José Callejón

Real Madrid

Winger/Attacking midfielder/Forward - Spain

2010/2011 MID-SEASON RANKING: Not ranked

End of 2010/11 - Start of 2011/12: Not ranked

2011/2012 MID-SEASON RANKING:

291


Well, I'm not really decided one way or the other when it comes to this player currently, but I'm definitely apprehensive about excluding someone getting more and more playing time on what is clearly one of the strongest teams in the world.

It's funny though, because I don't think Callejon was seen as anything really special at Espanyol or for that matter did anything truly special, but while other players in similar situations in recent times, like Sergio Canales the much hyped Spanish wonderkid or the well respected and proven La Liga winger Pedro Leon, were both harshly kicked off the Madrid bench and found basically useless, not worthy of minutes at all, by Mourinho, Callejon of all people (with the help of some injuries of course) has been getting a good amount of playing time, not least in the Champions League where he rewarded the confidence being shown with some good performances, and just last week (at the time of writing), even started a crucial knockout game away is Russia playing CSKA.

Overall I see some good technique and skill. Some pace and perhaps most importantly some good off the ball movement expertly cutting in behind and between defenders from the right-wing, finding space, and he's used those abilities to take advantage of the luxury that is, being surrounded by a lot of excellent players.

The final question, and what will determine in large part his future rankings, is if he is really more than "just" a good useful roleplayer at the right time in the right place? I think it's a real possibility, and that alone is a good argument for his inclusion.

Karim Benzema

Real Madrid

Striker - France



Original 200 writeup:

Benzema is one of the most naturally gifted strikers in the world. Strength combined with pace and considerable skills with upside.

So much so that I think he is someone who with a good next season under his belt could jump as much as 20 something places up the list. If not more.

However apart from very few exceptions (exceptions mostly having in common being universally recognized top 10-15 players in the world not long ago) almost everyone still to go on the list will be coming of either one outstanding season (in my eyes at least) or at least two very good ones playing at a very high level.

And for Benzema, despite all the tools being in place, last season did just abruptly put a stop sign to that.
Now I'm sure that's only in place temporarily and in just a matter of time with force he will run that sign over.

In many ways like with Gomez there is no shame either in losing playing time when the competition consists of other excellent players. One of them even, Higuain who with his finesse contra Benzema's physicality, had every condition in place for a great breakthrough season, both in terms of strength of teammates around him compared to the general opposition faced, and coach Manuel Pelligrini's tactics suiting finesse rather than power.

But who is to say that at some point that won't be reversed under new coach Mourinho?

They're definitely two completely different coaches and even if that reversal of fortunes doesn't materialize exactly, I will be very surprised if Benzema won't be much more of a factor this season under Mourinho than he was for Pelligrini.

The 300 update:

Mourinho went with Higuain and went with Higuain almost all of the time.

Part Higuain playing great enough to never open the door. Part Mourinho insisting on the virtual same starting 11 over and over early, to create the needed chemistry right off the bat to try and keep up with a Barcelona team with all the chemistry in the world.

Higuain did suffer an injury recently which duly meant starts for Benzema, where he showed the kind of talent that he has.

He is kind of too good to play that much of a second fiddle, to anyone almost, but until Real Madrid have another very good striker as the Higuain alternative, it's difficult to see him leave.

Lass Diarra

Real Madrid

Midfielder - France



Original 200 writeup:

Lass was higher on the list originally but while his team dominated most games he managed to still have an uneven season eventually losing his place to Fernando Gago.

A lot of that was injury related of course but then to turn matters into a whole new kind of worse, just before the World Cup it was announced that Diarra was requiring significant rest dropping out of the France squad (if early reports had not been as serious as they were, in retrospect then perhaps you could call this a blessing in disguise!) due to suffering severe intestinal pain and stomach cramps.

A second test in Madrid revealed that Diarra's injury was due to asthenic syndrome secondary related to sickle-cell anemia, a genetic blood disorder characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape.

Bad enough to raise serious questions about his career. The latest however is that he is training with the rest of the squad preparing for the new season ready to go and in a recent interview, he talks about putting this season behind him and his burning ambition of proving himself as a true Real Madrid player.

When at his best Diarra more than anyone is compared and actually resembles Claudio Makelele in playing style.

Both with the ball, passing and controlling it they look similar and even the way he uses his quickness and small but strong frame to win the ball from an opponent brings back memories of Makelele at his best.

