Power Ranking the Top 25 Midfielders in Europe This Season
Do you want to know the top 25 midfielders in Europe this season? If so, then read this article.
It will judge a footballer on his form throughout this season as opposed to his FIFA rating or how popular he is.
The idea of the article is to give you the most accurate picture of the best 25 European-based midfielders this season.ย
Selection Criteria
1 of 26This article has picked the top 25 midfielders in Europe this season via a combination of objective and subjective analysis.
The power ranking is based entirely on a midfielderโs form throughout the season not his past reputation.
Some media graphics have Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney, Michu, Marouane Fellaini, Alexander Meier, et al. as midfielders when they should be categorised as forwards.ย
Last 10 Long-List Cuts
Nemanja Matiฤ (Benfica),ย Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nรผrnberg), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Szabolcs Huszti (Hannover 96), Borja Valero (Fiorentina), Asier Illarramendi (Real Sociedad),ย Jack Wilshere (Arsenal),ย Joao Moutinho (Porto), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven).
Explaining Big-Name Omissions
รngel di Marรญa (Real Madrid): Defines inconsistency.
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich): Has only started 31 percent of league games. However, heโs been world-class when he has played.
Beรฑat (Real Betis): Commits some of the mostย mindbogglinglyย stupid fouls you'll ever see in football. He claims the uncertainty over his future has been a factor in his recent decline (via Dermot Corrigan at ESPN FC).ย
Cesc Fรกbregas (Barcelona): Last November, he was considered one of the most in-form midfielders but has since gone missing for extended periods.
David Silva (Manchester City): Not a lot of separating his performances from Fulham's Damien Duff, who didnโt even make my long-list.ย ย
Eden Hazard (Chelsea): Has underperformed for the Blues compared to last season with Lille. His high upside suggests he will become a world-class footballer in the coming seasons.
Etienne Capoueย (Toulouse): So many stray passes from the Frenchman, who is supposed to be a pivot, but has left holes at the back charging forwards (when he shouldnโt be doing so). It seems he wants to be like Moussa Sissoko, who has found his niche as a deep-lying forward for Newcastle United.
Frank Lampard (Chelsea): Been asked to play as a defensive midfielder but has overruled management and started himself as an attacking midfielder. In doing so, it screws up the team's shape. Being the top scorer for the club in league games indicates that management were originally in the wrong.
Isco (Mรกlaga): Scored in threeย successiveย weeks and then went missing in action for a month. It sums up his season thus far.ย
Javi Martรญnez (Bayern Munich): He played better for Athletic Bilbao but this time next season, he should be one of the best defensive midfielders in the game.
John Obi Mikel (Chelsea): Nigeria base their team around him and he was elite at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Blues do everything to hinder Mikel like playing an attacking midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder as a partner in midfield.
Lukas Podolski (Arsenal): The German has done exceptionally well in a role he dislikes. He wants to be the No. 9 hence why he moved back to Kรถln, where he became one of Europeโs most lethal strikers. Statistically, Lukas is excellent but he isnโt a prolific crosser, very predictable due to his heavy dependency on his left foot and tends to go missing for most of the game.
Oscar (Chelsea): Loves playing in the UEFA Champions League (especially vs. Gianluigi Buffon) but has been hit and miss at league level.
Ramires (Chelsea): Heโs a box-to-box midfielder, not a pivot. Itโs stupid that the Blues want to strip away his strongest trait (lung-bursting runs).
Sami Khedira (Real Madrid): Has regressed since his Stuttgart days where he was an exciting box-to-box midfielder. Now, heโs a safe and limited holding midfielder under Josรฉ Mourinho.
Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United): Yet to replicateย Borussia Dortmund form.
Theo Walcott (Arsenal): His statistics are heavily diluted by spending a significant portion of the season as a centre forward. As soon as he signed the extension, he was thrown back out wide. Needs to study Thomas Mรผller in terms of making smartest decisions because Theo has no plan B as a winger. What do Walcott and Podolski have in common? Theyโre centre forwards forced out wide.
