World Football Round Table : "Who's The World's Best Holding Midfielder or CDM?"

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 21^st 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)

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)

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.

No worries, another round table will posted to you at your bulletin board very soon.

[e-mail] 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!