European Football Awards: Picking the Top 20 Forwards of the 2010-11 Season
To follow up my list of the top 20 midfielders, I've decided to finish with the top 20 forwards this European season.
Lists at times are hard to compile, but I've attempted to do my best.
To this end I've used two simple guidelines:
1) I've only picked forwards from the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A. Why? I've watched the large majority all four aforementioned leagues, so I can make balanced judgements on the abilities of forwards in each league. Sorry Falcao and Hulk.
2) To ensure fairness and balance amongst the four leagues, I've included a quota of five players per league.
20. Felipe Caicedo
1 of 20
- Goals: 14
- Assists: 2
- Games: 29
- Goals/assists per game: 0.55
Deemed surplus at Manchester City, Felipe Caicedo was loaned from the richest club in the world, to the poorest in La Liga—Levante.
Surrounded by a bunch of has-beens, rejects, and journeymen, Caicedo became the most valuable player on a team boasting more unity than ability.
Caicedo didn’t have Xavi or Mesut Özil threading consummate through-balls—long ball out of defence was Caicedo’s assist.
Whilst the ball gained hang time, the Levante players prayed their Hail Marys and hoped Caicedo would win the ball, muscle his way past the defence, and score.
What was remarkable about Caicedo’s goal-scoring feats was that he converted 30 percent of his shots into goals—9 percent more efficient than Messi and 14 percent more than Cristiano Ronaldo.
19. Didier Ya Konan
2 of 20
- Goals: 14
- Assists: 6
- Games: 29
- Goals/assists per game: 0.69
A year ago, Hannover’s season was thrown into disarray with the unfortunate suicide of goalkeeper Robert Enke.
As the club struggled to comprehend the death of Enke amidst dressing room disputes and the real possibility of being relegated, Didier Ya Konan stood firm, scoring three goals in the final five games to ensure Die Roten supporters another season of Bundesliga football.
This season has been less dramatic as Ya Konan’s trickery and movement has transitioned perfectly into manager Mirko Slomka’s counter-attacking style.
Ya Konan’s partnership with Norwegian Mohamed Abdellaoui was the pivotal reason why Hannover finished fourth.
18. Milivoje Novakovič
3 of 20
- Goals: 19
- Assists: 3
- Games: 28
- Goals/assists per game: 0.79
Milivoje Novakovič isn’t the quickest, the strongest, or the most technical player on the pitch, but he can score goals.
An archetypal goal-poacher, Novakovič relies on positional awareness, a high football IQ, and anticipation to score his goals for Köln.
All 19 of Novakovič’s goals were scored inside the penalty box.
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17. Peter Odemwingie
4 of 20
- Goals: 15
- Assists: 7
- Games: 29
- Goals/assists per game: 0.76
Roberto Di Matteo’s decision to bring Peter Odemwingie from Russia to England for just £1.5 million proved to be the bargain transfer of the English Premier League.
Odemwingie repaid West Bromwich Albion by scoring 15 goals and providing 7 assists in 29 games, all while surrounded by average players.
At one point, Odemwingie went on a five-game scoring streak, and in the sixth game, when he didn’t score, he provided the game winning assist.
16. Pappis Cissé
5 of 20
- Goals: 24
- Assists: 0
- Games: 34
- Goals/assists per game: 0.71
In eight seasons of professional football, Pappis Cissé had never scored more than 15 goals in a season. However, this season was different, much to the joy of Freiburg, who had spent the majority of the past decade in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Manager Robin Dutt’s go-to man was Cissé, as he scored 54 percent of Freiburg’s goals.
Keep in mind, this was Freiburg, a modest Bundesliga team who were entangled in a relegation scrap the season before.
15. Dimitar Berbatov
6 of 20
- Goals: 22
- Assists: 6
- Games: 42
- Goals/assists per game: 0.67
Towards the latter stages of Manchester United’s season, Dimitar Berbatov cut a peripheral figure. Even the seemingly discarded Michael Owen was preferred ahead Berbatov—talk about a slap in the face.
Berbatov plays with elegance, finesse, and grace, but he also doesn’t work hard, offers no forward pressing, doesn’t tackle, moves at his own lethargic pace, and can only function with possession.
With 22 goals and six assists in 42 games (10 of which were off the bench), most strikers would be conspiring with their agent to force their clubs to increase their wages.
Berbatov’s agent, Emil Danchev, won’t be doing this. It’s more likely he’ll be trying to construct an exit plan for his client.
14. Didier Drogba
7 of 20
- Goals: 13
- Assists: 17
- Games: 45
- Goals/assists per game: 0.66
At times during the start of the season, Didier Drogba resembled a sluggish centre forward, who was seemingly past it—where was the robust, physical Ivorian who bullied centre backs?
Then it was revealed he had suffered a bout of malaria. How much did this affect his season?
Towards the end of the season, Drogba was the Drogba of old, providing Chelsea a reason to keep him.
In truth, Drogba has had a good season. Although he was perhaps low on goals, he compensated by accumulating an unusually high number of assists, if anything, indicating selfless play.
Drogba has been Chelsea’s best player this season.
