The fourth "Round Table" discussion is here and this week,we asked several of our top writers :
"Who do you think is currently the World's Best Holding midfielder or CDM and Why?".
Below is what they had to say on the matter.
Keith Griffin : Gennaro 'Rino' Gattuso (AC Milan and Italy)
For me, the currently best holding midfielder or CDM has to Gennaro Gattuso of AC Milan. He is the only player who matches the fire, commitment, desire and ability of, in my opinion the greatest holding midfielder of all-time, Roy Keane. He plays hard and tackles hard, is fearless and can boss the midfield almost alone.
He is the perfect foil to his midfield partner Andrea Pirlo. Although his form has slightly dipped in recent times, his performances over the years at all levels have been amazing.
Marc Kaveh : Nicky Butt (Newcastle United and England)
He probably won't get any other picks but the man is a class act and a model profesional. Nicky Butt was key part of Manchester United's 90's dominance but never got the headlines he deserved. Again he was at it in 00, 01 and 03 but then Ferguson deemed him past it.
Newcastle came in and spent 4 million and initially it was a disaster. He was crap in the FA Cup semi and was loaned to Birmingham.
However being the professional that he is, he came back to Tyneside, won over the crowd (not easy) at St James Park and became one of our best players.
Without Butt we'd have been a good 4 places lower in both campaigns since his comeback. His intelligent play reads the danger and cuts it out, he covers for teamates and launches attacks from deep.
Due to the fact that he's at the Toon he won't get the credit he deserves but he is nearly back to his Treble winning form for the Geordies.
Zahi Sahli : Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan and Italy)
His crosses are inch-perfect; he can produce great free-kicks, he tackles well, he can man-mark, his passing cannot be more accurate, he assists and he scores! Andrea Pirlo is one of the most underrated players in the world. He is definitely one of the best players in football today.
Since Steven Gerrard and Michael Essien are a position closer to the opponent's goal and play as center midfielders, Pirlo is by far the best defensive midfielder.
Adam Michie : Claude Makelele (Chelsea and France)
He may be in the twighlight of his career but there is only one man to fill the boots in this position. The man who brought Defensive Midfielders into the 21st Century: Claude Makelele. For a guy so small in stature, his presence on the field is enormous. He never needs to track back, because he is always in the right position. Have you ever seen him give away the ball? He was the padlock on Real Madrid’s defence for years and as soon as he left for Chelsea, Madrid’s defence got burgled more times than a Liverpudlian footballer on international duty.
He was so good for the Spanish champions his position was dubbed “the Makelele role”. He transferred his reliability to Chelsea and within two seasons they’d won the league twice. His lack of goals only goes to show how dedicated he is to his position.
Dakota Rubin : Fernando Gago (Real Madrid and Argentina)
This may seem a little against the grain but Fernando Gago is currently the World's Best Holding midfielder.
At the young age of 22,Gago prominently features for both club and country (Argentina and Real Madrid respectively) both these sides feature Mascherano and Diarra who others would consider as the best but I feel Gago has quickly learned from the duo and combined their talents to become the world's best.
Gago has the perfect combination of grit and toughness which he uses in controlling the midfield and he manages to combine it with a deft first touch,incredible vision on the pitch and supreme confidence with the ball at his feet.
I believe he is going to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Kiran Gokarn : Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United and England)
I think the best holding midfielder in the world is Owen Hargreaves. He is versatile and multi dimensional as a player.
He is gritty in defence and can be a handy wingback when required. His performances against Roma in the Champions League show his overall skill.
In attack he is wanting as a goalscorer but is brilliant as a link up player and can put in Beckham-esque balls from the wings a winger. He scores over the likes of Gattuso and Mascherano with these attacking qualities and is my pick for the title.
Other honourable mentions are Daniele De Rossi and Javier Mascherano.
Shyam Parthasarathi : Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan and Italy)
The best defensive midfielder today has to be Andrea Pirlo. He didn't have the best of seasons at Milan but even if he's not at his best, he's is always involved in the game. He is one of the finest passers in the World and perhaps, one of the best set-piece takers as well.
