B/R's Under-23 Player Rankings for the 2014/15 Season
Last week, the CIES Football Observatory—which is a centre which analyses footballers and not some sort of star-gazing society run by today's top players—hit the headlines when they published their rankings for the top players under the age of 23 in world football.
As was picked up on in the Daily Mail, it was the status of Manchester United's Phil Jones as supposedly the best young defender on the continent that bemused many, but CIES justified its selection by claiming that it was based on six key performances metrics including distribution, recovery and "rigour"—whatever the latter is.
Unconvinced with the findings, we here at B/R have decided to conduct our own study into the best young players around in the 2014/15 season, and we're confident that our results are more in keeping with a season in which young talent has shone across the globe.
Ready? Here we go then...
The Rules
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First of all, the rules.
Similar to CIES, we're going to pick top 10 players in three categories—defenders, midfielders and attackers—and rank them in order of performance.
Crucially though, and again the same as CIES, the players will have to have been born on or after January 1st, 1992 or they won't be considered for our lists, meaning that Arsenal's Jack Wilshere could have been getting a mention had he not had yet another injury-hit season, as that is his exact date of birth. Anyone born before Wilshere is too old for us, meaning that the likes of James Rodriguez and Kevin De Bruyne just miss out.
In addition, because CIES only work with data from Europe's top five leagues, players from those divisions will be the only ones we'll consider, meaning that all of our under-23 stars will come from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga or Ligue 1.
So with the Wilshere factor established and it now known which divisions we'll be picking from, let's get going with the defenders.
Defenders: Numbers 10-4
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10. Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)
The signing of Mathieu Debuchy was supposed to give Arsenal experience in the right-back position—where they lost stalwart Bacary Sagna last summer—but instead this has proven to be a breakthrough season for young Spaniard Hector Bellerin. The full-back combines defensive awareness with great speed and has even managed a couple of goals during the campaign.
9. Fabinho (Monaco)
Monaco’s wonderful defensive record helped them get all the way to the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite their limited attacking game. One of the key elements of that defence was the 21-year-old Brazilian right-back Fabinho, who is at the end of a second season on loan in the principality from Rio Ave in Portugal.
8. David Alaba (Bayern Munich)
Bayern Munich’s excellent Austrian full-back David Alaba loses a few places because it has been an injury-hit season for him, with two lengthy spells out of the team between November and January and his current injury absence since March. When fit, there is little doubt that Alaba is one of the best modern full-backs in the game, and hopefully he can get back to his best next season.
7. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain)
It can often be difficult for Marquinhos to get into the Paris Saint-Germain team given the presence of his expensive Brazilian compatriots Thiago Silva and David Luiz at the club, but when the 20-year-old centre-back plays, he very rarely lets anyone down. He’s managed to play 36 times in all competitions this season, and in April’s Coupe de la Ligue final, he surpassed a club record set by George Weah as he appeared in his 34th consecutive PSG game without defeat.
6. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
Right-back has long been seen as a problem position for Real Madrid, but during this campaign, they’ve seen the 23-year-old Dani Carvajal establish himself ahead of the more experienced Alvaro Arbeloa and deliver a series of impressive displays. He’s a no-nonsense tackler, as evidenced by his 16 bookings in all competitions, but he is becoming part of the furniture at the Bernabeu.
5. Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg)
Taking Wolfsburg’s penalties has helped the Swiss international Ricardo Rodriguez reach 10 goals in all competitions this season, and the fact that he is given that responsibility by his club underlines just how much regard they hold his technical ability in. The left-back has helped his club to second place in the Bundesliga, and providing they can ward off summer bids for him, he’ll be impressing in the Champions League in green next season.
4. Layvin Kurzawa (Monaco)
Stated as the best full-back around by CIES, Monaco’s left-back Layvin Kurzawa has been in terrific form this season and has been a key player in one of the meanest defences on the continent. In Kurzawa’s 35 appearances this season, Monaco have kept 20 clean sheets, a remarkable record and one that the Frenchman had a huge role in achieving.
3. Stefan de Vrij (Lazio)
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After hugely impressing in Louis van Gaal's three-man defence for the Netherlands at the World Cup last summer, centre-back Stefan de Vrij opted to choose Lazio from a list of his many suitors when he decided to make the switch from Feyenoord.
His first season in Serie A has seen him produce largely consistent excellence as he's helped the Rome-based side toward a top-three finish and a potential return to the Champions League. He left plenty of clubs wondering why they didn't make a move for him when he was available last summer.
2. Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)
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After barely featuring during Atletico Madrid's remarkable 2013/14 season, Uruguayan central defender Jose Gimenez has been gradually introduced into the team by Diego Simeone this season and has rewarded his managed with a series of fantastic performances that hint at a long future at the club.
Still just 20, Gimenez has become a regular for his country and has featured 27 times for his club this season. As he combines that famous Uruguayan will to win with no little quality, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him get better and better.
1. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
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Setting the benchmark for classy young central defenders for a while now has been Real Madrid's Frenchman Raphael Varane, who has again demonstrated his quality as his club have navigated their way to the Champions League semi-finals.
Combining incredible calmness on the ball with an almost criminal confidence, it is hard to believe that Varane only turned 22 last month. He looks set for a long future at the heart of the Real defence and will undoubtedly help the club to even more success over the coming years.
Midfielders: Numbers 10-4
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10. Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Borussia Monchengladbach have had another impressive season, and key to that effort has been the displays of the Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, whose name sounds as tough as his displays in the centre of the pitch. Xhaka has been booked 16 times and sent off twice during the campaign, but he’s also contributed four goals and been a key man in the challenge to finish in the Champions League places.
9. Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen)
Having impressed with Hamburg last season, Hakan Calhanoglu made headlines when he moved to Bayer Leverkusen last summer. Since he’s been there, the Turkish international has wasted no time in becoming one of the key players at his club. Calhanoglu has scored 10 goals from midfield this season as well as establishing himself in the Turkey team, with the business that Leverkusen conducted last season looking to be money well spent.
8. Geoffrey Kondogbia (Monaco)
One of a number of top young French talents emerging from the country that will host Euro 2016 next summer, Geoffrey Kondogbia has been the powerhouse at the heart of the Monaco midfield this season having moved back to Ligue 1 from Sevilla in 2013. One of two goals he’s scored came in the terrific 3-1 win over Arsenal in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium, but it has been his all-round displays that have caught the eye and continue to do so.
7. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)
Just scraping in under our "Wilshere Line" is Tottenham Hotspur's classy Denmark international Christian Eriksen, who has squeezed a lot into his career despite being just 23. Showcasing a stunning ability from free-kicks, Eriksen was key as Spurs challenged for the Champions League places and reached the Capital One Cup final, ultimately falling short in both quests despite his 12 goals.
6. Koke (Atletico Madrid)
As part of the Spain World Cup squad that flopped in the summer, Atletico Madrid’s Koke got a firsthand look at the declining nature of the old Spanish squad that had been so successful in the past and can hopefully use that experience as inspiration for the future. Atletico have just fallen short of last season’s standards this time around, but Koke remains a classy, impressive performer who seems destined to hang around the elite level of the game for years to come.
5. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Building on his displays from last season, Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho has kicked on during the 2014/15 campaign and become one of the key players in a Reds side that increasingly rely on his talent and creativity. He’s added more goals this time around, too—eight in 50 appearances—but it is that little bit of magic he brings to Brendan Rodgers’ side that marks him out as such a special player, and one Rodgers continues to build his team around.
4. Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich)
When you’ve scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, there must be a sense that you’ve done everything there is to do in football, but Germany's Mario Gotze still has plenty to achieve with Bayern Munich and with his national team. He’s averaged a goal every three games this season as Bayern have once again won the Bundesliga and more trophies are bound to follow.
3. Isco (Real Madrid)
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Possessing an almost ridiculous amount of natural ability, it hasn't always been easy for 23-year-old Isco to hold down a place in the Real Madrid side ever since moving from Malaga, but he's still managed to make over 100 appearances ever since his 2013 transfer.
When James Rodriguez was injured earlier this year, Isco really stepped up and showed just how important he is to Carlo Ancelotti's side, something that he continues to be as a league title and second successive Champions League crown continues to be chased.
2. Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)
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Plenty have known about him for a long time, of course, but if there was one game that made the majority of the football world sit up and take notice of Paris Saint-Germain's classy 22-year-old Italian midfielder Marco Verratti then it was probably PSG's Champions League success against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Playing with only nine team-mates for the majority of the game, Verratti controlled the match and was seemingly everywhere. It was his best performance of a season that looks likely to end in another Ligue 1 title and has seen him become an even more crucial cog in the Italy machine.