You could say he still lacks some consistency, but for most of last season after being promising for a while, he was very good, then this season was when he was supposed to take the last step as without a doubt one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
I know my early ranking had him down as one of those, this one as well to a lesser extent, but there are some question marks now and it's not given if in a year he would be ranked better or worse than this.

Hopefully better but most importantly, hopefully with his good health intact.

The 300 update:

Real Madrid strengthened and stacked with top players (and Jose Mourinho) are so far, and despite an 0-5 embarresment at the Nou Camp it shows no signs of stopping, even more dominating in La Liga this season.

It's been mostly without Lass Diarra though, who's spot as Xabi Alonso's permanent central midfield partner has been won by the very impressive Khedira.

Mourinho so far has also elected to not rotate the squad at all, sticking game in and game out, with virtually the same starting 11.

That has clearly paid dividends in the form of early chemistry for a lot of new players and new coach (something arguably very much needed to try and keep up with Barcelona) but of course also, some heavy workload for key players and unusually little playing time for some very good players on the bench. Including of course Diarra.

The real test for Mourinho's squad management will come later, not least during the Champions League knockout games where Real Madrid will look to do a lot better than in recent years and at the same time a continuous epic two horse race at home where no letting up can be afforded.

Mario Balotelli

Manchester City

Forward - Italy



Original 200 writeup:

In record time one of the most controversial players in Italy who right from day one almost has found himself caught up in often very negative attention from the surroundings. Fans, coaches, fellow players and media, take you pick, feeling all provoked.

How much of that is the color of his skin and how much of that is his personality, or both, is a discussion for another time, I'll focus instead of what is the 19 year old's astronomical talent for which the sky seems to be the only limit.

Balotelli probably has the best size/pace combination-potential out of anyone. That alone of course is massive and can lead to greatness.
He is big and technical enough to at some point develop into an excellent box presence and he is more than fast enough with and without the ball to take advantage (and find for himself even) space anywhere on the pitch.
So far due to Mourinho's mostly 4-3-3 tactics it's the latter taking place on the wing that's been more common and often impressive enough in itself, but I think it's once we'll see him more as a striker (whether second or centre-forward) instead of wide, that the real magic will start to happen.

The only thing still lacking there is bit too much of a winger mentality sometimes, even when central, where he doesn't always play up to his size so to speak and gets out muscled where he really shouldn't and either goes down or give up. Even if it will often result in a foul, which is rarely a bad thing no matter how unpopular, I think he could play stronger.

There is also no reason for him not to start improving in the air where he should have all it takes to become a dangerous weapon as well.

As a wide forward on the attacking front there are really few complaints. His work rate could be better, as well as his decision making, actually that's more general weaknesses, but his pace and technique overall makes him very good out there.

It's defensively that he just can't do what Mourinho wants from his wide forwards and more than anything it's that which has often kept him out of the 4-2-1-3 starting lineups, where especially against good teams Mourinho wants that fluidly to transform into a 4-5-1 when defending then right back when attacking, and Balotelli like many others before him, for Chelsea as well as Inter, tried and tested by Mourinho, overall was a hindrance to that working on a high enough level. At least the very high level needed to win a treble.

It's sometimes blurred by his erratics but another very positive sign I'm seeing from Balotelli adding to his athletic gifts, is some real final third creativity. I don't know if he picked it up from Ibrahimovic or what, but he does seem to have some real playmaking ability expressed through delicate touches and passes setting up teammates.

Also worth noting of course is his powerful shot.

So if one was to sum it all up, technically and athletically Balotelli is a very good player already and with upside since he'll only get stronger, but predictably enough for a 19 year old and perhaps especially for one under such scrutiny, and unique pressure you could say, the holes in his game are all mental related.
How, when and if that area will improve is another impossible discussion but hopefully it's more maturity related, than it is unwelcome surroundings unwilling to change that are holding him back.


The 300 update:

Not surprisingly Balotelli is off to a turbulent start at his new home in England.

There have been times he's shown a very high level and other times where it's been pretty dismal.

Injuries and suspensions already haven't helped either and for the time being it looks like Balotelli's biggest challenge will be to control his temper in the Premier League environment. Not least when it comes to not getting the freekicks he normally did, his short patience has really been put to the test. A test failed too often.

Then there is his partnership with key player Tevez who likes to move around a lot. Balotelli needs to take better advantage of the space that leaves, especially in attacking the box without the ball. Out wide he is fine but box play could be better.

