End of 2010/11 - Start of 2011/12 Rankings

Here it is finally.


300: Peter Crouch - England - Tottenham to Stoke -64
299: Holger Badstuber - Germany - Bayern München NEW
298: Tom Huddlestone - England - Tottenham -151
297: Kevin Grosskreutz - Germany - Dortmund NEW
296: Daniel Sturridge - England - Chelsea - NEW
295: Chiek Tiote - Ivory Coast - Newcastle - NEW
294: Andrés D'Alessandro - Argentina - Internacional - NEW
293: Youssuf Mulumbu - Congo - WBA - NEW
292: Kevin Doyle - Ireland - Wolverhampton
291: Lewis Holtby- Germany-Mainz to Schalke 04 - Down 1
290: Gary Cahill - England - Bolton - New

289: Sebastian Giovinco - Italy - Parma - NEW
288: Joey Barton - England - Newcastle to QPR - NEW
287: Stuart Holden - USA - Bolton - NEW
286: Marcel Schmelzer - Germany - Dortmund - NEW
285: Nicolas Otamendi - Argentina - FC Porto
284: Rafael - Brazil - Manchester United - Down 77
283: Robert Lewandowski - Poland - Dortmund
282: Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Ukraine - Bayern München - Down 52
281: Chris Smalling - England - Manchester United - NEW
280: Gonzalo Castro - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen - Up 44

279: Cacau - Germany - VfB Stuttgart
278: James Rodriguez - Colombia - FC Porto
277: Clint Dempsey - USA - Fullham
276: Andres Guardado - Mexico - La Coruna - Down 98
275: Andy Carroll - England - Liverpool - Down 46
274: Pablo Daniel Osvaldo - Espanyol to Roma - NEW
273: Neven Subotic - Serbia - Dortmund - NEW
272: Philippe Mexès - France - Roma to Milan - NEW
271: Miroslav Klose - Germany - Bayern München to Lazio - Down 36
270: Gonzalo Rodriguez - Argentina - Villarreal

269: Antonio Reyes - Spain - Atletico Madrid - Up 7
268: Thiago Motta - Italy - Inter - NEW
267: Leighton Baines - England - Everton - NEW
266: Freddy Guarin - Colombia - FC Porto - NEW
265: Kevin Prince Boateng - Ghana - Milan - Up 11
264: Deco - Portugal - Fluminese - Up 2
263: Sven Bender - Germany - Dortmund - Up 28
262: Kim Källström - Sweden - Lyon - Up 14
261 Gerrardo Torrado - Mexico - Cruz Azul - Up 48
260: Jose Manuel Jurado - Spain - Schalke 04 - Down 49

259: Marco Borriello - Italy - Roma - Down 45
258: Domenico Criscito - Italy - Genoa - Up 20
257: Asamoah Gyan - Ghana - Sunderland - Down 72
256 Giovani dos Santos - Mexico - Tottenham - Up 1
255: Lee Chung Young - South Korea - Bolton - Down 15
254: Landon Donovan - USA - LA Galaxy - Up 5
253: Fabio Quagliarella - Italy - Juventus - Up 18
252: Alvaro Arbeloa - Spain - Real Madrid - New
251: Bobby Zamora - England - Fullham - New
250: Marcos Senna - Spain - Villarreal - Down 72

249: Arda Turan - Turkey - Galatasaray - down 44
248: Juan - Brazil - Roma - Up 27
247: Diego Lugano - Uruguay - PSG
246: Darijo Srna - Croatia - Shaktar Donetsk - Down 49
245: Diego Perotti - Argentina - Sevilla - Down 39
244: Christian Eriksen - Denmark - Ajax - NEW
243: Andrea Cossu - Italy - Cagliari - Up 48
242: Moussa Sissoko - France - Toulose - No change
241: Lukas Podolski - Germany - FC Köln - Up 44
240: Mauricio Isla - Chile - Udinese

239: Park Chu Young - South Korea - Monaco to Arsenal Up 26
238: Jaroslav Plasil - Czech Republic - Bordeaux - Up 61
237: Steven Pienaar - South Africa - Tottenham - Down 94
236: Juan Sebastian Veron-Argentina-Estudiantes- Up 10
235: Mathieu Valbuena - France - Marseille - Down 35
234: Antonio Nocerino - Italy - Palermo - New
233: Gabi - Spain - Zaragoza to Atletico Madrid - New
232: Zvjezdan Misimovic - Dynamo Moscov - Down 79
231: Yuri Zhirkov - Russia - Chelsea - Down 45
230: Nicolas Gaitan - Argentina - Benfica NEW

