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.

Update: The list so far

The rundown with thoughts on the various players is still slowly moving along here (scroll down a bit for Kevin Doyle getting things started or for the latest go to last page of the thread).

This is the end of 2010/11 start of 2011/12 list so far:

300: Kevin Doyle - Ireland - Wolverhampton - NEW
299: Juan Manuel Iturbe - Argentina - FC Porto - NEW
298: Romelu Lukaku - Belgium - Anderlecht - Down 82
297: Daniel Sturridge - England - Chelsea - NEW
296: Andrés D'Alessandro - Argentina - Internacional - NEW
295: Maxi Rodriguez - Argentina - Liverpool - NEW
294: Salomon Kalou - Ivory Coast - Chelsea - Down 74
293: Chiek Tiote - Ivory Coast - Newcastle - NEW
292: Andres Guardado - Mexico - La Coruna - Down 98
291: Joey Barton - England - Newcastle - NEW
290: Youssuf Mulumbu - Congo - WBA - NEW

289: Thiago Alcântara - Spain - Barcelona - NEW
288: Christian Eriksen - Denmark - Ajax - NEW
287: Lewis Holtby- Germany-Mainz to Schalke 04 - Down 1
286: Tom Huddlestone - England - Tottenham - Down 139
285: Sebastian Giovinco - Italy - Parma - NEW
284: Eren Derdiyok - Switzerland - Bayer Leverkusen - Down 52
283: Royston Drenthe - Netherlands - Hercules/Real Madrid - Down 56
282: Rafael - Brazil - Manchester United - Down 77
281: Peter Odemwingie - Nigeria - WBA - NEW
280: Marcel Schmelzer - Germany - Dortmund - NEW

279: Diego Godin - Uruguay - Atletico Madrid - Down 49
278: Peter Crouch - England - Tottenham - Down 42
277: Miroslav Klose - Germany - Bayern München - Down 42
276: Walter Gargano - Uruguay - Napoli - Down 78
275: Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Ukraine - Bayern München - Down 52
274: Andy Carroll - England - Liverpool - Down 46
273: Gonzalo Rodríguez - Argentina - Villarreal - NEW
272: Neven Subotic - Serbia - Dortmund - NEW
271: Johan Elmander - Sweden - Bolton - NEW
270: Philippe Mexès - France - Roma to Milan - NEW

269: Antonio Reyes - Spain - Atletico Madrid - Up 7
268: Stuart Holden - USA - Bolton - NEW
267: Thiago Motta - Italy - Inter - NEW
266: Sven Bender - Germany - Dortmund - Up 28
265: Kim Källström - Sweden - Lyon - Up 14
264: Cristian Zapata - Colombia - Udinese - NEW
263: Leighton Baines - England - Everton - NEW
262: Kevin Grosskreutz - Germany - Dortmund - NEW
261 Kevin Prince Boateng - Ghana - Milan - Up 11
260: Jimmy Briand - France - Lyon - Down 85

259: Marco Borriello - Italy - Roma - Down 45
258: Jose Manuel Jurado - Spain - Schalke 04 - Down 49
257: Domenico Criscito - Italy - Genoa - Up 20
256 Arda Turan - Turkey - Galatasaray - down 44
255: Park Chu Young - South Korea - Monaco - Up 26
254: Asamoah Gyan - Ghana - Sunderland - Down 72
253: Lee Chung Young - South Korea - Bolton - Down 15
252: Gonzalo Castro - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen - Up 44
251: Fabio Quagliarella - Italy - Juventus - Up 18
250: Bobby Zamora - England - Fullham - New

249: Gary Cahill - England - Bolton - New
248: Juan - Brazil - Roma - Up 27
247: Deco - Portugal - Fluminese - Up 2
246: Giovani dos Santos - Mexico - Tottenham - Up 1
245: Lukas Podolski - Germany - FC Köln - Up 44
244: Alvaro Arbeloa - Spain - Real Madrid - New
243: Andrea Cossu - Italy - Cagliari - Up 48
242: Moussa Sissoko - France - Toulose - No change
241: Gerrardo Torrado - Mexico - Cruz Azul - Up 48
240: Darijo Srna - Croatia - Shaktar Donetsk - Down 49

