Gabriele Marcotti’s top 50 footballers

Gabriele Marcotti’s top 50 footballers

Unlike the Fink Tank list of the Premiership’s best players in 2006/2007, Gabriele Marcotti’s list of top 50 footballers has two advantages:

One, its personal opinion and as such you are not going to get something that’s 100% concurrent with your own. With the Fink Tank list, we expected the statistics to confirm what our eyes and minds told us. There are no such misconceptions now.

Two, and this is the clincher, the man knows his football and footballers for their ability on the pitch. When you read his list you get a clear feeling that he has seen these players in action AND you feel that you can trust his ability to judge football.

Sure, he doesn’t have Rio on the list. Or Giggsy. Or Carvalho. Or that the list is too Europe-heavy.

But before you criticise him read the criteria he’s used:

Imagine you are the manager of a totally new team. You have a certain budget to spend, but first you get one freebie, one guy to build your team around. You get him only for one season, the 2007-08 campaign, so you want to go for who can do the best job for you here and now, without worrying how good he can be down the line. Who would you choose? Who would your “ringer” be?

I went through the list thinking about whether I’d want these players in my squad for the 2007/2008 season and apart from a few of them, I had to agree, Marcotti’s picked the right ones.

So yes, I disagree with him on a few things, but bashing him is daft – the man’s got an opinion couched in knowledge and experience (although he is a bit biased).

Props to you, Marcotti, for getting it mostly right. Of course, he could be a complete cunt for all I know and I’m being unnecessarily generous with him, but for now he’s OK.

For the record, here’s the list. Make sure you read ALL of it before criticising it icon smile Gabriele Marcottis top 50 footballers

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53 Comments

  1. Andrei

    Good list, but some mind-boggling errors in my opinion:
    -the first is Michael Ballack. it seems like his ‘great’ days are now behind him. more like #51 for me.
    -the second comes in the 11th position: Wayne Rooney is better than Ronaldo. As simple as that. The numbers dont lie, he had the same number of goals and more assists than the Portugese despite having a ‘poor’ season. Wayne should be second on the list!!
    -next mistake is with Ronaldinho. For anyone who has watched La Liga, Ronaldinho has not been the best player around for quite some time. His game has been increasingly unspecacular but, to his credit, more efficient.
    -Then there is Kaka in first place; he is as good as Ronaldo, who is not as good a Rooney. Therefore I put Kaka in 3/4th place.
    -top of the list should be by a mile Leo Messi.

    My top 8:

    8: Ronaldinho
    7: Steven Gerrard
    6: Gigi Buffon
    5: Essien (most improoved, last season I would have given him around #25)
    4: C. Ronaldo
    3: Kaka
    2: Wayne Rooney
    1: Leo Messi

    June 26th, 2007 @ 09:54
  2. Sir Yappie

    Ive already responded on the Times site but this is what i said !!

    WOW there are some supremely deluded people who are posting on here. Some of you have a clear tendency to be one eyed about your club and its players.

    TO THE AUTHOR

    I think that the top 10 is just about right. But you may have caused too much aggravation which could be resolved quite easily. Instead of having the top 50 players in the world (which is I must admit a misleading title as on last count there are no more than 2 that play outside Europe), why don’t you have the top 10 players in each position. Based on the classic 4-4-2 formation.

    Best Keeper

    Best RB (include R Wing Backs)

    Best LB (include L Wing Backs)

    Best CB (top 20 – Include Sweepers)

    Best DM (would involve all holding midfielders R/L/C)

    Best RM (Include all R Wingers)

    Best LM (include all L Wingers)

    Best CM (top 20 – would not include holding midfielders)

    Best AM (would not include Central or Def Midfielders)

    Best CF (Top 20 – would not include Att Midfielders)

    This would remove any contentious decisions.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 11:02
  3. dan

    ronaldo played better than rooney most of last season but in the last few matches rooney started to score and ronaldo wasnt

    June 26th, 2007 @ 11:07
  4. Haydar

    ronaldinho had a crap season what is he kdoing up in 3rd?