229: Alex - Brazil - Fenerbahce - New
228: Andre Pierre Gignac - France - Marseille - Down 13
227: Abou Diaby - France - Arsenal - Down 42
226: Renato Augosto - Brazil - Leverkusen - New
225: Alessandro Nesta - Italy - Milan - Down 13
224: Jadson - Brazil - Shaktar Donetsk - NEW
223: Jeremy Toulalan - France - Lyon - Down 28
222: Alberto Gilardino - Italy - Fiorentina - Down 39
221: Bruno Alves - Portugal - Zenit - Down 3
220: Marvin Martin - France - Sochaux - New

219: Aaron Ramsey - Wales - Arsenal - New
218: Lucas - Brazil - Sao Paolo - New
217: Douglas Costa - Brazil - Shakhtar Donetsk - New
216: Ivan Rakitić - Croatia - Sevilla - Up 66
215: Mamadou Sakho - France - PSG - New
214: Adil Rami - France - Lille - New
213: Moussa Sow - Senegal - Lille - Up 49
212: Alexandr Kerzhakov - Russia - Zenit - Up 51
211: Charles N'Zogbia - France - Wigan to Aston Villa Down 26
210: Oscar Cardozo - Paraguay - Benfica - Up 6


209: Aaron Lennon - England - Tottenham - Down 107
208: Roman Pavluchenko - Russia - Tottenham - Up 2
207: Roberto Soldado - Spain - Valencia - Up 62
206: Luiz Gustavo - Brazil - Bayern München - Down 27
205: Papiss Cisse - Senegal - Freiburg - Up 45
204: Jose Bosingwa - Portugal - Chelsea - Down 38
203: Josip Ilicic - Slovenia - Palermo - Up 4
202: Adam Johnson - England - Manchester City- Down 39
201: Loic Remy - France - Marseille - Down 49
200: Michael Ballack - Germany - Leverkusen - Down 68

199: Alberto Aquilani -Italy -Liverpool/Juventus to Milan- Down 79
198: Humberto Suazo - Chile - Monterrey - Down 7
197: Marouane Chamakh - Marocco - Arsenal (Down 117)
196: Mamadou Niang - Senegal - Fenerbahce - Down 8
195: Simao - Portugal - Besiktas - Down 72
194: Jordan Henderson - England - Sunderland - Up 32
193: Konstantin Zyryanov - Russia - Zenit (Down 50)
192: Michael Dawson - England - Tottenham (NEW
191: Francesco Totti - Italy - Roma - Down 3
190: Gareth Barry - England - Manchester City - Down 50

189: Theo Walcott - England - Arsenal (Up 14)
188: Goran Pandev - Macedonia - Inter to Napoli (Down 34)
187: Ze Roberto - Brazil - Hamburger SV (Down 22)
186: Alou Diarra - France - Bordeaux (Down 9)
185: Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica - Twente - Up 32
184: Thiago Alcântara - Spain - Barcelona - NEW
183: Ivica Olic - Croatia - Bayern München
182: Charlie Adam - Scotland - Blackpool (New)
181: Bruno Soriano - Spain -Villarreal (Up 59)
180: Danny - Portugal - Zenit - (Up 21)

179: Juan Manuel Vargas - Peru - Fiorentina (Up 26)
178: Frederic Kanoute - Mali - Sevilla (Down 45)
177: Scott Parker - England - West Ham (Down 18)
176: Darren Bent - England - Sunderland (Up 19)
175: Balázs Dzsudzsák - Hungary - PSV to Anzhi Makhachkala (New)
174: Joaquin - Spain - Valencia to Malaga (Down 120)
173: Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Netherlands - Schalke 04 (Down 41)
172: Stefan Kiessling - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen (Up 72)
171: Jeremy Menez - France - Roma (Up 7)
170: Jan Vertonghen - Belgium - Ajax ¨(Up 91)