239: Diego Perotti - Argentina - Sevilla - Down 39
238: Jaroslav Plasil - Czech Republic - Bordeaux - Up 61
237: Renato Augosto - Brazil - Leverkusen - New
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: Landon Donovan - USA - LA Galaxy - Up 5
231: Zvjezdan Misimovic - Dynamo Moscov - Down 79
230: Yuri Zhirkov - Russia - Chelsea - Down 45

229: Alex - Brazil - Fenerbahce - New
228: Marcos Senna - Spain - Villarreal - Down 72
227: Steven Pienaar - South Africa - Tottenham - Down 94
226: Andre Pierre Gignac - France - Marseille - Down 13
225: Abou Diaby - France - Arsenal - Down 42
224: Alessandro Nesta - Italy - Milan - Down 13
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: Papiss Cisse - Senegal - Freiburg - Up 45
211: Roberto Soldado - Spain - Valencia - Up 62

210: Alexandr Kerzhakov - Russia - Zenit - Up 51
209: Oscar Cardozo - Paraguay - Benfica - Up 6
208: Roman Pavluchenko - Russia - Tottenham - Up 2
207: Jose Bosingwa - Portugal - Chelsea - Down 38
206: Luiz Gustavo - Brazil - Bayern München - Down 27
205: Josip Ilicic - Slovenia - Palermo - Up 4
204: Aaron Lennon - England - Tottenham - Down 107
203: Adam Johnson - England - Manchester City- Down 39
202: Charles N'Zogbia - France - Wigan - Down 26
201: Loic Remy - France - Marseille - Down 49
200: Michael Ballack - Germany - Leverkusen - Down 68

199: Alberto Aquilani -Italy -Liverpool/Juventus- Down 79
198: Anderson - Brazil - Manchester United - Down 80
197: Mamadou Niang - Senegal - Fenerbahce - Down 8
196: Humberto Suazo - Chile - Monterrey - Down 5
195: Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica - Twente - Up 32
194: Shinji Kagawa - Japan - Dortmund - Down 61
193: Simao - Portugal - Besiktas - Down 72
192: Thomas Vermaelen - Belgium - Arsenal - Down 51
191: Francesco Totti - Italy - Roma - Down 3
190: Gareth Barry - England - Manchester City - Down 50

189: Jordan Henderson - England - Sunderland - Up 37
188: Lucas Leiva - Brazil - Liverpool - Down 6
187: Michael Dawson - England - Tottenham (NEW)
186: Alou Diarra - France - Bordeaux (Down 9)
185: Theo Walcott - England - Arsenal (Up 18)
184: Kevin Nolan - England - Newcastle (Up 75)
183: Bruno Soriano - Spain -Villarreal (Up 58)
182: Charlie Adam - Scotland - Blackpool (New)
181: Juan Manuel Vargas - Peru - Fiorentina (Up 25)
180: Danny - Portugal - Zenit - (Up 21)

179: Frederic Kanoute - Mali - Sevilla (Down 45)
178: Scott Parker - England - West Ham (Down 18)
177: Darren Bent - England - Sunderland (Up 19)
176: Balázs Dzsudzsák - Hungary - PSV to Anzhi Makhachkala (New)
175: Ze Roberto - Brazil - Hamburger SV (Down 10)
174: Konstantin Zyryanov - Russia - Zenit (Down 36)
173: Goran Pandev - Macedonia - Inter (Down 34)
172: Yann M'Vila - France - Rennes (Up 81)
171: Marouane Chamakh - Marocco - Arsenal (Down 103)
170: Ganso - Brazil - Santos (Down 61)

169: Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Netherlands - Schalke 04 (Down 41)
168: Stefan Kiessling - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen (Up 72)
167: Jeremy Menez - France - Roma (Up 7)
166: Jan Vertonghen - Belgium - Ajax ¨(Up 91)
165: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Argentina - Napoli (Up 6)
164: Alvaro Negredo - Spain - Sevilla (Up 8)
163: Joaquin - Spain - Valencia to Malaga (Down 8)
162: James Milner - England - Manchester City (Down 15)
161: Miralem Pjanic - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Lyon (Down 70)
160: Mario Balotelli - Italy - Manchester City (Down 73)