    June 26th, 2007 @ 12:20
  5. MDH

    Ahmed it sounds like you havent heard much of Marcotti before, Im very surprised, the guys one of the best and most knowledgable pundits/journalists out there. Much more so than any of the BBC or Sky crew, you should check out some of his articles on cnnsi.com. Anyway I think the list is pretty good, and get very annoyed by people who say Ronaldinho had a bad sason just because theyd seen him do badly a few games in the champions league. Yeah he wasnt as good as before but 20 goals in a the league is better than anyone in the PL apart from drogba.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 13:33
  6. MDH

    Actually one surprise, I thought Deco would be top 30 at least, oh well nothings perfect

    June 26th, 2007 @ 13:43
  7. Hugo Steckelmacher

    I find these sorts of lists very irritating. I think he has got the 50 more or less right, but trying to put them in order is plain impossible. Here’s one example: Fernando Torres mysteriously sneaks into 35th position, ahead of more successful (and in my opinion, simply much better) players, such as Hernan Crespo. The only factor on Torres’ side is age, but that is not supposed to be part of Marcotti’s criteria; his is a freebie for one season.

    A couple more examples: the Michael Ballack anomaly has already been pointed out, but, much as I love Sergio Ramos (he has a fantastic future, so versatile, so good in the air, so quick), if you had to pick a defender for one season I can think of at least 5 center backs I’d rather have (Terry, Vidic, Rio, Nesta, Carvalho). Ramos is still prone to making mistakes, which is what comes with being forced to train with Francisco Pavón.

    Then: Tevez. Sure, he had a great second half of the season. But above Messi? I can barely justify him being above Huntelaar or Van Nistelrooy, to be honest.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 13:52
  8. Tomas

    Actually age is a part of Marcotti’s criteria, since it’s a list of the 50 players, he’d pick for next season… not from last season.

    But I do wonder why Rio isn’t on the list. I couldn’t find any CB, I’d rather have for next season than him. Last season he played fantastic, and he’ll be even better next season, since he’s reaching his peak. Anyway, it’s rediculous that Carragher is chosen ahead of Rio, but that’s one man’s opinion.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 14:52
  9. Conor

    Andrei: Yeah the stats don’t lie….Ronaldo had more Assists thajn Rooney, so you’re clearly wrong. And after the season ronaldo had, he changed the game more times than rooney did, so I’m sure thats why he chose Ronaldo ahead of Rooney:He won quite a lot of games for United on his own. Ronaldinho didn’t have a brilliant season, but are you trying to say you would want him ahead of Rooney or Buffon? And Kaka is better than Rooney, Messi is the only player that you would want instead of him. And Raju: Giggs is like 34 now, I’d gladly have any of the other 50 players Marctti named before Giggs…

    June 26th, 2007 @ 15:54
  10. Jade

    FROM 50 TO 1, UTTER RUBBISH IMO

    June 26th, 2007 @ 16:02
  11. GAAAAANGSTA

    My pick for the ringer would be Drogba, I think he would be able to make the most impact, assist and goal wise, as well as in the general playing style/tactic and he’d also be a worthy captain.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 16:33
  12. NiKOS

    Check the Farfan(48) and Mahamadou Diarra(28) !
    He is stupid…Javier Zanetti should be top 20 and where the f is Xavi? Diarra is just this “a heavy bull-shit”

    June 26th, 2007 @ 16:50
  13. spizzy

    In his article he has included some leagues that quite frankly i’ve never watched like the dutch league,i do mostly focus on the top European leagues so i wont question his decision on players i haven’t yet watched play.
    While assessment is true for the top 5,i think there some ridiculous inclusions.Gigi Buffon at six hell no,he is good but i think petr chec is better.
    Henry has missed alot of last season so if we were going on last seasons performance alone i dont think he’s even top 30.
    Its insane to put Sergio Ramos in there if they were guyz who deserved credit for real victory its Van Nisterooy,David Beckham or guys like Diarra.Ruud should definitely have been top 10.
    Frank Lampard was outshone by Didier Drogba so Drogba should be ahead.
    Ibrahimovic shouldn’t be on that list.
    Cassilas fumbles too many balls and there is no way he is better than cech, Van DS,or Reina.
    Shevchenko was terible last season so take his ass of the top 50.
    Berbatov should be top 15 atleast.
    Ballack was a total Disgrace for his team and an nsult to all midfield greats.Top 50?more lke top 200.
    Torres is greatly overated,and if it wasn’t for the media hype he wouldn’t be top 50.
    Scoles was key to united success and if Essien is top 10 so should paul scholes.

