem to ever make major mistakes.

With the ball he actually has good control and very secure distribution. Again no mistakes but again very little going forward.

Just a very unspectacular solid player doing good things defensively to help his team.

102:

Alvaro Negredo

Sevilla

Striker - Spain



Negredo started this season as he finished the last one, looking like the next superstar striker coming out of Spain.

Relative quick, strong and with excellent technique again and again he showed exquisite finishing scoring goal after goal.

Then things came to a sudden halt and he has spent most of the time since struggling for his new team Sevilla, and as touched upon in the Frederic Kanoute writeup , just hasn't been able to fill the shoes of either Kanoute or Luis Fabiano, in what's been a poor season for the whole team.

As Sevilla's terrible record without that duo starting suggests I think a lot of it is just how much of the Sevilla style and tactics were based on what those two could do, and while Negredo is very good in his own right, he is a different type and less of the supreme athletic box presence that those two together virtually guaranteed.

Sevilla for the last many years have always had great creativity and pace coming from the wings.
Negredo to really shine it's possible needs a whole different kind of buildup, passes coming more from central, so he can be at his best just inside and around the area where his great technique poses much more of a dangerous threat than trying to meet any kind of passing off the ground whether it's a cross or a target-man type of feed with his back to the goal.
It's possible Negredo can develop those things to his game also but so far I haven't really seen it.

His mostly great play the last two years has also put him in the Spain World Cup picture where there is a never ending battle to be first (and maybe second) reserve to the superstars Fernando Torres and David Villa.

On my ranking Negredo is the highest ranked of the bunch and the one who at his best I think is ahead of the others but certainly Athletic Bilbao powerhouse Llorente who I regret not ranking higher and is playing great this season with his size and strength offer something that the others don't and if only one gets to go (Pedro with his versatility has become pretty much certain) then I think it should be him.

101:

Walter Gargano

Napoli

Midfielder - Uruguay



Small in stature but with a big heart Gargano could be one of the most underrated players in the world.

Despite his size this is a midfielder who can command. Defensively with his great work rate and ball winning ability where he is surprisingly strong and in possession where he doesn't just have good technique but a very impressive passing range.

The only weakness I can come up with (and it might be wrong) is that in a tactical demanding environment he perhaps hasn't adjusted a 100 percent yet. On pure talent he blows most of the defensive midfielders he face every week well away, he is just a much better player, but perhaps just perhaps if we're talking defensive positioning alone he isn't quite up there with your good/standard Serie A defensive midfielder.

With my limited knowledge of the Uruguay national team, on paper their World Cup squad has good talent defensively, I chose to rate Diego Lugano pretty high, and not least up front with players still to come on this list, but in midfield I only really see Gargano. It will be interesting what kind of quality they have around him and if not much, if Gargano can carry them on his back.

The 200 best players in the world: 151-148

The 200-150 rankings saw so many changes and running adjustment that looking at it now some of the order almost hurts my eyes...

To take it from the start, Sergio Ramos and Sergio Busquets are the first couple of players I did injustice.

Ramos and the various reasons for and against I already discussed at length in his write up but the combination of perhaps exaggerating against a little bit too much and simply comparing him to later entries, means I think, that he absolutely should be higher. Maybe even somewhere in this entry ranked say 148.

Busquets despite the occasional flashback to still not belonging at Barca level this season has such a good passing game and is decent enough defensively that he should also be higher. I would say around the 140 mark where we will see some players that he is comparable with.

Some of the central defenders also seem a little low but at least when it comes to those I don't really mind their internal order.

The most noteworthy jump any player would make though would be Marouane Fellaini.


Unfortunately right now he is injured which could hurt his ranking a little bit but before that he was so excellent that I would have him probably flirting with top 50 or 40.

Thankfully I don't see anyone else where I feel like I've made that big of a mistake but there are of course other players that I would like to move down some or up some.

Walcott, Wright Phillips, Lavezzi and Barnetta are too high. In Walcott's case I regret him making the list, even if my write up at least is pretty precise and to the point.
There are just too many flaws. In some ways he only ended up ranked cause I suddenly felt that I couldn't include the now sadly injured Aaron Ramsey and not the more proven Walcott, but then again I did do right and rank him behind Ramsey thankfully, so I should just have taken the full consequence of the holes in his arsenal and left him out entirely.

