CIES Football Observatory have released their survey to determine the best players based on the position they play in, starting the 1st of January this year. The rankings consider the relevant statistics for different positions.
Among the centre backs, the list mostly comprises players from England and Germany with the mentions of a few players from France. The Bundesliga once again rules the roost in case of fullbacks while the Premier League takes a sizeable chunk in case of attacking midfielders. However, the biggest shock comes in the forwards category where one big name doesn’t find himself in the top 10.
The key factors taken into consideration while churning down the list are:
- Shooting: ability to take advantage of goal opportunities through accurate shooting
- Chance creation: ability to put teammates in a good position to score
- Take on: ability to create dangerous situations by successfully challenging opponents
- Distribution: ability to keep a hold on the game through efficient passing
- Recovery: ability to minimise goal opportunities for opponents through proficient interception work
- Rigour: ability to minimise goal opportunities for opponents through robust duelling
Here is a full breakdown of the survey with the top 10 players in respect to their playing positions:
#1 Centrebacks
The study reveals that among the centrebacks, Bayer Leverkusen’s Emir Spahic is at the top, followed by Manchester City’s Martin Demichelis. Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels followed by Manchester United’s Chris Smalling.Former Brazil captain and Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva finds himself at the number 5 spot. The sixth place is a tie between David Luiz of PSG and Stefan di Vrij of Lazio. United make another appearance at 8 with Marco Rojo. The ninth spot is once again shared by Konstantinos Manolas of AS Roma and Hummels teammate at Dortmund, Neven Subotić.Interestingly, the list doesn’t see the likes of Sergio Ramos among others make it even to the top 15, let alone the top 10.
| No. | Player Name | Club | League | Points | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Emir Spahic | Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 100 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. | Martin Demichelis | Manchester City | Premier League | 89 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | Mats Hummels | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. | Chris Smalling | Manchester United | Premier League | 76 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5. | Thiago Silva | Paris Saint Germain | Ligue 1 | 71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6. | David Luiz | Paris Saint Germain | Ligue 1 | 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stefan de Vrij | Lazio | Serie A | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8. | Marco Rojo | Manchester United | Premier League | 68 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9. | Konstantinos Manolas | AS Roma | Serie A | 64 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
#2 Fullbacks Among the fullbacks, Manchester City’s Gael Clichy tops the chart, followed by Marcelo from Real Madrid. Bayern Munich’s Márcio Rafinha is shares the third spot with Wendell Nascimento from Bayer Leverkusen.The defending Premier League champions finds another mention at 5 in the form of Pablo Zabaleta. David Alaba of Bayern Munich and Jordi Alba of Barcelona are tied 6th, followed by Layvin Kurzawa of Monaco, who is 8th.
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In the central midfielder category, Borussia Dortmund’s Nuri Sahin takes the top spot followed by Juventus’s Paul Pogba. Luis Fernandinho is at third, followed by Lucas Biglia and Ilkay Gündoğan.Marco Verratti from Paris Saint Germain is at sixth while former Real Madrid player Xabi Alonso is in eighth. 2014 World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger is ninth and the 10th spot belongs to Arturo Vidal from Juventus.
The top three spots in the attacking midfielder category are occupied by three players from the Premier League – Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Manchester City’s Jesus Navas. Kevin de Bruyne comes in at 4, followed by former Manchester United winger Shinji Kagawa.
SportsEye.ug 