World Football: Ranking the Top 10 Performers of the Season so Far
There is less than three months of football remaining and the title races around the world are all heating up. Manchester United and Arsenal are fighting for the league in England, Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain and AC Milan, Napoli and Inter in Italy.
There have been several ups and downs this season with some teams putting in great performances while some teams have struggled.
Great players always go a long way in leading their team to success and so far throughout Europe, some players have been on fire. They have led their team to success and have been pivotal in their team’s success.
Here is a look at the top 10 performers throughout Europe this season:
10: Shinji Kagawa
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A year ago, Shinji Kagawa was hardly known across the globe. But following his impressive performances with Borussia Dortmund he has established himself as an extremely talented player with a bright future ahead of him.
Now some may feel that he doesn’t warrant a place on this list but I beg to differ. The reason I have put him on the list is because of his meteoric rise to fame and the fact that he has propelled Borussia Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga and they are now the clear favorites to the lift the trophy despite all odds.
Kagawa has scored an extremely impressive 12 goals for the German side and he became fan favorite in his short spell at the club. He has slotted seamlessly into the Dortmund midfield and has formed impressive partnerships with several other players.
Kagawa might be injured right now, but his performances so far warrant him a place on this list.
9: Nani
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One year back, many were considering Nani as an extremely expensive mistake made by Sir Alex Ferguson. Fast forward to the present and he is one of the best players in the Premier League right now.
He is leading the assists chart with 13 and is on fire. He has grown as a player and is extremely effective nowadays. He is putting his pace to good use and is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the wings. He has put in several impressive performances and has chipped in with several key goals.
He is often getting into good goal-scoring positions and is taking on defenders and beating them. Nani has been one of Manchester United’s stars this season and is one of the reasons why they are leading the table right now.
He has used his pace, ball control and trickery to create space and put in good balls into the box for the strikers to attack. He has gone some way in justifying comparisons with compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo and is proving to be extremely influential for the Red Devils.
He has managed 10 goals this season and many of them have come in crunch situations.
8: Nemanja Vidic
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Nemanja Vidic has been, hands down, the best defender in the world this season and has established himself as one of the world’s best centre backs.
He has led Manchester United from the front and has been an absolute beast at the back. He has been rock solid and has hardly made any mistakes all season. Manchester United’s defense has been fantastic with him in it and he has formed a fearsome partnership with whomever he has played at the back.
Nemanja Vidic has always been a great defender, but this is his best season of all. He has made crucial interceptions at the back, he has been a force in the air and has snuffed out danger. Hardly anything has got past him all season and he has been one of the main reasons for Manchester United’s defensive solidity. He has been extremely impressive all season.
He was appointed as captain this season and he has led from the front. He has chipped in with crucial goals all season and has risen to the occasion whenever his club was in trouble.
7: Mario Gomez
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Many were quick to call him a flop last season after failing to really capture the form that propelled him to the limelight with Stuttgart. But how wrong could they be. Gomez has been running wild, in Europe as well as domestically
Gomez has silenced his critics and has been proving why Bayern broke the Bundesliga transfer record to sign him. He has already scored 28 goals this season and is currently leading the goalscoring charts in the Bundesliga.
While many of his strike counterparts have struggled to get on the score sheet on a regular basis, Gomez has found no difficulty in finding the net and is playing some great football.
He has scored several important goals for Bayern this season, including one against Inter Milan in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash to give Bayern an important lead.
Although Bayern have very little chances of winning the Bundesliga now, they have a chance to win the Champions League and to do that they will need a firing Mario Gomez to lead the attack.
6: Samir Nasri
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For some time now, Samir Nasri has been touted as the next Zidane. But it was only this season that he has started to show consistency to go with his skill.
He has been superb this season at Arsenal and has been one of the Premier League’s best players, if not the best. He rose to the occasion in the absence of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, as he scored some real beauties.
He has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season and has played some breathtaking football. He played in his preferred central role in Fabregas’s absence as he showed the creative aspect of his game. He thrived in the central role and has been Arsenal’s best player of the season. Even after Fabregas’s return, he has done well in the wings and looks like the real deal.
Several times he has inspired Arsenal to victory, scoring fantastic goals along the way. The match against Fulham showed the growing importance of Nasri to the team.
Nasri has been a real force for the Gunners this season and is finally fulfilling his immense potential and is proving to be the complete package.
5: Samuel Eto'o
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After a decent first season at Inter Milan, Samuel Eto’o has finally found his feet at Inter Milan. One of the few good things Rafael Benitez did at Inter Milan was bring out the best in the African.