169: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Argentina - Napoli (Up 6)
168: James Milner - England - Manchester City (Down 21)
167: Miralem Pjanic - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Lyon to Roma (Down 76)
166: Andrei Arshavin - Russia - Arsenal -62
165: Alvaro Negredo - Spain - Sevilla (Up 6)
164: Michel Bastos - Brazil - Lyon (Down 77)
163: Mario Balotelli - Italy - Manchester City (Down 77)
162: Elano - Brazil - Santos (Up 5)
161: Alessandro Matri - Italy - Juventus (New)
160: Jefferson Farfan - Peru - Schalke 04 (Down 3)

159: Antonio Cassano - Italy - Milan (Down 45)
158: Carlos Puyol - Spain - Barcelona (Down 53)
157: John Terry - England - Chelsea (Down 50)
156: Marko Marin - Germany - Werder Bremen (Down 35)
155: Simon Rolfes - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen (Up 41
154: Yann M'Vila - France - Rennes (Up 87
153: Sandro - Brazil - Tottenham (New)
152: Ganso - Brazil - Santos (Down 60)
151: Tim Cahill - Australia - Everton -19
150: Thomas Vermaelen - Belgium - Arsenal - Down 30


149: Marouane Fellaini - Belgium - Everton (Down 57)
148: Claudio Marchisio - Italy - Juventus (Down 22)
147: Toni Kroos - Germany - Bayern München (Down 38)
146: Dejan Stankovic - Serbia - Inter (Down 4)
145: Raul - Spain - Schalke 04 (Up 64)
144: Lass Diarra - France - Real Madrid (Up 19)
143: Javi Martinez - Spain - Athletic Bilbao +15
142: Jon Obi Mikel - Nigeria - Chelsea (Up 57)
141: Nigel De Jong - Netherlands - Manchester City
140: Nene - Brazil - PSG (New)


139: Nilmar - Brazil - Villarreal (Down 24)
138: Keisuke Honda - Japan - CSKA Moscov (Down 12)
137: Milos Krasic - Serbia - Juventus (Down 24)
136: Branislav Ivanovic - Serbia - Chelsea (Down 32)
135: Theo Janssen - Netherlands - Twente to Ajax (New
134: Anderson - Brazil - Manchester United - Down 53
133: Andre Ayew - Ghana - Marseille (Up 39)
132: Alex Song - Cameroun - Arsenal -27
131: Mark Van Bommel - Netherlands - Milan (Up 15)
130: Gokhan Inler - Switzerland - Udinese (Up 131)

129: Borja Valero - Spain - Villarreal (Up 40)
128: Lucas Leiva - Brazil - Liverpool +9
127: Shinji Kagawa - Japan - Dortmund -4
126: Marco Reus - Germany - Mönchengladbach (Up 93)
125: Andre Schürrle - Germany - Mainz to Leverkusen (Up 141)
124: Ji Sung Park - South Kora - Manchester United (Up 6)
123: Mirko Vucinic - Montenegro - Roma (Down 25)
122: Kevin Gameiro - France - Lorient to PSG (New)
121: Luis Fabiano - Brazil - Sevilla to Sao Paulo (Down 65)
120: David Luiz - Brazil - Benfica to Chelsea (Up 70)

119: Mats Hummels - Germany - Dortmund (Up 123)
118: Paul Scholes - England - Manchester United (retiring) (Down 46)
117: Stevan Jovetic - Montenegro - Fiorentina (Down 37)
116: Mikel Arteta - Spain - Everton (Down 34)
115: Ashley Young - England - Aston Villa to Manchester United (No change)
114: Yohan Cabaye - France - Lille to Newcastle (Up 30)
113: Raul Meirelles - Portugal - Liverpool (Up 73)
112: Darren Fletcher - Scotland-Manchester United (Down 31)
111: Ibrahim Afellay - Netherlands - Barcelona (Up 8)
110: Riccardo Montolivo - Italy - Fiorentina (Up 77)

109: Robinho - Brazil - Milan (Down 49)
108: Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo - Manchester City?/Real Madrid (Up 21)
107: Ryan Giggs - Wales - Manchester United (Up 55)
106: Michael Carrick - England - Manchester United (Up 7)
105: Giorgio Chiellini - Italy - Juventus (Down 18)
104: Patrice Evra - France - Manchester United (-18)
103: Gerard Pique - Spain - Barcelona Up 21
102: Lucio - Brazil - Inter (Down 5)
101: Vincent Kompany - Belgium - Manchester City (Up 76)
100: Eric Abidal - France - Barcelona (New)