Srna is another one who should be a little higher. Pedro and Zhirkov quite a bit higher. Zhirkov around this entry and Pedro probably all the way up to the 120s where there are some comparable players.
At least with these two I have the excuse of them at the time of list-making either just not playing enough or uncertainty, in Pedro's case, if he was really good enough to continue to play. Quite a bit of that uncertainty is now gone therefore Pedro especially should be higher.

Anyway the list so far:

200-195
200: Alberto Zapater - Genoa - Spain
199: Nikola Zigic - Valencia - Serbia
198: Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid - Spain
197: Lucio - Inter - Brazil
196: John Obi Mikel - Chelsea - Nigeria
195: Sergio Busquets - Barcelona - Spain
194-193
194: Philippe Mexes - Roma -France
193: Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Bayern München - Ukraine
192-189
192: Theo Walcott - Arsenal - England
191: Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal - Wales
190: Pepe - Real Madrid - Portugal
189: Sergei Semak - Rubin Kazan - Russia
188
188: Alberto Aquilani - Liverpool - Italy
187-185
187: Clarence Seedorf - Milan - Holland
186: Diego Capel - Sevilla - Spain
185: Yossi Benayoun - Liverpool - Israel
184-182
184: Riccardo Montolivo - Fiorentina - Italy
183: Kolo Toure - Manchester City -Côte d'Ivoire
182: Yuri Zhirkov - Chelsea - Russia
181-177
181: Martin Demichelis - Bayern Munich - Argentina
180: Marouane Fellaini - Everton - Belgium
179: Cristian Zapata - Udinese - Colombia
178: Tim Cahill - Everton - Australia
177: Paul Scholes - Manchester United - England
176-173
176: Arda Turan - Galatasaray - Turkey
175: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Napoli - Argentina
174: Klaas Jan Huntelaar - AC Milan - The Netherlands
173-170
173: William Gallas - Arsenal - France
172: Shaun Wright Phillips - Manchester City - England
171: Pavel Pogrebnyak - VBF Stuttgart - Russia
170: Darijo Srna - Shakhtar Donetsk - Croatia
169-167
169: Bojan Krkic and Pedro - Barcelona - Spain
168: Ronaldinho - AC Milan - Brazil
167: Tranquillo Barnetta - Bayer Leverkusen - Switzerland
166-163
166: Stiliyan Petrov - Aston Villa - Bulgaria
165: Amauri - Juventus - Brazil
164: Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool - The Netherlands
163: Bruno Alves - FC Porto - Portugal
162-160
162: Lorik Cana - Sunderland - Albania
161: Carlton Cole - West Ham - England
160: Lukas Podolski - FC Köln - Germany
159-155
159: Felipe Melo - Juventus - Brazil
158: Craig Bellamy - Manchester City - Wales
157: Simon Kjaer and Daniel Agger - Palermo and Liverpool - Denmark
156: Alessandro Nesta -Milan-Italy
155: Aly Cissokho - Lyon -France
154-152
154: Walter Samuel - Inter - Argentina
153: Diego Lugano - Fenerbahce - Uruguay
152: Mauro Zarate - Lazio - Argentina

151:

Sebastian Giovinco

Juventus - Attacking midfielder

Italy



and

Luca Cigarini

Napoli - Midfielder

Italy



Two of Italy's best young players also have two very fitting nicknames, Giovinco is the "Atomic Ant" and Cigarini's team-mates at Napoli these days refer to him as the "Beautiful Mind".
Previous Cigarini nicknames include Toscanini and the Professor!

Those nicknames imply quite a difference between the two and more about those differences later, but first of all let us get out of the way the one thing they unfortunately have in common: limited playing time.

Giovinco especially is seeing so little that against all instincts I almost removed him entirely and Cigarini isn't an every single day starter either.

There are many reasons for that, tactical and so on, but the main one and the only one having to do with these two not being good enough (yet?), are excellent teammates who just happens to also be players who will either be significantly higher ranked or in some cases even be among the top ranked on this list, excellent players playing similar positions.