Eto’o was simply unplayable at the start of the season, but has cooled down a bit since then. But he is still finding the net regularly. His scintillating performances saved then manager, Rafael Benitez, the blushes on more than one occasion.
He has found the net 27 times this season, 15 of them in the league. He has already overtaken his goal tally of 16 goals, which he managed last season. The poor form and injury to Diego Milito meant that the goalscoring burden fell on Eto’o’s shoulder. But he has been fantastic and has both scored and created goals for Inter.
If Eto’o can keep his rich goalscoring vein up, then Inter may just have a chance of winning the Scudetto for another season.
4: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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After falling out with Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola last season, Ibrahimovich orchestrated to move to Italian giants, A.C.Milan and the move has done wonders to reinvigorate his career. He is playing some great football and is silencing many of his critics with his selfless play.
Milan were in desperate need of a player who would add some real quality to an ageing Milan side and Ibrahimovich has been the answer to that call. Ibracadabra seems to be the spark they have been so badly missing. He has inspired Milan to the top of the Serie A and ever since his arrival, Milan have improved drastically.
After being labeled lazy and selfish last season, Ibrahimovich has shown that he is anything but that, as he continues to play tirelessly, scoring with aplomb and creating numerous chances. He has been playing great team football and has been superb in his link-up play.
He has scored 18 goals this season and has supplied with 10 assists which is a great number for a player who is supposed to be “selfish”.
He might have scored fewer goals when compared to other strikers around the world, his performances have been brilliant and the positive impact he has had on Milan is there for all to see. He has inspired Milan and is largely responsible for their good form.
He has established himself as one of the world’s deadliest strikers capable of influencing the game with one touch of his foot.
Milan have the option of making his deal permanent next year and, if he continues his scintillating run of form, they would do it gladly.
3: Cristiano Ronaldo
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One can sometimes get the feeling that Cristiano Ronaldo is single-handedly supporting Real Madrid’s title defense. Ronaldo has surely silenced many of his critics. He has been on fire this season and has scored for fun this season.
He has already scored 34 goals this season from 38 fixtures which is one more than what he managed the whole of last season. He has managed 12 assists and is putting in great performances.
In the absence of Gonzalo Higuain he emerged as Real Madrid’s main goal threat and was always looked at to deliver the goods. Ronaldo even scored four goals for the first time in his career against Racing Santander.
As the season has progressed, Madrid’s dependence on Ronaldo has increased and he has risen to the occasion and has delivered the goods and is keeping their title challenge afloat.
Despite the pressure of living up to his £80 million transfer fee, Ronaldo is delivering the goods and, right now, he is unstoppable.
2: Lionel Messi
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Most players in the world would struggle to score 41 goals in a single season, but Lionel Messi has already scored that very number from 36 games and there is still three months of football left.
This season, Messi has shown that he is, without a doubt, the best player in world football right now. He has run riot over opposition defenses and has always been at his best. He has scored 25 goals from 21 games in the Spanish La Liga.
But he’s not just scoring the goals, he is also creating them, as well. He has already 20 assists this season and there seems to be no holding him back. This year he won the Ballon d’Or for the second consecutive season.
This season, Pep Guardiola chose to play him in a more central role and he seems to be finding no problems wrecking havoc from any position he plays in. Whether it be against world-class defenses or against ordinary teams, there has been no stopping the phenomenon of Lionel Messi.
Messi’s statistics are close to unbelievable, and the only reason he is not first on the list is because at Barcelona he has the likes of Villa, Xavi and Iniesta around him.
1: Edinson Cavani
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Surprised? Don't be.
Signed by Napoli from Palermo in the summer, Edinson Cavani has been an absolute revelation for the Italian team who are currently second in the Serie A largely due to his goalscoring exploits. He has scored for fun at Napoli, notching up 27 goals in all competitions.
No one at the start of the season would have expected him to play so brilliantly. But at Napoli, he has been firing on all cylinders and is currently leading the race for the Golden Boot in Italy. He has notched up 20 goals in the Serie A and has scored another seven in Europe.
He has scored close to half of Napoli’s goals this season and they are just three points behind AC Milan in the Serie A. If Cavani can keep scoring like this, Napoli may have a chance of lifting their first Serie A since 1990.
Since his transfer, he has fit in seamlessly into the Napoli attack led by Hamsik and Lavezzi. He has thrived in his new club and after his recent performances it’s no surprise to see that a lot of big clubs have already set their sights on him.
If Cavani can continue his form, he has every chance of becoming the first Napoli player since the legend Maradona to win the Golden Boot.
Honorable Mentions
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Manuel Neuer
Carlos Tevez
Dimitar Berbatov
David Villa
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