99: Sami Khedira - Germany - Real Madrid (Down 46)
98: Thiago Silva - Brazil - Milan (Up 36)
97: Ricardo Carvalho - Portugal - Real Madrid (Down 9)
96 Diego - Brazil - Wolfsburg to ? (-21)
95 Dirk Kuyt - Netherlands - Liverpool (+16)
94 Fabio Coentrao - Portugal - Benfica to Real Madrid (-8)
93 Javier Zanetti - Argentina - Inter (-18)
92 Pepe - Portugal - Real Madrid (+39)
91 Gervinho - Ivory Coast - Lille (+58)
90 Marcelo - Brazil - Real Madrid (+58)

89 Ever Banega - Argentina - Valencia (-38)
88 David Pizarro - Chile - Roma (+12)
87 Jack Wilshere - England - Arsenal (+72)
86 Javier Mascherano - Argentina - Barcelona (-4)
85 Giampaolo Pazzini - Italy - Sampdoria to Inter (+87)
84 Rio Ferdinand - England - Manchester United (+1)
83 Bacary Sagna - France - Arsenal (+22)
82 Sergio Ramos - Spain - Real Madrid (+20)
81 Jesus Navas - Spain - Sevilla (-16)
80 Javier Pastore - Argentina - Palermo (+11)

79 Joao Moutinho - Portugal - FC Porto (+16)
78 Philipp Lahm - Germany - Bayern München (-16)
77 Fernando Torres - Spain - Liverpool (-61)
76 Seydou Keita - Mali - Barcelona (No change)
75 Ashley Cole - England - Chelsea (-12)
74 Florent Malouda - France - Chelsea (-42)
73 Yoann Gourcuff - France - Lyon (-39)
72 Nicolas Anelka - France - Chelsea (-30)
71 Lucho Gonzalez - Argentina - Marseille (-31)
70 Nemanja Vidic - Serbia - Manchester United (+13)

69 Esteban Cambiasso - Argentina - Inter (-39)
68 Antonio Valencia - Ecuador - Manchester United (+26)
67 Lucas Barrios - Paraguay - Dortmund (+4)
66 Neymar - Brazil - Santos (+59)
65 Mikel Essien - Ghana - Chelsea (-35)
64 Alexis Sanchez - Chile -Udinese to Barcelona (+90)
63 Diego Milito - Argentina - Inter (-6)
62 Diego Forlan - Uruguay - Atletico Madrid to (-46)
61 Andrea Pirlo - Italy - Milan to Juventus (-1)
60 Ramires - Brazil - Chelsea (+8)

59 Hulk - Brazil - FC Porto (+83)
58 Daniele De Rossi - Italy - Roma (-3)
57 Fernando Llorente - Spain - Athletic Bilbao (+20)
56 Mario Götze - Germany - Dortmund (+110
55 Maicon - Brazil - Inter (-20)
54 Arturo Vidal - Chile - Bayer Leverkusen to Juventus (+63)
53 Santi Cazorla - Spain - Villarreal (-7)
52 Mario Gomez - Germany - Bayern München +18
51 Juan Manuel Mata - Spain - Valencia (+3)
50 Edin Dzeko - Bosnia/Herzegovina - Manchester City (-40)


49: Radamel Falcao - Colombia - FC Porto (+135)
48 Hernanes - Brazil - Lazio -5
47 Karim Benzema - France - Real Madrid (+19)
46 Gareth Bale - Wales - Tottenham
45 Sergio Busquets - Spain - Barcelona +28
44 Pedro - Spain - Barcelona +15
43 Eden Hazard - Belgium - Lille +23
42 Javier Hernandez - Mexico - Manchester +108
41 Kaka - Brazil - Real Madrid -16
40 Marek Hamsik - Slovakia - Napoli -14

39 Antonio Di Natale - Italy - Udinese +57
38 Dimitar Berbatov - Bulgaria - Manchester United +35
37 Alexandre Pato - Brazil - Milan +9
36 Dani Alves - Brazil - Barcelona -3
35 Thomas Müller - Germany - Bayern München -7
34 Robin Van Persie - Netherlands - Arsenal +15
33 Rafael Van der Vaart - Netherlands - Tottenham +13
32 Lisandro Lopez - Argentina - Lyon +6
31 Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany - Bayern München -14
30 Edinson Cavani - Uruguay - Napoli +48

