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 
- Newcastle After Both Deco and Heinze
- No Conspiracy Against Liverpool in Robberies
- Arsenal’s Brazilians put a human face on football
- Alessandra Ambrosio vs Cristiano Ronaldo
- Lazio Fan Accidentally Killed By Police
Discussion - 50 Responses
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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
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.
ronaldo played better than rooney most of last season but in the last few matches rooney started to score and ronaldo wasnt
ronaldinho had a crap season what is he kdoing up in 3rd?
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.
Actually one surprise, I thought Deco would be top 30 at least, oh well nothings perfect
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.
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.
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.
henry on top all ways
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…
FROM 50 TO 1, UTTER RUBBISH IMO
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.
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”
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.
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?
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)
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.
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.
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.
my top 10
1)C.Ronaldo
2)Giggs
3)Scholes
4)Kaka
5)Ronaldinho
6)Rooney
7)Messi
8)Gerrard
9)Vidic
10)Ferdinand
AHMED - Im glad someone took notice of my suggestion.
It makes sense i think !
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
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.
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
1.c.ronlado
2.kaka
3.ronaldinho
4.henry
5.messi
what the heck is diarra doing in that list? and why are luca toni and emile heskey nowhere to be seen?
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
jamie were is gerrard in your list are u crazy liverpool rocks my fricken world
no one ever heard of Pablo Ailmar (zaragoza, valencia & argentina),not in top 50- has to be an oversight!
my top 6
5,ronaldinho
4,Diego Milito
3,Rooney
2,Ronaldo
1,Kaka
yes, Duncan i’ve heard of Aimar and i rate him quite highly.
MY BEST PLAYERS
RONALDINHO
MESSI
KAKA
C.RONALDO
VAN NESTERLOOY
HENRY
PIRLO
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
casillas is by far the best goalie in the planet right now…better than chec and a little better than buffon…
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 ^_^.
lol + adding Nesta with JT *ahem*
1.Z.Zidane
2.Robinho
3.I.Casillas
4.Juninho
5.Del piero
6.Kaka
7.Ronaldinho
8.Sniejder
9.Drogba
10.Samir Nasri
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
kaka
c.ronaldo
messi
ribery
fabregas
TOP 1 :
ALL PLAYERS!!!
1.kaka
2.robinho
3.gerrard
4.Ronaldinho
5.torres
6.messi
7.fabregas
8.nasri
9.juninho
10.pirlo
My top 5:
1.C.Ronaldo
2.Messi
3.Kaka
4.Adebayor
5.Drogba
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.
riduculos Ferdinand has been brillant this season
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.
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.
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.
1-c. ronaldo
2-ronaldinho
3-gerard
4-drogba
5-messi
6-luca toni
7-arda
8-essien
9-deco
10-querasma