Ricardo Carvalho

Real Madrid

Defender - Portugal

2010/2011 Mid-season: 91
End of 2010/11 - Start of 2011/12: 97
2011/2012 Mid-season: 160
End of 2011/12 - Start of 2012/13: 226

End of 2011/12 - Start of 2012/13:

This is almost certainly Carvalho's final appearance on the list and he was only still included because I thought, someone who once upon a time, for some period at least, probably was the best defender in the world, deserved one last chance. It's possible he would have received that chance (to play) had he switched clubs, but he decided to stay instead, even though Mourinho had made it very clear he wouldn't feature anymore, and continue to collect his very healthy pay check. Not that I blame him at all. That would be absurd. In many ways it's just Real Madrid here, paying up for what can sometimes be a negative consequence of Mourinho's win-now, ignore the long-term, mentality They invested in a proven veteran with his best years behind him, and even though Carvalho did contribute some before he fell off a cliff this season, I think it's to say they could have invested a lot better.

At his best, which I at least touch upon in the 2009/10 ramble down below, Carvalho had the pace in his legs and superb defensive instincts to defend impressive amount of space, whether it was pushing up (or for that matter recovering tracking back if that was needed) in a higher defensive line making superbly timed interventions or playing garbage man in the box. Basically he was both a great pro-active defender with the ability to be a cornerstone in a more aggressive team-defense as well as hold his own very well being more reactive in and around the box, which in England, with many teams playing very direct, and more long balls, is of substantial value.
He also had what I would describe as glue-like Ciro Ferrara agility and strength in his man-marking  and during his best years for Porto and Chelsea few defenders shut attackers more effectively out of a game than Carvalho.

As his ranking-history would also suggest every year, injuries and age, haven taken their toll and kept removing some of that very ability and then sadly in 2011/12 we saw the culmination where he just looked like he had totally lost everything and was a disaster waiting to happen virtually every minute of play.

2009/10

(shared ranking with Rio Ferdinand):

The long awaited final shared ranking sees perhaps the two most gifted central defenders come together. At their best they're probably still the best at their position, but especially for Ferdinand bad health this season has meant that he just hasn't been able to contribute like the final remaining defenders ahead of him.

Carvalho has played more, yet not nearly as much as for an example his partner in the Chelsea defense. I also think Carvalho when playing, unlike Ferdinand mostly, is showing a little bit of decline from his previous lofty standards.

Their respective gifts are of course very different. Ferdinand can dominate like few others with his great physique and if at close range man-marking the opponent, he can be close to untouchable. Both on the ground and in the air. A testament of this is his seemingly non existent need to foul. He hasn't played many times this season, he has only featured in 13 Premier League games, but quite unbelievably in those he has only committed 2(!) fouls and in the previous two seasons only 13 in 24 and 35 games respectively. I tried looking at different good centrebacks and no one really came close to that tally. Committing the least fouls isn't the be all of being a great central defender and other factors are involved, just like with all stats in football, but it does say something at least, and if no one at the moment is even close it does strengthen Ferdinand's case as the best defender in the world when healthy.

Interestingly the closest I could find (didn't look that hard it has to be said) were Daniel Agger and Kolo Toure who also have had seasons with very few fouls. Toure with 17, 23 and 15 in at least 40 games the last three seasons. There is also Pique who in La Liga this season only committed very few fouls (15 in 29) but still averaged more than one per game last season and in the Champions League as well the last couple of years.

Ferdinand is of course also known for his sound technique and right from an early age taking that very much needed aspect for the modern defender to new standards for British centrebacks.

For Carvalho who's athletic ability definitely shouldn't be underestimated just cause he isn't big and strong like Ferdinand, but more than anything with Carvalho it's perhaps the best defensive instincts in the game that makes him so good. At his best he has close to flawless positioning, whether it's pushing up perfectly timing a defensive intervention or if it's staying back sticking, stylewise if anything, like great Italian catenaccio stoppers of the past to the attacker like he is human glue. More than any current defender he just glues his whole body almost to the attacking players doing anything needed to prevent opposition chances. At his best he always reminded me of my favorite Juventus defender Ciro Ferrara.

My only fear for Carvalho and why he is down here with Ferdinand despite playing more games is that sometimes he will overestimate agility and pace that perhaps isn't quite what it used to be and sometimes gamble a little bit too much. It's still rare though, but it happens.

It should also be noted that Carvalho also has very good technique with a good range of passing and good control when he is occasionally going forward.

2010/11 update:

Mourinho's favorite defender has joined up with his former manager at Real Madrid and in London they miss him.