Tom Cleverley (Manchester United): Metronomic passing ability but needs to get stuck in more.ย
Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid): Makes the most passes per game at the club, though gives away the ball 17.8 percent of the time. His defensive positioning is suspect hence having the most yellow cards on the team. Hasnโt been vintage Xabi.
Yaya Tourรฉ (Manchester City): How can he be called box-to-box if he ignores his defensive duties? 1.1 tackles per game should not warrant a four-yearย extension. 1.1 dribbles per game proves his trademark runs havenโt been effective this season. ย
With his agent Dimitri Seluk speaking out last month, perhaps the Ivorian's mind has been distracted for most of this season, which would explain the dramatic decrease in his statistics.ย
Now that Yaya can potentially earnย ยฃ240,000 per-week on performance-related clauses (perย Mark Ogden at The Telegraph), he went beast mode on Chelsea and ran the show like he should have done all season for City. ย
25. Claudio Marchisio, CM, Juventus
2 of 26With eachย uncharacteristicallyย effortless performance,ย Claudio Marchisio isย puttingย hisย starting position at riskโPaul Pogba is waiting in the wings.ย
Did Claudio show up in the two games vs.ย Bayern Munich?ย
It'sย incomprehensible to think thatย Marchisio runs himself into the ground week-in, week-out but in the two most important games of the season, he wasn't himself.ย
Yes, credit has to go toย Bayern, howeverย Claudio's game revolves around effortโwhy didn't he just try harder?
Remember, he's also one of the team's worst passers (ranks 15th in pass completion percentage), so why start someone that's invisible and gives away the ball?ย
In fairness toย Marchisio, he's had numerous standout games this season, notably against Chelsea and Celtic.ย
24. Mesut Özil, CAM, Real Madrid
3 of 26Inย Mesut รzil's last seven games forย the Germanย nationalย team, he has registered five goals and seven assists.ย
Forย Deutschland, he is aย FIFA Ballon d'Orย contender, whereas theย Real Madrid version is less impressive [1].ย
Josรฉ Mourinho's habitual need to takeย Mesut out of the game robs him of the opportunity to score or create more regularly in aย Los Merengues shirt.ย
Ofย รzil's 27 La Liga games, an astonishing 70.4 percent of them have been sub-affected.ย
That said, he's been a catalyst inย Josรฉ's ruthlessly counter-attackingย methodologyย vs.ย Barcelona, with the German threading three assists.ย
[1] This article ranks the player based on his club performances and excludes national team performances.ย
23. Jakub Blaszczykowski, RAM, Borussia Dortmund
4 of 26Josรฉ Mourinho was inย attendanceย whenย Borussia Dortmund thrashedย Greuther Fรผrth 6-1.ย
He would have noted how completeย Jakub Blaszczykowski is: a terrific tackler, great vision and a team-first player.ย
The Polish international finished with a goal, three assists and won back the ball three times.ย
Kuba's tackles per foul (2.8) is higher than the majority of full-time right-backs in Europe's elite leagues. ย
22. Franck Ribéry, LAM, Bayern Munich
5 of 26Franck Ribรฉry holds a 0.20 difference overย Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeperย Kevin Trapp forย kicker'sย highest ratedย Bundesligaย player.ย
Franck's currentย kicker rating (2.20; the lower the better) would be the highest since the 1994-95 season, whenย Matthias SammerโBayern Munich's sporting directorโrecorded a 2.17 rating forย Borussia Dortmund.
It's not just kicker because Bild have givenย Ribรฉry a 2.09 rating.ย
I strongly disagree with both publications.ย
Hiroshi Kiyotake,ย Nรผrnberg's playmaker, is equal withย Franck on 10 league assists.
