FIFA 09: Most Overrated Players

FIFA 09 has been a true gaming revelation this year. For a game which in previous years has been overrun by the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA 09 has worked wonders in helping the FIFA game series make a substantial recovery. The game itself has received various different gaming awards, including being in the running for the best sports game in the modern era. However, after playing this thoroughly entertaining game for quite some time, I have found many of the player ratings to be quite ambiguous. Below is a list of the Most Overrated Players in FIFA 09.

10. Paul Scholes

Scholes is a man who has earned the respect of almost everyone in the footballing world. If there is one criticism that people could ever draw of him though, it is the fact that he has never been able to tackle. With this in mind, why is he able to take the ball off opposing midfielders with ease? Age has gotten the better of him in recent years and seeing him compete, and sometimes dominate other midfielders in the game such as Steven Gerrard and Luka Modric is ridiculous.

9. Nicolas Anelka

Oh for the famous quote "where there is a will, there is a way." For the the shiny-headed French striker though, his Chelsea goals would advocate a quote more in the mold of: "where there is a tap in, there is a way." Seemingly in spite of this, the FIFA 09 creators have decided to make Anelka a prolific scorer from all over the pitch. When you combine this with his pace and power that the game clearly over-exaggerates, you have the 9th most overrated player in the game.

8. Pascal Chimbonda

I know he is overrated because the team I play as is Tottenham. I use him as a left back, and if that alone does not suggest him being overrated, then consider the fact that he is better than most at marking the likes of Ronaldo and Messi. His rating is a mere 76,  but for a defender in the game who possesses the speed, power, and balance to mark the best players in the world, it doesn't matter how much you refuse to use your left foot, now does it?

7. Emmanuel Adebayor

If he jumps for a header, he will win it. If he runs for a ball, he is fast and powerful enough to get it. I always shiver in fear whenever the Arsenal team I'm playing against gets a corner kick, and quite ridiculously so when you consider how good he actually is. His play for Arsenal this season, and every season disregarding last season, has been poor. As is a criticism of most African players in the premier league, Emmanual Adebayor is simply another case of a one-year wonder.

6. Gabriel Agbonlahor

The young English International striker undoubtedly has loads of pace and ability. Those of us who watch the Premier League regularly were lucky enough to see how good the boy can be at the beginning of Aston Villa's pear-shaped season. While looking at his recent displays though, was his hype all that valid? He has recently been jeered off the pitch by his own supporters, and if his own fans have lost faith in his ability, perhaps the FIFA 09 raters should have been more skeptical from the start.

5. Alessandro Del Piero

If you never watched football, after playing as Juventus on FIFA 09 you would think the seasoned age of 34 was the new 25. My point is Del Piero is old, and would not be effective in any other league in the world. Therefore, his rating is absurd.

4. Carlos Puyol

In real life I will admit that Puyol has always been one of the world's best defenders. Despite his hair. he has power, skill, and is extremely clever for a central defender. So how is he overrated? Try to round this guy with some of the fastest attackers in the world, and you will be wasting your time. His pace is unbelievably overrated and for a guy who is in his 30's, you have to wonder what in the world the FIFA 09 raters were thinking when they gave this veteran so much pace.

3. Wayne Rooney

More than 75% of the people I play against are glory hunters, so quite naturally they play as Man United. Fine with me, they are a great club that is justifiably admired by fans around the world. My issue with Man United is and always has been Wayne Rooney. He has been a fan favorite since his controversial move from Everton, and believe it or not, there was actually a time when people considered whether Ronaldo or Rooney would turn out to be the better player. When I consider this, I am absolutely disgusted with how little of his potential Rooney has filled. Sure, he does the little things, but you can't put a rating on that, can you? In this way I would like to know why every time I play Man United, Rooney scores almost every single goal. He is absolutely incredible in this game, and perhaps this game rating represents the player that we all thought he would be if he filled his potential rather than how good he actually is. The fact remains that he hasn't filled that potential, for as a striker, he has never even come close to topping the scoring charts. So why does he score so much in this game? Could it be possible that the person who designed the ratings for FIFA 09 was one of the billions of know-it-all Man United fans around the globe? Maybe, but that's just a little bit presumptuous on my part. Or is it?

2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

I refuse to play Inter because of this guy. In real life he can be a magician on the ball, but the fact remains that he has never performed on the biggest stages or against the best clubs. When you look at his long goal drought prior to the Euros for Sweden, not to mention his lack of goals in the Champions League, it makes you realise how awful the Italian league has really become. In FIFA09, he has everything to dominate a defense. His raw pace, ruthless power, perpetual balance, and aerial superiority have frustrated me one too many times, and I'm sure there's many others who would agree that his rating needs to be slashed for the sake of the game.

1. Patrice Evra

Every time Man United plays against Spurs, Aaron Lennon makes Patrice Evra look like a deer in the headlights. Clearly, this indicates that the PFA left back of the year is quite vulnerable to pace and skill. In an ironic sort of joke, that's not really funny at all, the FIFA 09 raters decided to make Evra the fastest player in the game. In fact, he is so fast, I have played against people who have played him as a striker over the likes of Ronaldo, Berbatov, Rooney, and Tevez. I don't even bother trying to attack his side of the pitch when I play Man United anymore. Is this fair? The answer is it is certainly not, and for him to be within a team full of superstars, Patrice Evra's player rating insults the intelligence of anyone who has ever watched a football match. The only positive thing is that he couldn't possibly become any better in FIFA 2010.