13. Lucas Barrios
8 of 20
- Goals: 24
- Assists: 10
- Games: 43
- Goals/assists per game: 0.79
At €4.2 million, Lucas Barrios was the most expensive starter at Borussia Dortmund.
Two years ago, Barrios scored 40 goals in a season for Colo-Colo in the Chilean league. This season, Barrios’ contributions haven’t been as affixed to scoring goals.
Under manager Jürgen Klopp’s adaptable system, Barrios was allowed to drift around, as opposed to being isolated up front.
As Barrios became more involved in the game, goals followed—24 of them to be exact.
Now the question beckons: Can Barrios repeat these types of performances against Europe’s elite in the UEFA Champions League next season?
12. Sergio Agüero
9 of 20
- Goals: 27
- Assists: 6
- Games: 41
- Goals/assists per game: 0.80
Sergio Agüero has almost played a decade of professional football, and he’s only 23 years of age.
He has some uncanny similarities with his father-in-law, Diego Maradona—both weren’t particularly tall, but were short, stocky, and in the zone when the ball was at their feet.
Since the 2007–08 season, Agüero has averaged 23.7 goals and provided 12.7 assists per season.
This season, Agüero had taken more shots, taken control over games, and has provided the spark in an otherwise disappointing season for Atlético Madrid.
After five seasons, Agüero is not content with just a Europa League and UEFA Super Cup—he wants more.
Will he make the Judas decision and defect to hated, cross-town rival Real Madrid?
11. Robin Van Persie
10 of 20
- Goals: 22
- Assists: 7
- Games: 33
- Goals/assists per game: 0.88
De Stijl is Dutch for the style, and Robin van Persie personifies the Dutch style—flawless technique.
Though like his Dutch compatriots Marco Van Basten, Marc Overmars, and Arjen Robben, van Persie’s body is made of glass.
Injuries have plagued van Persie throughout his career, but when he hasn’t been injured, he has been dynamic for Arsenal.
ESPN reported van Persie stating: “Every year it always goes wrong in an identical way and that is frustrating […] When you look at results in the last years, then Arsenal shouldn't be talking about winning the league because too many times things have gone wrong”.
Can a fit van Persie lead Arsenal to success?
10. Carlos Tévez
11 of 20
- Goals: 23
- Assists: 9
- Games: 43
- Goals/assists per game: 0.74
For a player who is so selfless on the field, he is very selfish off the field.
Tévez's "me, me, me" complex contradicts the on-the-field figure who throws his body around as a forward, tackles, works hard, scores goals, provides assists, and leads by example—essentially the complete opposite of Dimitar Berbatov.
Yet how can a captain be such a malcontent about his future? How can a captain always harp about how he doesn’t enjoy life in the city he’s playing for? What captain starts a pointless power feud with the board?
It’s this flagrant disregard for his teammates and a desire to constantly be the centre of attention for the wrong reasons which provide the downside to Tévez as a footballer.
Yet one can also argue that what Tévez does on the pitch outweighs his antics off the pitch.
Tévez has never played more than two seasons for a club aside from Boca Juniors, so will he leave Manchester City this summer having played his “quota” of two seasons per club?
9. Giuseppe Rossi
12 of 20
- Goals: 32
- Assists: 9
- Games: 53
- Goals/assists per game: 0.77
As Rossi was born and raised in America, the United States must be irked that Giuseppe Rossi chooses to represent Italy.
It must be hard for an academy player to excel at youth level, yet be rejected at senior level. This was the case for Rossi at Manchester United.
Yet unlike most academy rejects whose career highlights were being academy players at a big club, Rossi has shown promise for Villarreal and has made the transition from helpful forward to the third best forward in La Liga.
He had never scored 20 goals a season, yet this season he scored 32 goals, whilst also providing nine assists.
What helps Rossi score is his clever movement, good technique and good finishing—having Borja Valero and Santi Cazorla providing assists comes in handy, as well.
8. Zlatan Ibrahimović
13 of 20
- Goals: 21
- Assists: 12
- Games: 41
- Goals/assists per game: 0.80
It’s remarkable how someone so tall can boast such remarkable technique, finesse, and style.
This season for A.C. Milan, Ibrahimović has continued his knack of scoring highlight-reel goals, whilst providing assists for his teammates.
Yet there’s the lingering question: Why didn’t Zlatan Ibrahimović fit in at Barcelona?
He was perfect for Barcelona, yet it seemed his cold war with Pep Guardiola resulted in him being loaned out to A.C. Milan.
Barcelona haven’t felt the loss, as they added another UEFA Champions League title to their trophy cabinet, but neither has Ibrahimović, as he helped another club win a league title.
He has now won eight consecutive league titles, spanning five different clubs in three countries—maybe he should join Arsenal.
7. Antonio Di Natale
14 of 20
- Goals: 28
- Assists: 8
- Games: 37
- Goals/assists per game: 0.97
Blessed with great finishing ability, excellent positional awareness, and composure in front of goal, Antonio Di Natale has once again topped the Serie A goal-scoring charts.