Do you know who's Nรผrnberg's top-scorer in league-play?ย Per Nilsson, a centre-back, with five.
Jakub Blaszczykowski; BVB (10),ย Szabolcs Huszti; Hannover 96ย (9),ย Jonathan Schmid; Freiburgย (8) and Julian Draxler;ย Schalke; (8) have all outscoredย Ribรฉry (7) in theย Bundesliga.ย
It seemsย kicker andย Bild have beenย enamoredย by the Frenchman's 4.7 dribbles per league game (the most prolific in Europe's elite leagues).ย
But,ย Gรถkhan Tรถre was persistently marked down for holding onto the ball last season, when he averaged 5.3 dribbles per game.ย
Also,ย Ribรฉry takes 7.4 shots per league goal, which is wasteful.ย
21. Andrés Iniesta, CM, Barcelona
6 of 26Andrรฉs Iniesta has accumulated eight of his 14 assists as a left forward, but people still want him in midfield to combine withย Xavi.ย
Remind me again, who scored the stoppage-time equaliser against Chelsea to sendย Barcelona into the UEFA Champions League final on away goals in the infamousย Tom Henning รvrebรธ game?ย
Iniesta.ย
Who netted a 116th minute winner in extra time for Spain during the 2010 FIFA World Cup final vs. the Dutch?ย
Iniesta.ย
Where wasย he placed in Michael Cox's Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament? On the left.ย
The closerย Andrรฉs is towards goal, the better.ย
Why wasn't he omitted then?ย
His versatility to morph into a second midfield maestro for Barรงa ensures a place on this list.ย
You're probably thinking: "but, why so low at No. 21?"ย
Whenย Thiago has been given a fairย opportunity, is there a substantial gap in quality in midfield between him andย Iniesta? Nope.ย
Andrรฉs does a job in midfield and people overrate it as if it's genius.
You know when he's a genius?
Cutting in from a wide position, dinking his way past much stronger and bigger defenders with his famedย La Croqueta move and making key passes toย Lionel Messi.ย
20. Toni Kroos, CAM, Bayern Munich
7 of 26To think a few years ago,ย Toni Kroos was playing as a left winger in a 4-4-2 on loan atย Bayer Leverkusen.
Toni has transformed into an elegant No. 10, who has built a foundation to become one of the premier playmakers in world football.ย
Now, he's out for an extended period with a groin tear (per Bundesliga.com).
Imagine howย devastatingย it would be to hisย psycheย if he never regained his starting position having waited so long for hisย opportunity.ย
Remember that he was never guaranteed to be aย Bayern Munich star, with club presidentย Uli Hoeness revealing he originally thought Kroos was an early-bloomer (from kicker viaย Livio Caferoglu atย Goal.com):
"For a long time I thought that he had no further potential and would not develop any more.ย
He has undergone a sensational development.
"
From a passing perspective, Kroosย is superb at creating shots for his teammates, but surprisingly only has eight assists.ย
What he needs to work on is his calmness in front of goal.ย
His 44 percent shooting accuracy (18 percent lower thanย Arjen Robben) and his inefficient 8.8 shots per goal reveals a major problem whenever he's presented with a goal scoring opportunity.ย
Toni must be more fearless like a certain 20-year-old atย Borussia Dortmund.ย
19. Santi Cazorla, CAM/LAM, Arsenal
8 of 26Considering this isย Santi Cazorla's first season in the Premier League, he has made a smooth transition.ย
He leadsย Arsenal in Premier League goals (12) despite being a poor finisher (8.3 shots per goal).ย
Cazorla is a complete footballer, having the ability to win back the ball (somethingย Juan Mata doesn't do) whilst also dictating the tempo of play.ย
Will it be a long-term problem for Santi whenย Jack Wilshere eventually inherits the No. 10 role?