    Those are my thoughts to that bogus list.Throw it in a fire or use it as tissue Gab.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 17:28
  14. Raju

    me only worries there were

    1) Gigsey Missing. yeah i am a manc. But i believe he is one of those special players respected by all, irrespective of their loyalty.

    2) Deco : Yeah he can be in 25th or so. But so high? Last season i would have agreed. Because i regard him as one of the prime reason’s for the Ronaldinho’s success in SPL.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 13:47
  15. avrv

    spizzy. Foolishness. Do the rounds at the Bernabéu, ask the season ticket holders who our best player was this season, who was the player who carried us to the title, and you’ll get Casillas and Sergio Ramos neck and neck in the top two places. Ruud behind in third, and Beckham a distant fourth. Diarra…did you actually watch us?

    June 26th, 2007 @ 18:28
  16. Luke

    anyone criticising Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho is wrong. 10 goals in 17 matches is not a bad return when Drogba scored 20 in what must have been 34. Ron scored over 20 in a season where the main scorer was injured, plus numerous assists, which ended a season where barca finished 2nd but were actually the better team(best defence and best attack). i suppose people think that he needed eto’ to fulfil his potential like some others ( rooney-ronaldo, ronaldinho-eto and henry-pires/bergkamp)

    June 26th, 2007 @ 19:09
  17. arsenal fan`

    henry on top all ways

    June 26th, 2007 @ 15:11
  18. Alan Magor

    In my personal opinion, theres some major errors of judgement in the list – but that’s just it, that is in my opinion, just like the top 50 is this guys opinion…

    No one will ever agree about the top 50 players. I personally think Xavi should be in there, Gattuso should be higher up and also Kanoute, after this season, should definately be in there somewhere.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 20:38
  19. Ahmed Bilal

    Sir Yappie – good ideas mate, food for discussion here in the future.

    June 26th, 2007 @ 21:25
  20. avrv

    More foolishness.

    Luke – the better team? I assume you mean better than the champions, Real Madrid? because they had the “best defense and best attack”?

    Let’s look at another fact: If you were to take the total points accumulated from matches played between the top 6 teams, the ones who have qualified for Europe, (call it a mini-league) Real Madrid would have finished 1st, and Barcelona…last. So yes, Barcelona were the “better” team when it came to scoring boatloads against weak opposition, but they consistently bottled it in every important game they played this season. This is not the hallmark of a league champion.

    June 27th, 2007 @ 02:09
  21. Jamie

    It should be

    5. Henry
    4.Eto’o
    3.Kaka
    2.Ronaldinho
    1.Messi

    Messi will live up to his name as the next Maradona.

    June 27th, 2007 @ 02:24
  22. red_devil

    my top 10

    1)C.Ronaldo
    2)Giggs
    3)Scholes
    4)Kaka
    5)Ronaldinho
    6)Rooney
    7)Messi
    8)Gerrard
    9)Vidic
    10)Ferdinand

    June 27th, 2007 @ 02:57
  23. Sir Yappie

    AHMED – Im glad someone took notice of my suggestion.

    It makes sense i think !

    June 27th, 2007 @ 04:18
  24. Grognard

    Marcotti is a complete muppett. It cheezes my hide when I think that tossers like him get paid to write crap like that.
    The omission of Ryan Giggs as well as others can make an argument turn into a war. What upsets me more is the inclusion of average footballers like Carragher, Ramos, Gonzalez, Stankovic, Perambucano as well as over the hill past legends like Zanetti, Ronaldo and yes, Shevchenko. At least Scholes and Giggs still produce the goods folks. What about Ferdinand and Vidic, Klose, Nakamura, Babel, Mario Gomez, Frings, Lehmann and above all Franck Ribery. All more deserving than those has beens previously mentioned.