He's got a great shot, is combative and is perhaps the reason why AC Milan won the Champions League last year. As far as defensive midfielders are concerned, you won't see someone as creative as Pirlo - so he gets my vote.
Salaar Shamsi : Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United and England)
Interestingly enough, the likes of Patrick Viera, Gilberto Silva, Tim Borowski , Daniel De Rossi , Xavi , Yaya Toure, Mohamadou Diarra and Armando Petit didn’t get anybody’s pick.
My pick, However, has to be Owen Hargreaves , for the sheer determination at he possesses. I must admit that when Manchester United bought him from Bayern Munich,I thought he was overrated and overpriced but Hargreaves has proven me wrong to a certain extent. He’s not as hard a tackler as the likes of Mascherano and Gattuso but he works tirelessly hard from the first whistle to the last always charging in towards the opposition.
He’s got a slight bulky figure, which he puts to very efficient use, he is reliable in the holding midfielder’s role because he has the ability to find the gaps and create goals, he often matches pin point accuracy. United’s away game at Liverpool this season was a classic example of Hargreaves can do the ‘dirty work’ very well. He can be creative when needed, he will always take the yellow if the team needs him to take it, and he stands out as an example of a real ‘professional’ add to that his incredible set pieces and you have a package any team would dream of having.
Khalid Shakran : Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan and Italy)
Italy, throughout the history of the beautiful game, has arguably produced
the best midfield players ever.
Andrea Pirlo falls in that extravagant category of players
without debate. For both club and country, he has become utterly indispensable,
dictating the direction, tempo and shape of the play with his endless, almost
metronomic, array of chips, dinks and highly-precise through-balls.
He is the most graceful passer of the ball in world football.
Pirlo is probably its most lethal dead ball specialist too.
He isn't limited by his distinctive position on the pitch.
He spends a significant amount of time lurking in and around the box,
supporting the strikers and hitting the back of the net when the mood takes him.
Not to mention he's a world cup winner as well !
Dafydd Wood : Javier Mascherano (Liverpool and Argentina)
Due to the fact that Steven Gerrard is not an out and out holding midfielder,my pick is Javier Mascherano.
As a Liverpool fan many readers may think that my opinion is biased, however I was a big fan of Mascherano even before we purchased him. He knows exactly how to time a slide tackle, often throwing himself in at the last second, and he can retrieve the ball, spot a team mate and play it to him in the blink of an eye, making him excellent for starting counter attacks.
He is a holding midfielder in a very traditional sense, he is the hard man of the team, not afraid to get stuck in, throw himself infront of a shot to block it, or face off with opposition players. If the choice is get a yellow card, or allow a dangerous striker to get through at the defence, he'll take the yellow 9 times out of 10, which in my opinion is exactly what a holding midfielder should do.
Barney Corkhill : Javier Mascherano (Liverpool and Argentina)
For me, it has to be Javier Mascherano. Not because he is a Liverpool player,
but because he does his job the way Makelele did three or four years ago,
when he was the best in the world. Mascherano is simply a pest, he never gives up,
never lets the opponents have a moment to rest, and seemingly never stops running.
I'm sure if you asked all the attacking players in the Premiership whether they looked
forward to playing against him, very few would say yes.
I think Liverpool would have beaten Manchester United if he had not gotten a red card.
Christopher Potter : Patrick Viera (Inter Milan and France)
The best defensive midfielder in the world in this day and age is still Patrick Vieira in my opinion. He was immense for Arsenal for a number of years and has been an important factor in Internazionale's recent domination of Serie A. France desperately missed his presence and savvy at this year's European Championship and Arsenal have not had the same solidarity ever since he left for pastures new. While he is no spring chicken, his experience is second-to-none and he is a trusted performer on any stage. A true footballing legend who loeads by example.
Missed out on this week's round table discussion?
No worries, another round table will posted to you at your bulletin board very soon.
worldfootball@post.com is where you required to send in your contributions.