Not at all.ย
Cazorla made his name atย Villarreal and Mรกlagaย as a false winger.ย
18. Carlos Vela, RAM, Real Sociedad
9 of 26Real Sociedad manager Philippe Montanier has his team playing in a swashbuckling manner.ย
Carlos Vela has been integral toย Sociedad's success, scoring and creating the most league goals.ย
He has formed a dynamic triumvirate withย Xabi Prieto andย Antoine Griezmann.ย
Shouldย Montanier's side qualify for the UEFA Champions League, willย Carlos be in the team?
According toย James Dickenson at Express.co.uk,ย Arsenal could activate aย ยฃ4 million buy-back option in the Mexican international's contract.ย
The Gunners won't be integratingย him back into the club, instead, they're likely to trigger an auction for Vela.ย
17. Marco Reus, WAM, Borussia Dortmund
10 of 26Last season, Marco Reus played behindย Mike Hanke asย Borussia Mรถnchengladbach's deep-lying forward.
Hanke often acted as the diversion whilstย Reus went on a rampant scoring spree.ย In the span of five games, heย accumulatedย eight league goals, and finished with 18 in theย Bundesliga.ย
Since moving back toย Borussia Dortmund, where he played as a junior,ย Reus has had some great performances as a wide attacking midfielder for BVB.ย
He came up big in the 3-2 win overย Mรกlaga and he also scored a hat trick vs.ย Eintracht Frankfurt, who at the time were just two points behindย Dortmund.ย
It isn't just his goal scoring becauseย Marco is one of the many playmakers inย Jรผrgen Klopp's side.
One slight concern withย Reus is his tendency to hit a wall and fail to bounce backย immediately.ย For example, there was an odd six-game stretch where he had limited impact forย Dortmund.ย
16. Marek Hamsik, CAM, Napoli
11 of 26In February,ย Marek Hamsik was robbed at gun-point (viaย Paolo Bandini at The Guardian):
"Someone stuck a pistol in his face.
Hamsik had been waiting in traffic on Via Cinthia, preparing to join the Tangenziale bypass, when a scooter carrying three masked men reportedly pulled alongside his BMW. One man smashed the driver's window, before aiming a gun at Hamsik and demanding his watchโa Rolex Daytona worth upwards of โฌ10,000 (ยฃ8,600).
The player did as he was told and the scooter sped off.
For Hamsik, this was not the first time. In December 2008 he was the victim of a similar theft while Christmas shopping. Then his car was a Mini and his assailants were two instead of three but otherwise the incident was almost identicalโright down to the brand of watch that was stolen.
"
Firstly, why don'tย Napoli have a security team forย Hamsik? Secondly, he didn't score or create in the next four games for the club.ย
Marek has come into his own with some spectacular performances.ย
Ifย Edinson Cavani leavesย Napoli, willย Hamsik follow suit?ย
15. Sergio Busquets, CM, Barcelona
12 of 26Xavi spoke glowingly aboutย Sergio Busquets'ย intuitive passing ability (fromย Sid Lowe at The Guardian):ย
"Busquets [is] the best midfielder there is playing one-touch.ย
ย He doesn't need more.ย He controls, looks and passes in one touch.
Some need two or three and, given how fast the game is, that's too slow.
"
Sergio doesn't createย the highlight reel assist, he makes theย necessaryย pass.ย
Defensively, he has made a lot of progress and improvement since breaking intoย Barcelona's first XI.ย
However,ย he can still be lulled into low-percentage tackles likeย Xabi Alonso, hence whyย Busquets has nine yellow cardsโwhich is a high amount when you consider that opposing La Liga teams only have 30.7 percent of possession per game.ย
To balance the debate, whenย played in the same midfield asย Xavi andย Andrรฉs Iniesta,ย Sergio doesn't receive adequate defensive support, given that No. 6 and 8 combine to average anย anaemicย 1.5 tackles per game.ย
14. Steven Gerrard, CM, Liverpool
13 of 26Who has been the superior player this season: Steven Gerrard orย Yaya Tourรฉ?