    And for what it’s worth, here is my top 25 based on recent form and proven reliability:
    1. MESSI
    2. KAKA
    3. CRISTIANO RONALDO
    4. ESSIEN
    5. ROONEY
    6. CECH
    7. GERRARD
    8. TOTTI
    9. RONALDINHO
    10. BECKHAM (YES, YOU ARE READING THIS RIGHT)
    11. DROGBA
    12. van NISTELROOY
    13. BERBATOV
    14. RIBERY
    15. ETO
    16. TEVEZ
    17. PUYOL
    18. VIDIC
    19. FABREGAS
    20. BUFFON
    21. ALVES
    22. TERRY
    23. CASILLAS
    24. TONI
    25. BABEL

    June 27th, 2007 @ 08:44
  25. MDH

    Grognard, you talk about the writer doing a bad job, and then suggest Nakamura should be there, astonishingly leave thierry henry out the list and put Beckham, Berbatov and Ribery ahead of Eto, but I dont go round calling you an idiot. Its just an opinion mate they differ.

    June 27th, 2007 @ 13:16
  26. NiKOS

    You can call sb an idiot ,anyone you want, but you still have your responsibilities (society-LAWS). eitherwise marcotti is still an idiot and you ll have no court problems

    June 27th, 2007 @ 16:59
  27. kieron

    1.c.ronlado
    2.kaka
    3.ronaldinho
    4.henry
    5.messi

    June 27th, 2007 @ 20:44
  28. Karan

    what the heck is diarra doing in that list? and why are luca toni and emile heskey nowhere to be seen?

    June 27th, 2007 @ 23:40
  29. elie

    what the fk is this bullshit this is the top 10 period!!!!!!!!!!!!1
    1-kaka 8-tevez
    2-ronadiho 9-rooney
    3-messi- 10-totti
    4-eto-
    5-gerrard
    6-c.ronaldo
    7-henry

    July 6th, 2007 @ 12:55
  30. elie

    jamie were is gerrard in your list are u crazy liverpool rocks my fricken world

    July 6th, 2007 @ 12:57
  31. duncan,

    no one ever heard of Pablo Ailmar (zaragoza, valencia & argentina),not in top 50- has to be an oversight!

    July 13th, 2007 @ 18:35
  32. Ally

    my top 6

    5,ronaldinho
    4,Diego Milito
    3,Rooney
    2,Ronaldo
    1,Kaka

    July 14th, 2007 @ 00:05
  33. Ally

    yes, Duncan i’ve heard of Aimar and i rate him quite highly.

    July 14th, 2007 @ 00:06
  34. IBRAHIM

    MY BEST PLAYERS
    RONALDINHO
    MESSI
    KAKA
    C.RONALDO
    VAN NESTERLOOY
    HENRY
    PIRLO

    August 1st, 2007 @ 21:04
  35. BeckhamUnited

    My best 11: Gk:Van Der Sar
    CB:Ferdinand,Terry
    LB:Cordoba
    RB:Dani Alves
    CDM:Vieira
    RM:Beckham
    LM:Stankovic
    CAM:Ronaldinho
    ST:Ibrahimovic,Rooney

    November 7th, 2007 @ 15:27
  36. nachito madrazo

    casillas is by far the best goalie in the planet right now…better than chec and a little better than buffon…

    November 20th, 2007 @ 03:41
  37. Robin

    My first X1:

    GK:Gigi Buffon
    LB:Ashley Cole (when on form)
    RB:Daniel Alves
    CB:John Terry,
    DM:Andrea Pirlo
    ML:Ronaldinho
    MR:Cristiano Ronaldo
    AM:Kaka
    CF:Thiery Henry & Didier Drogba

    Note that as some may not be individually the best players, it is an XI i am looking to produce. In order to bake the right cake you need to add the right balance of ingredients ^_^.

    December 6th, 2007 @ 01:35
  38. Robin

    lol + adding Nesta with JT *ahem*

    December 6th, 2007 @ 01:36
  39. Ninja87

    1.Z.Zidane
    2.Robinho
    3.I.Casillas
    4.Juninho
    5.Del piero
    6.Kaka
    7.Ronaldinho
    8.Sniejder
    9.Drogba
    10.Samir Nasri

    December 19th, 2007 @ 00:48
  40. tevez

    This is my top 5. If you’re gony build a team round 1 player then for me that means a player who would command a free role in the team – a luxury player who can be lazy and roam around the pitch as he pleases.

    1.Kaka
    2.Messi
    3.Ronaldo
    4.Ronaldinho
    5.Riquelme

    Other players who came close and would be right behind them –

    Rooney
    Berbatov
    Ibrahimovic
    Tevez
    Pirlo
    Hleb

    December 19th, 2007 @ 01:55
  41. Gaz

    kaka

    c.ronaldo

    messi

    ribery

    fabregas

    December 31st, 2007 @ 17:01
  42. Marky

    TOP 1 :

    ALL PLAYERS!!!