For Giovinco there is even added hindrance in that even if he is arguably better than another certain someone competing at his position, that certain someone just happens to be much loved club legend and team captain Alessandro Del Piero.
Tough obstacles for a young player who in person actually looks even tinier than his official 164cm (5 ft 4+¹⁄₂) measurement.

But they're just too skilled to be left out I feel. So skilled I think, that they'd be fully ready to step in and likely become key players and major stars on a lot of other teams. Not just in Serie A but they're a couple players I could easily see instantly become major stars and key contributors for various La Liga or Bundesliga teams.

Beautiful mind/Toscanini Luca Cigarini is something of a midfield passing maestro able to create and read the game. He is a technical wizard with vision and can make quality passes in midfield or in the final third, long or short. I don't even think he is below average defensively or anything. He has a good work rate, is rather disciplined when it comes to position (but maybe not enough) as well as being a decent tackler while obviously not being physically imposing or anything like that. But he is not your average fragile made out of porcelain genius playmaker.

I think that when he doesn't play for Napoli their attack can become a little too stereotypical and in Bergamo, Atalanta who cashed in on or him before this season, Cigarini is severely missed and one of the reasons I think that they look to be on their way down to Serie B.

As far as improving goes what comes to mind is his rather limited ability to create for himself and maybe lack of dictating the game even moreso through his passing. A lot of that is the style of play of the team though and so far Cigarini has only found himself on teams playing quite direct which considering his impressive range of passing isn't a bad thing anyway, but still it would be interesting to see him on team with more prolonged possession.

Giovinco is all about pace and dribbling. His low center of gravity, acceleration and great technique gives him an ability to go past defenders like very few others these days and I won't hesitate at all calling him one of very best at dribbling in the world!

The negative of course is his lack of strength which means once a good defender has physical contact the best Giovinco can often hope for is a freekick.

Another great quality is that the little fellow has dynamite feet. He has a very good quick release shot and deliver crosses full of impact.

Being perhaps the physically weakest player on this whole list there is a clear limit to what he can do defensively but I really am impressed with his workrate and last season I noticed when playing on the wing how he went from being almost literally nothing but air defensively, to a hardworking little ant often in good position defending his zone.

Things to improve could be his general passing game and decision making even it's already better than what the likes of comparable dribblers Zarate and Lavezzi are capable of.


150:

Taye Taiwo - Marseille

Nigeria



Rod Fanni - Rennes

France



and

Benoît Trémoulinas - Bordeaux

France



Fullbacks

And here we have a Ligue 1 fullback special. Taiwo and Tremoulinas operating on the left and Rod Fanni who plays on the right.

Taiwo has arguably been the best fullback in French football for a couple of seasons now. He is very athletic and in both defense and attack is a powerful presence that's a tough match-up for anyone.
He also has a very powerful shot that's quite the spectacle.

Tremoulinas doesn't have Taiwo's strength but has quick feet and mind as well as being skilled technically when going forward (good ball control and passing) where for French champions Bordeaux he has a very effective two-way, companionship almost, going on the left with Wendel.
It's just difficult to prevent one of them doing something useful like for an example Tremoulinas getting a quality cross in and if they're stopped it's often with a foul resulting in a dangerous set piece.
Tremoulinas impressively has a league leading 7 assists in Ligue 1 so far this season.

On the defensive front Bordeaux under Laurent Blanc's superb guidance is arguably the best organized team defensively in Europe and I haven't noticed any weak points coming from the way of Tremoulinas.
Man against man supposedly his lack of strength could get exposed, but if he is rarely caught out of position or on his heels, defending is a whole lot easier and I just haven't seen that a lot from him, if at all even. Something he also deserves credit for. He really does seem to consistently bring quality (finesse even) to attack and defense without missing much beat at all.

When defending, instead of raw strength, Tremoulinas uses great quickness, defensive instincts and discipline as his contributions to what's a great defensive team.

Rod Fanni unfortunately is a player I don't even know that much about or have a clear impression of simply because I haven't seen him play very often.

He is something of a last minute entry that I had originally decided against for the reasons above but when making this a shared placing between Taiwo and Tremoulinas I suddenly remembered Fanni who is a player I strongly suspect is around the same level.
That's of course a little weak but I don't like the idea of players at whatever position ranked somewhat high being very comparable in terms of ability and position to various players not even making the list. I want as a little as that as possible and by including Fanni I do believe there indeed is a little less...