29 Nani - Portugal - Manchester United +20
28 Angel Di Maria - Argentina - Real Madrid -6
27 Nuri Sahin - Turkey - Dortmund +21
26 Steven Gerrard - England - Liverpool -3
25 Gonzalo Higuain - Argentina - Real Madrid -7
24 Frank Lampard - England - Chelsea -3
23 Giuseppe Rossi - Italy - Villarreal +50
22 Yaya Tore - Ivory Coast - Manchester City +6
21 Samir Nasri - France - Arsenal +22
20 David Villa - Spain - Barcelona -12

19 Didier Drogba - Ivory Coast - Chelsea -6
18 Franck Ribery - France - Bayern München +18
17 David Silva - Spain - Manchester City +16
16 Wesley Sneijder - Netherlands - Inter -4
15 Luka Modric - Croatia -Tottenham +22
14 Mesut Özil - Germany - Real Madrid +3
13 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden - Milan -2
12 Sergio Aguero - Argentina - Atletico Madrid -2
11 Luis Suarez - Uruguay - Ajax +49

10 Xabi Alonso - Spain - Real Madrid +1
9 Arjen Robben - Netherlands - Bayern München +10
8 Samuel Eto'o - Cameroun - Inter
7 Cesc Fabregas - Spain - Arsenal -2
6 Carlos Tevez - Argentina - Manchester City +2
5 Wayne Rooney - England - Manchester United +6
4 Andrés Iniesta - Spain - Barcelona
3 Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal - Real Madrid -1
2 Xavi - Spain - Barcelona +1
1 Lionel Messi - Argentina - Barcelona

Daniel Sturridge

End of 2010/11 start of 2011/12:

296


Some bad decision making and severely lack of team work at Bolton I thought, his goals somewhat flattering his efforts, but with real one-on-one quality through skill and athleticism there is no doubt the tools are in place to become a star.

For Chelsea he looks like the best option as the right-forward in Villas Boas 4-3-3 (you only have to look at what happened with Hulk and Porto last season to see how huge that role can be) and if Sturridge can improve some of his weaker areas to go with the pure goalscoring there is no doubt he will rocket up the list in only a matter of time.

Kevin Grosskreutz

End of 2010/11 start of 2011/12:

297

It's easy to overlook someone like Grosskreutz shortcomings when his team is performing like a well oiled machine around him mostly bringing out his very best qualities masquerading the weak points.

I loved his work without the ball in Dortmund's fantastic Bundesliga conquering season.
The runs at the receiving end of combinations, transition or just great balls from Sahin creating chances and then all the tenacious pressing defensively. Quite simply great work from him last season, but when things run less smoothly (not getting the ball in great positions) the technical limitations are there for all to see and Grosskreutz will look far too clumsy and slow for a top player on the wing.

Holger Badstuber

End of 2010/11 start of 2011/12:

299

All-round talent was apparent right from the start. Badstuber seemingly has all the tools for a high level modern day defender but understandably the first couple of years where he was caught in limbo between centre and left-back saw some error-prone times.

The future definitely looks to be in the in centre where compared to the average he is both fast and skilled (at left-back not so much) which is very important at Bayern where his great start to the season (indicating he's taking the next step upwards and it's been coming) sees him debuting on the list.

Peter Crouch

The 300 best players in the world

End of 2010/11 start of 2011/12:

300

Here is what I commented about Crouch following the 2010/11 season:

I don't know if Crouch is even a positive for Spurs at this point.

Sure he will create some problems and the partnership with Van der Vaart resulted in a lot of goals (for VDV that is) but overall, for the team, with the talent that it has, you can't help feeling there would be more goals in other ways than over-relying on a really tall reasonably skilled guy up front who individually isn't much of a threat.

Becoming (if he isn't already) a liability.

Then in good news for Tottenham before the summer transfer window closed he moved to Stoke who in my opinion definitely overpaid for him (within their style the also expensive but much more athletic Jones who they added the season before can do better damage) even if at first glance he is a good fit with his height on a team heavily relying on winning the so called second-balls which there will be tons of when you're aiming for Crouch.

I won't categorically claim he'll be definitive negative for Stoke, but to remain on the list the amount of positive coming from him will have to surprise me.