    January 1st, 2008 @ 13:14
  43. u dont need 2 no

    1.kaka
    2.robinho
    3.gerrard
    4.Ronaldinho
    5.torres
    6.messi
    7.fabregas
    8.nasri
    9.juninho
    10.pirlo

    January 29th, 2008 @ 18:05
  44. man utd

    My top 5:
    1.C.Ronaldo
    2.Messi
    3.Kaka
    4.Adebayor
    5.Drogba

    January 31st, 2008 @ 10:28
  45. BULLY

    BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD WOULD BE AS FOLLOWS –

    GK – DAVID BEASANT
    LEFT BACK – FRANCIS BENALI
    CENTRE BACKS – LUDEKVAM, DEAN RICHARDS
    RIGHT BACK – JASON DODD
    LEFT MIDFIELD – BERKOVIC
    RIGHT MIDFIELD – BRADLEY WRIGHT-PHILLIPS
    CENTRAL MIDFIELD – MATT (LE GOD) LE TISSIER, MATT OAKLEY
    STRIKERS – OSTENSTAD, BEATTIE

    WHAT A TEAM.

    February 4th, 2008 @ 16:11
  46. Liverpool_Fan

    riduculos Ferdinand has been brillant this season

    February 4th, 2008 @ 16:47
  47. miker

    Haha, Wayne Rooney has had an awful season, it seems he peaked at Euro 2004, and what makes me laugh is people saying that Torres is over-rated and shouldnt even be 35th! Top scoring striker in England, and all 20 of his league goals have been from open play, there is no doubt that he is the best out and out centre forward in the world at this moment.

    March 25th, 2008 @ 22:57
  48. KingK

    Miker, there is a great difference in being consistently one of the best and having ONE great season. I too agree that Torres will be the best striker we have had here in england for a long time. He must however manage it over a stretch of several seasons with at least 20-30 goals each season and also assists.

    March 26th, 2008 @ 11:59
  49. Bedul

    First of all, the link doesn’t work for me… but seeing the TOP Lists that you made I have to make some questions…

    1. Ronaldinho one of the Top 5 or Top 10 players?
    Barcelona wants to sell him, he is not playing anymore (because of an ”injury”) there are a lot of player better than him right now! This is a list of the best player at this moment I think, not a list of the best player tha last two years..

    2. My list of the five best players right now:

    1)C.Ronaldo (the best player in the best league of the world)

    2)Messi (he had been injured but still he is one of my favourite players.

    3)Gerrard (intelligent and great player)

    4)Fabregas (just a great player, very important in Arsenal)

    5)Drogba (powerful striker, lots of goals and very effective…)

    Thats MY OWN top 5… you may have other choices.

    May 5th, 2008 @ 03:24
  50. galatasaray,istanbul

    1-c. ronaldo
    2-ronaldinho
    3-gerard
    4-drogba
    5-messi
    6-luca toni
    7-arda
    8-essien
    9-deco
    10-querasma

    May 14th, 2008 @ 15:34
  51. misfer

    kaka
    c.ronaldo
    messi
    robhino
    gerard
    rooney

    June 4th, 2008 @ 18:08
  52. Maxi

    My Best Top10

    1: Ruud Van Nistelrooy(he’s the best Attacker in the world)
    2: Cristiano Ronaldo ( He’s Can do all the truc’s)
    3: van Der Sar (he’s very old but keep he’s Goal Clean)
    4: Alexandre Pato (Young and very good)
    5: Van Persie ( very Fast and Good Shot)
    6: Adebayor ( very toll and in the air He Win Evry Duel)
    7: Messi ( The Second Maradona
    8: Cannavaro ( A Big and Great Defender)
    9: Miramel Sulejmani ( Now One Knows him but I Know him and he’s a good attacker)
    10: Huntelaar ( he Just Like Marco Van Basten)

    July 10th, 2008 @ 20:37
  53. Maxi

    BTW: AND Don’t Forget Kaka& toni&ballack&Schweinsteiger&Podolski& fabregas&Torres&Villa

    July 10th, 2008 @ 20:39

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