This is going to turn into a shit-show but it's a good idea for a thread


is Pogba yet worthy of this list? I ask instead of state to prevent shit show from starting with this post

 

The clue is most players here would be amongst the best players in their leagues in their respective positions for a good part of that period. Of course, for the less stronger leagues that is not enough and they'll have to be comparable with the ones picked from the Top Leagues.

I personally feel Pogba's not yet as established and regarded as someone like Courtois (who is also young has been amongst the best goalies in La Liga in this period), but he's got lots of time to get there. Possibly in the Marquinhos category..

 

So Godin made the jump in 2012? For people who were living under a rock maybe.

 

Why do u need to be rude about it?

 

Steven Gerrard is currently the best midfielder in the EPL.

 

Dante. Talk about 'late bloomer' - his name would have been nowhere near a 'Best Defenders in the World' list before 2012, but after a magnificent year with both Bayern Munich and Brazil, he is now regarded as an 'elite' centreback.

 

2012-13 was Raphaël Varane's year. His technical and tactical maturity astounded everyone. Solid performances in the Champions League and El Clásico made his reputation grow further - former Los Blancos-defender Fernando Hierro believes Varane is the best defender in the world :err:

 

2012 was Raphaël Varane's year. His technical and tactical maturity astounded everyone. Solid performances in the Champions League and El Clásico made his reputation grow further - former Los Blancos-defender Fernando Hierro believes Varane is the best defender in the world :err:

Well he pooped the carpet against Juve. And since we should only judge players by their last performance, he is crap.

 

Asmir Begović has been "emerging" since 2010 - he'd only reach 'World Class' status on the bigger competitive platform (i.e the Champions League, World Cup, EURO).

 

Filipe Luís and Pablo Zabaleta have always been consistently 'good' but I think they both reached a higher bracket of excellence in 2012-13.

Filipe Luís wouldn't look out of place in the Brazilian NT, and Zabaleta is now regarded as one of the most solid fullbacks in the Prem' (a position that lacks quality however).

 

Filipe Luis should be starting for Brazil and ditto for Diego Costa.

 

David Alaba. From Mr.Utility, to now possibly the best left back in the World... (?) :err:

 

Koke and Gabi another pairing for Atletico who are playing fantastic.

 

 

que foto bala!! haaha what the hell was he thinking??

 

 

Luca toni is doing fantastic at hellas verona. Pirlo, totti, zanetti, buffon, kaka etc etc.

 

Wrong thread. This is not the old farts brigade.

 

Re-read the OP guys :thumbsup:

 

I ADD Milito, Palacio, Klose. way many

 

OMG.. A lot of top names earlier in the post though..

Regarding Godin, I think there has been a general misunderstanding here. Not to deny he was a very good player before, there were quite a few other players in his position in La Liga who outshone him and he has been in the last couple of years come out as one of the best CBs. There's a difference between the two. This is more relative than just regarding how good a player is.. People need to be less judgmental and be more open to discussions..

 

Agree with Filipe Luis. Has been top draw for sometime and should be playing for Brazil over Marcelo, who is prone to be inconsistent and defensively less comfortable.

Thumbs up for Dante, Alaba, Gabi, Koke.

Varane has only recently burst into the scene (similar case to Ramsey), so I think we can take some time to see how they develop.

Not so sure about Zabaleta.

Would Gundogan, Reus and Bender brothers be out of place here?

 

Would Gundogan, Reus and Bender brothers be out of place here?

İlkay Gündoğan definately. Arguably one of the Top 10 elite complete central midfielders in the world.

Marco Reus and Lars Bender are two of my favourite players, they've been around the past few years but keep getting better and better.

 

Moving on to defensive midfielders, Blaise Matuidi has become a force to be reckoned with. Javi Martínez, has always been a talented holding man, but alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger at Bayern we witnessed something special. Ask any Saints fan and they will tell you that Morgan Schneiderlin is an incredible player - the rest of the Prem' are starting to notice his solid game now. Luiz Gustavo had some stand-out performances for both Bayern and Brazil in 2012-13, but will be less noticeable now playing for Wolfsburg.

 

Paul Pogba has been developing at an alarming rate, maybe by the end of this year he'll join the 'elite' group.

Talented Armenian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, was tearing up the scene with Shakhtar Donetsk last year, and has been impressive with Dortmund too. 12 months ago it was "Micky who?"

Sidney Sam has become sort of a Bundesliga-revelation this year with Bayer 04 Leverkusen - let's see if he can maintain his form through to the end of this season.

Julian Draxler has been electric, it could be his last season for Schalke 04 before he steps up to the 'next level'...

 

I don't think we can count Mignolet as a world-class or elite-class goalkeeper yet. His shot stopping is one of the best in the world but his overall game needs to improve. Especially his distribution and handling.

 

:thmbup:

 

For all the talk about Godin and Felipe Luis, I am surprised there has been no mention of Juanfran and especially Miranda. Juanfran was the best right back in La Liga last season and has continued his form this season as well. Considering Arbeloa's performances off late, I wouldn't be surprised if Del Bosque goes for Juanfran in 2014 World Cup.

Another defender who has been very impressive is Miranda. Godin was always talented and had potential to be very good from his Villareal days but Miranda has been the one who has really surprised me.

 

Daniel Carvajal + Juanfran > Arbeloa

 

Carvajal has looked a bit dodgy this season but yes, he has the talent and potential to be a very good attacking full-back. Azpi would have been a contender but he has completely gone off the boil at Chelsea.

 

Reus is brilliant. I consider him amongst the top five wide attackers in the world. But can we really include him in this list? Because he was sensational for Monchengladbach.

 

Yes, Reus is a strange one because he keeps hitting a new peak every season - I'd exclude him from this list.

 

I rate Schneiderlin a lot but yes, we can't consider him an elite list midfield yet.

 

It pains me to see no love for Borja Valero. I know he was brilliant for Villareal as well but he was quite underrated then and has still been quite underrated now as well. One of the best deep-lying creative midfielders in Europe.

 

:thumbsup: A Spanish Player of the Year in 2010, nevertheless he played some delicious football in that exciting Fiorentina side from last year.