1. Paul Pogba (Juventus)
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Still the master of all that he surveys among modern, all-action midfielders, Juventus star Paul Pogba continues to be hugely impressive and a reference point for just how the game should be played in the centre of the field these days.
Following on from being voted the best young player at the World Cup last summer, Pogba has managed 10 goals during this campaign as Juve have won the Serie A title once again. With the Euro 2016 finals in France coming next summer, you can expect the hosts to use him as something of a poster boy for their campaign.
Attackers: Numbers 10-4
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10. Alvaro Morata (Juventus)
In his first season at Juventus having spread his wings and moved from Real Madrid, Alvaro Morata hasn’t been quite as prolific as he’d have liked in a side dominated by Carlos Tevez, but he’s still produced 12 strikes—including one against his former club in the Champions League. Now established in the Spain squad too, Morata is a goal poacher and a player who should get better and better the older he gets.
9. Heung-Min Son (Bayer Leverkusen)
One of the best young Asian players in the modern game, Bayer Leverkusen attacker Heung-Min Son has established himself as one of the liveliest attackers in the Bundesliga and has found the net 11 times in the league this season. He also helped South Korea to the Asia Cup Final, where he scored an equaliser against Australia only to end up on the losing side in extra-time.
8. Lucas Moura (Paris Saint-Germain)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani continue to get all of the attention at Paris Saint-Germain for obvious reasons, but in the quicksilver Brazilian Lucas Moura, PSG have a very impressive performer. He might have wanted to improve his goal tally from just seven this season, but Lucas combines express pace with a terrific technique, and he’s still learning at the age of 22.
7. Paulo Dybala (Palermo)
Having taken a couple of seasons to find his feet at Palermo and in Serie A, 21-year-old Argentinian Paulo Dybala exploded into the worldwide consciousness earlier this season when he went on a goalscoring run of eight goals in 11 games. In a league notoriously tough for goalscorers, the nimble attacker suddenly found himself the talk of plenty of big clubs, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him move on sooner or later.
6. Nabil Fekir (Lyon)
If these lists have proved anything it is just how much young talent there is in France at the moment, and right in among that is the hugely impressive Lyon attacker Nabil Fekir. Alexandre Lacazette has taken most of the headlines as his side have put up a great but likely unsuccessful challenge to PSG in Ligue 1, but Fekir has contributed 12 goals and earned his first two international caps at the same time.
5. Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
Without Luis Suarez to link up with and with Liverpool shorn of the threat of Daniel Sturridge for most of the season due to injury, Raheem Sterling has had to come of age in Brendan Rodgers’ side during 2014/15. Often playing in a central striking role, he has responded with 11 goals and an increasing maturity in his game, which Reds fans only hope they can continue to see at their club for years to come.
4. Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)
Having more than doubled his number of goals from his first season at Inter Milan in 2014/15, Mauro Icardi has shot into the reckoning when the best young attackers in the world are being talked about. Firing 20 goals in an Inter Milan team that has hardly impressed is a fantastic achievement and led to the former Barcelona youngster being recognised as one of the best forwards in Serie A.
3. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
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Discussions over his qualities as a player might continue across social media and elsewhere, but you can't argue with the sheer number of goals that Tottenham's Harry Kane has accumulated during what has become a spectacular breakthrough season.
It's 30 in 47 games at the last count, as Kane has rendered all the money that Spurs spent on the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado look somewhat foolish, while also deservedly breaking into the England setup and scoring on his international debut against Lithuania.
2. Felipe Anderson (Lazio)
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CIES claimed that Lazio's Felipe Anderson was the best under-23 attacker in world football over the past year, even though plenty would think of him as a midfielder.
The 22-year-old has been in stunning form since December, scoring 11 goals and heading for a call-up for his national team while pushing Lazio toward the Champions League places in Serie A. Finishing in the top three might not be enough to keep Anderson out of the reaches of some of the huge clubs on the continent though, with the world stage set to be illuminated by his dazzling skills.
1. Neymar (Barcelona)
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We were asked to choose the best attacker born after January 1st 1992, and the answer to that question really is a simple one.
Neymar was born on February 5th 1992, and in his second season at Barcelona, he's reached heights that many thought he would never be capable of. His strike against Real Sociedad last weekend was his 50th goal for the club in a staggeringly short 87-game spell, while (prior to the Bayern Munich Champions League semi-final second leg) his total of 35 goals this season goes strangely unreported given the heights so regularly scaled by Lionel Messi.
Neymar deserves headlines all of his own though, and he certainly deserves this accolade.