If you sayย Yaya, you're either a) Ivorian b) part of theย Yaya Tourรฉ fanclub c) haven't watched a singleย Liverpool game this season.ย
Gerrard has easily been the better player.ย
| LEAGUE ONLY | G | SPG | A | SCPG |
| Steven Gerrard | 9 | 9.4 | 9 | 2.6 |
| Yaya Tourรฉ | 6 | 9.0 | 4 | 1.6 |
G = goal/s, SPG = shots per goal, A = assist/s; SCPG = shots created per game
Tourรฉ is 6'2" and built like a brick houseโsurely, he's a better ball-winner thanย Steven.
Wrong.ย
| LEAGUE ONLY | TPG | TPF | TA% | IPG |
| Steven Gerrard | 2.5 | 2.6 | 77 | 1.3 |
| Yaya Tourรฉ | 1.1 | 0.7 | 72 | 0.8 |
TPG = tackles per game, TPF = tackles per foul, TA% = tackling percentage, IPG = interceptions per game
13. Andrea Pirlo, DLP, Juventus
14 of 26Oh my.ย
Bayern Munich tookย Andrea Pirlo to the cleaners.ย
In the first leg,ย Andrea gave the ball away 30 percent of the time. It slightly improved to 22 in the second leg.ย
At least,ย Lille's midfield generalย Florent Balmont came out of the 6-1 loss toย Bayern with some dignityย intact.ย
We may live in a prisoner of the moment society butย Pirlo has been vintageย Pirlo for most of the season.ย
12. Ilkay Gündogan, DM, Borussia Dortmund
15 of 26Twoย curveballsย Jรผrgen Klopp has thrown this season: 1. playingย Kevin Groรkreutz as a full-back and 2. startingย Ilkay Gรผndogan as a No. 10 vs.ย Greuther Fรผrth (scored a brace).ย Ilkay did play an advanced role forย Nรผrnberg but found his calling as a pivot forย Borussia Dortmund.
Not only has he exponentiallyย improved his defensive positioning but he can create space and drag opposing players out with a smart dribble.ย
He's been crucial to BVB's UEFA Champions League run.ย
11. Morgan Schneiderlin, DM, Southampton
16 of 26Morgan Schneiderlin is a world-class ball-winner.ย
He has won back the ball 260 times from 32 league games whilst onlyย committingย 1.9 fouls per game.ย
Southampton have tied him down till 2017 therefore enabling them to sell him at a premium should a club bid for the Frenchman's services.ย
10. Mario Götze, CAM, Borussia Dortmund
17 of 26One of the main reasons whyย Borussia Dortmund hasn't lost a UEFA Champions League game this season isย Mario Gรถtze.ย
He's more decisive, has a higher upside and is a substantially better dribbler thanย Toni Kroos.ย
Whatย Mario needs to learn fromย Toni is to not force the pass.ย
Gรถtze has 13 combined assists inย Bundesliga/Champions League this season, which increases to 19 (per Transfermarkt.com), if you were to count assists via the standards set byย EA SPORTS PPI.ย
BVB function moreย cohesivelyย withย Mario making the key passes, rather than Shinji Kagawa, who was more interested in trying to beย Kunishige Kamamoto.ย
Ifย Gรถtze continues to develop at the rate he's going, he will seriously contend for theย FIFA Ballon d'Or in a few years' time. ย
9. Thomas Müller, RAM, Bayern Munich
18 of 26If we were to talk about pure ability,ย Thomas Mรผller shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence asย Franck Ribรฉry.ย
Yet,ย Franck has been a no-show in the UEFA Champions League, whereasย Mรผller has been well,ย Mรผller-esque.ย
Likeย Gerd, underestimateย Thomas at yourย peril.ย
How will he play as the No. 10?ย
His playing style won't beย aestheticallyย pleasing likeย Toni Kroos butย Thomas will cash in.ย
8. Juan Mata, CAM/WAM, Chelsea
19 of 26Juan Mata hasย spoon-fed Fernando Torres goals whilst picking upย Oscar's workload whenever the Brazilian has played.ย
Eden Hazard has also disappeared on occasions throughout the season, leavingย Mata to carry Chelsea throughout the game.ย
He is to the Blues whatย Gareth Bale is toย Tottenham Hotspur.ย
7. Michael Carrick, DM, Manchester United
20 of 26Michael Carrick is one of the few players in European football that catches flack for playing the position correctly.ย
Meanwhile,ย Frank Lampard plays himself as an attacking midfielder when he's supposed to be a defensive midfielder (another inept decision from management) and the majority of Blues' supporters want him to receive a new contract.ย
In the Premier League,ย Michael has won back the ball 144 times in return for three yellow cards.ย
His ball-winning was even better in the UEFA Champions League (+1.1 increase in possession won per game) whilst his fouls per game was 0.6 lower. ย
Carrick has answered his critics (i.e., me) by upping his defensiveย work-rate.