Unlike some of his compatriots, Di Natale doesn’t jump ship often, having spent eight years at Empoli and now seven years and counting at Udinese—he rejected a transfer to Juventus last summer.
Though one always does wonder how many goals Di Natale would score if Alexis Sánchez wasn’t an Udinese player.
6. Alexis Sánchez
15 of 20
- Goals: 12
- Assists: 8
- Games: 31
- Goals/assists per game: 0.65
Which Udinese player is vital playing behind Antonio Di Natale in manager Francesco Guidolin’s 3-5-2 formation?
Alexis Sánchez.
Which Udinese player has the ability to dribble past several defenders and then provide a beautiful assist to Di Natale?
Sánchez.
Which Udinese player plays behind Di Natale, therefore allowing him to poach so many goals?
Sánchez.
If you’re not getting the picture: if Sánchez doesn’t play well, Udinese don’t play well.
It is without doubt that Sánchez is the most exciting player in the world behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
All three were more effective in the centre than on the wings, and centre is the position the next manager needs to play Sánchez in, assuming he leaves Udinese.
5. Mario Gómez
16 of 20
- Goals: 39
- Assists: 4
- Games: 45
- Goals/assists per game: 0.96
When Louis van Gaal does not like you, it generally means curtains for your career until van Gaal leaves.
Mario Gómez is goal poacher, not an impact player, and faced with van Gaal’s rotation policy, Gómez struggled in his first season, scoring 14 goals whilst coming off the bench 17 times.
This season, with Bayern Munich struggling, van Gaal ate some humble pie and adjusted the formation according to Gómez’s needs.
It still didn’t save van Gaal’s job.
Gómez enjoyed an amazing season, becoming Europe’s third leading scorer behind the "other two," whilst also scoring an astonishing six hat-tricks.
It’s Gómez’s goals—and he scored almost a third of Bayern Munich’s goals this season—which salvaged an UEFA Champions League position next season.
4. Samuel Eto’o
17 of 20
- Goals: 37
- Assists: 16
- Games: 53
- Goals/assists per game: 1.00
Samuel Eto’o is the most complete forward in world football right now.
When Inter Milan won the treble under José Mourinho, he had asked Eto’o to play as a right-side midfielder who had to defend. He was basically an auxiliary defender, yet he still scored 16 goals for the season.
This season, Eto’o played several different roles, yet it didn’t have an adverse effect on his prolific scoring.
Add in 16 assists, and Eto’o is as a valuable forward to Inter Milan as Lionel Messi is to Barcelona.
Eto’o is seemingly dispelling the rumours that he was an individual player who only wanted to score. Under Mourinho, he played basically as a defender, and this season, he’s provided 16 assists.
3. Edinson Cavani
18 of 20
- Goals: 33
- Assists: 6
- Games: 47
- Goals/assists per game: 0.83
Walter Mazzarri dared to employ a cavalier-like attacking philosophy with Napoli, and Edinson Cavani dared to become the best player in Serie A.
There was no doubting his talent, his ability, his technique, and the fact he could score goals, though surely no-one would have predicted such a wonderful season from the 24 year old Uruguayan.
Mazzarri has allowed Cavani to flourish into a forward who not only scores, but creates, and also puts in a good effort in forward pressing—a job neglected by most forwards in the modern game.
What separates Cavani from other forwards is his never-say-die attitude and propensity for trying to the final whistle, which resulted in him scoring late game-winning or equalising goals—he scored goals in the 86th minute, 87th minute, 88th minute, 92nd minute, 93rd minute and 97th minute.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
19 of 20
- Goals: 53
- Assists: 16
- Games: 54
- Goals/assists per game: 1.31
When Sir Alex Ferguson moved Cristiano Ronaldo to a more central role, Ronaldo responded with goals, goals, and more goals.
For a player who once enjoyed humiliating full backs with stationary step overs, and then wondering why the full back decided to hack him down the next play, Ronaldo has progressed into a nearly complete forward.
He is complete from an offensive point of view—he’s tall, strong, technically brilliant, a set piece specialist, can score and create, and is an aerial threat—yet he doesn’t track back, or work hard without possession.
Nonetheless, Ronaldo enjoyed an incredible and historic season.
Yet he’s still not the best forward in the world.
1. Lionel Messi
20 of 20
- Goals: 53
- Assists: 24
- Games: 55
- Goals/assists per game: 1.40
It was a slight risk for Pep Guardiola to move Lionel Messi from the wings to a central, playmaker position.
Though 53 goals and 24 assists later, it had proven to be a masterstroke decision from Guardiola.
We’ve all watched Messi—we’re all mesmerised by him—but we know what can stop him.
Pepe showed that robust challenges and snapping at Messi’s heals puts him off his game.
I’ve always wondered why teams do not man mark Messi. It will never happen in La Liga, because the culture is to play good football as opposed to anti-football.
Could Messi succeed in the Serie A with teams adopting very negative tactics?
Could Messi survive in the English Premier League, where referees are more lenient with physicality?
That being said he scored and provided a combined 77 goals in 55 games… my goodness gracious!
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