The response received this time round was amazing and after a tough spell of editing (18 edits) ,the article was complete.
I would also like to thank Micheal Whittenberg from the NBA section and Jon Naylor from the Cricket section for putting forward the "round table" idea.
Till then I'd sincerely like to thank our writers, who took their valuable time out to contribute to this week's "round table" discussion.
Andrea Pirlo rules the roost!
comments (14) write a comment »
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3 months ago
Its all about Makelele
3 months ago
Pirlo is the best, definitely. i respect everyone's opinion off course but i think makelele is aging, nicky butt has never been a star, gago lacks aggression and mascherano is still far from world class performing.
i think players who are close to pirlo's quality are cambiasso and gattuso
3 months ago
People seem to be misinterpreting the question as who is your favourite defensive midfielder - it is, who is currently the best CDM? so, Makelele is past it and Nicky Butt was never the best CDM even at his peak..
3 months ago
Anyone who saw the Champions League final should know that Makelele is not past it. His performance was the main reason Chelsea were able to dominate the 2nd half, he was brilliant. He has never relied on pace so is still as effective as he ever was, his positioning exemplary, and he knows how to rile the opposition.
Mascherano is coming close to him, and will surpass him in the future, but Makelele is still no1 for me in a defensive sense. Tymoschuk of Ukraine and Zenit St Petersberg is also an outstanding defensive holding player.
If you want a holding midfield player who is more about attacking and controlling the game, then Pirlo wins hands down, no other deep lying midfield player has his passing range. Xavi of Barca is the only player who comes close in an attacking sense. In the Euro's I was impressed by Switzerland's Gokhan Inler, and France's Toulalan, both of these will be top players in the future.
from 3 months ago
toulalon is 30....cant see much of a future ahead, howeve inler is a good player but could he reach makalele's standards?
from 3 months ago
I am afraid you have been misinformed Marc, Toulalan is 24 (as I have pointed out on Bleacher before when another writer claimed he was 30). Wiki, ESPN, FIFA etc etc all state his date of birth as 10th September 1983. Who started this false rumour that Toulalan was 30?
He played in the 2006 U21 UEFA tournament and was voted in the team of the tournament.
So Toulalan very much has a future ahead of him. As for Inler, only time will tell, but I like the look of him and would not be surprised if he ends up at a much bigger club than Udinese before long, he is just about to turn 24 himself.
from 3 months ago
In that case apologies Simon, i was fairly sure i heard a commentator say he was 30 and hardly the future of French football. In that case he looks solid and hopefully he'll achive better things at bigger clubs than Lyon.
3 months ago
Michael Carrick...enough said
3 months ago
I;d think the brightest prospect in holding midfield would be matheiu Flamini - he's had an unblemished season at Arsenal this year and only an ostrich of the likes of Domenech wouldn't include him in the squad.
3 months ago
By far and away the top of the pile remains France and Internazionale's Patrick Vieira, lng-time man mountain and footballing great.
3 months ago
bollocks! forgot it man, anyway, even though i'm a united fan, makele would have got my vote here.
3 months ago
Since when was Pirlo a Holding/ Defensive Midfielder anyway. I think People are confusing a CENTRE Midfielder, with a Holding Midfielder. 2 different creatures. For example. Hargreaves = Holding Mid, Gerrard = Centre Mid (or attacking mid if played in a midfield 5). Makelele = Holding, Ballack = Centre Mid, Gattuso = Holding, Pirlo = Centre Mid.
Forget Makelele's age. His performances have not diminished. Mascherano and Hargreaves may be more dynamic (youth being with them) but it doesnt mean Makelele's any worse at sitting in front of the back four and passing the ball to the creative midfielders in the team. He has never been dynamic, even in his mid to late twenties.
3 months ago
Great Article once again Salaar! Sorry I could not Contribute to this article! I also think the best is Patrick Vieira...and he's still going strong!
about 1 month ago
uhhhhhh Daniele De Rossi anyone?
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