Anyway from what I've seen of Fanni he is another guy who is very athletic and good technically, at least when it comes to ball control. I'm actually not sure about his general passing game.
He is currently the second choice right-back for France behind Arsenal's Bacary Sagna. Not bad!


149:

Domenico Criscito

Genoa - defender/midfielder

Italy




Maybe unfairly just ahead of the others mainly because of his versatility.

Based on the last part of the previous season where his club Genoa impressively finished 5th in Serie A with as many points as Fiorentina in 4th, as well as the start of this season where Genoa were pretty much my favorite team out of anyone to watch, I was ready to catapult Criscito much higher. He just looked very good.
Since then with Genoa being much more up and down and Criscito joining in on all that instability, I've had a really difficult time placing him.

Criscito is someone who is good at just about anything almost anywhere on a football pitch but not particular great at anything either. He can play positions in both defense and midfield. He has a great work rate currently in full flow as a left wingback/midfielder. He is a good marker and tackler. Passes the ball well and there is nothing wrong with his ball control or pace. There really is no weakness. And all of those attributes can be put to good use deep in his own half, in midfield or the final third.

The only complain I can come up with, other than nothing is excellent, would be lack of serious threat coming from him on attack. That's also the one thing that might still mean veteran Fabio Grosso might very well keep his left-back starting job for Italy a little while yet.
Pirlo making a deep pass to Grosso is still so much better than what Criscito has to offer. I thought I saw improvement from him there early in the season and was just about ready to have him in or around the top 100, it was after all the only part of his game I'd hesitate calling good, but unfortunately it's still the case that without and especially with the ball his runs just aren't up to the level of a lot of very good wide players who really do excel in that area.
It's a shame cause he is definitely a better overall player than someone like Grosso and other specialists at whatever, he just lacks specialties in his own game to really become special, so to speak!

Hopefully something will improve. I should note that shortly after I had been so impressed with his play, on the forward front as well, he did suffer an injury and missed some time, so who knows if that played in.

148:

Fernando Llorente

Athletic Bilbao - Striker

Spain




The tall target-men type of strikers almost have their own internal ranking going on this list and Llorente hereby is the highest entry so far.

He shares qualities with the others when it comes to strength and aerial ability but what makes him the current leader is that I think he has a little bit more acceleration and pace than the others ranked so far at least potentially making him more of a goal scorer able to better get in front of defenders compared to the other ranked big men.
Having said that I do suspect Zigic is be the best goalscorer of all the +190 cm guys (Huntelaar btw is 186) ranked so far, not cause he isn't the slowest out of everyone, he certainly is, just because potentially he is so dominant head and shoulders above virtually anyone, but of course Zigic just isn't playing much, which is a shame.

Technically someone like Pogrebnyak is even better than Llorente when it comes to passing and probably ball control but Llorente is good for his type of player. From the typical position of having his back to the goal he is even able to make good turns and get decent shots in. Better than those ranked so far. Also in his favor when comparing to some of the others is that at 25 years of age he has now been very consistent at a high level basically 3 years in a row now playing in a strong league.
And that with the substantial burden on his shoulders of leading the attack for all Basque Athletico Bilbao. He is also having maybe his best season, if he can keep it up he has an excellent case for a better placing, though I'm not sure if that's a symptom of him or the club improving. Some kind of combination of the two is the most likely I guess. Anyway, no matter what it's not a bad thing.

With 5 recent caps for Spain Llorente is a candidate for the World Cup but of course face very strong competition and will have quite a few Spanish strikers ranked ahead of him on this list. And then there is the absurd number of attacking midfield candidates likely tempting Spain coach Del Bosque to select one less striker.

What Llorente does have going for him though is that he does at least offer something different compared to the others but then again just how much of a need is there for that on current Spain? Probably not a whole lot but I do think it's possible at least that he could still steal the spot from the guy who also just happens to be the next (but ranked quite a few places higher) Spanish striker on this list. At least of those even in the picture (oops potential spoiler)! We shall see.