Youย shouldn'tย hold on to what he didn't do in the pastย and you have to giveย credit when it's due.ย
6. Riccardo Montolivo, CM, AC Milan
21 of 26What does a real captain look like?ย Riccardo Montolivo.ย
Need him to enforce, no problems, he'll put his boot in asย Barcelona found out (he also leads the team in tackles per game).ย
Want him to control the tempo of the game, sure, pass it to him because he thrives in pressure situations.ย
He has taken his game to another level since moving to AC Milan.ย
5. Blaise Matuidi, CM, Paris Saint-Germain
22 of 26It's rare to have a player likeย Blaise Matuidi whose offensive and defensive positional awareness is so high.ย
In addition to the dramatic late equaliser vs.ย Barcelona, he has netted winning goals againstย Troyes andย Lyon.ย
Even though Blaiseย is a high volume ball-winner (3.4 tackles and 3.5 interceptions per league game), he has only picked up three yellow cards.ย
4. Mousa Dembélé, DM, Tottenham Hotspur
23 of 26Inย Mousa Dembรฉlรฉ's last two Premier League games forย Fulham, he completed 121 of 126 passes.ย
He makes 90.7 percent of his passes forย Tottenham Hotspur whilst also being a threat off the dribble and a midfield destroyer.ย
Why does Mousa need to aspire to beย Yaya Tourรฉ when the Belgian is already a better player?
3. Xavi, CM, Barcelona
24 of 26Lead La Liga and UEFA Champions League in passes per game and pass completion percentage whilst playing through various injuriesโchallenge accepted.ย
If all ofย Xavi's passes were simple, his shots created per league game would be around 0.1-0.9, instead it's 1.3 (rises to 3.2 in the Champions League).ย
Burnout will be a major concern for the midfield maestro.ย
2. Arturo Vidal, CM, Juventus
25 of 26Arturo Vidal hasย Javi Fuego's tackling prowess,ย Park Ji-Sung's stamina andย David Luiz's craziness.ย
Vidal's defensive output: 5.4 tackles per league game, 4.9 tackles per UEFA Champions League game, 1.4 interceptions per game and 2.2 interceptions per Champions League game.
Those are video game-like numbers.ย
The primary issue withย Arturo is he lives and dies by his impulsiveness.ย
1. Bastian Schweinsteiger, DM, Bayern Munich
26 of 26Bastian Schweinsteiger is a tactically perfect footballer, who can adapt to any situation.
With his positional discipline and midfield generalship, Javi Martรญnez is adapting quickly to the Bundesliga, whilst Luiz Gustavo looks a better player than he really is.
That is the beauty of Schweinsteiger, who is the heart and soul of this Bayern Munich juggernaut.
Statistics courtesy ofย WhoScored.com,ย Fox Soccerย andย Squawka.com.
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