159: Elano - Brazil - Santos (Up 5)
158: Alessandro Matri - Italy - Juventus (New)
157: Jefferson Farfan - Peru - Schalke 04 (Down 3)
156: Antonio Cassano - Italy - Milan (Down 45)
154: Carlos Puyol - Spain - Barcelona (Down 53)
153: John Terry - England - Chelsea (Down 50)
152: Simon Rolfes - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen (Up 41)
151: Michel Bastos - Brazil - Lyon (Down 63)
150: Sandro - Brazil - Tottenham (New)

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: Marko Marin - Germany - Werder Bremen (Down 29)
144: Lass Diarra - France - Real Madrid (Up 19)
142: Tim Cahill - Australia - Everton (Down 19)
142: Andre Ayew - Ghana - Marseille (Up 29)
141: Nene - Brazil - PSG (New)
140: Raul - Spain - Schalke 04 (Up 64)

139: Jon Obi Mikel - Nigeria - Chelsea (Up 57)
138: Keisuke Honda - Japan - CSKA Moscov (Down 12)
137: Milos Krasic - Serbia - Juventus (Down 24)
136: Theo Janssen - Netherlands - Twente to Ajax (New)
135: Nilmar - Brazil - Villarreal (Down 24)
134: Javi Martinez - Spain - Athletic Bilbao (Up 24)
133: Branislav Ivanovic - Serbia - Chelsea (Down 29)
132: Nigel De Jong - Netherlands - Manchester City (Down 1)
131: Alex Song - Cameroun - Arsenal (Down 24)
130: Mark Van Bommel - Netherlands - Milan (Up 15)

129: Gokhan Inler - Switzerland - Udinese (Up 131)
128: Borja Valero - Spain - Villarreal (Up 40)
127: Marco Reus - Germany - Mönchengladbach (Up 92)
126: Andre Schürrle - Germany - Mainz to Leverkusen (Up 140)
125: Andrei Arshavin - Russia - Arsenal (Down 46)
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: Gerard Pique - Spain - Barcelona Up 21
103: Lucio - Brazil - Inter (Down 5)
102: Vincent Kompany - Belgium - Manchester City (Up 76)
101: Thiago Silva - Brazil - Milan (Up 36)
100: Ricardo Carvalho - Portugal - Real Madrid (Down 9)

99: Sami Khedira - Germany - Real Madrid (Down 46)
98: Fabio Coentrao - Portugal - Benfica to Real Madrid (-8)
97: Pepe - Portugal - Real Madrid (+39)
96 Dirk Kuyt - Netherlands - Liverpool (+16)
95 Patrice Evra - France - Manchester United (-18)
94 Javier Zanetti - Argentina - Inter (-18)
93 Eric Abidal - France - Barcelona (New)
92 Mario Götze - Germany - Dortmund (+110)
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 Wilshire - 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 Diego - Brazil - Wolfsburg to ? (-21)
67 Antonio Valencia - Ecuador - Manchester United (+26)
66 Lucas Barrios - Paraguay - Dortmund (+4)
65 Alexis Sanchez - Chile -Udinese to Barcelona (+90)
64 Neymar - Brazil - Santos (+59)
63 Diego Milito - Argentina - Inter (-6)
62 Edin Dzeko - Bosnia/Herzegovina - Manchester City (-40)
61 Diego Forlan - Uruguay - Atletico Madrid to (-46)
60 Andrea Pirlo - Italy - Milan to Juventus (-1)

59 Mikel Essien - Ghana - Chelsea (-35)
58 Ramires - Brazil - Chelsea (+8)
57 Daniele De Rossi - Italy - Roma (-3)
56 Maicon - Brazil - Inter (-20)
55 Juan Manuel Mata - Spain - Valencia (+3)
54 Arturo Vidal - Chile - Bayer Leverkusen to Juventus (+63)
53 Santi Cazorla - Spain - Villarreal (-7)
52 Hulk - Brazil - FC Porto (+83)
51 Fernando Llorente - Spain - Athletic Bilbao (+20)
50 Karim Benzema - France - Real Madrid (+19)


49: Radamel Falcao - Colombia - FC Porto (+135)
48 Hernanes - Brazil - Lazio -5
47 Sergio Busquets - Spain - Barcelona +28
46 Mario Gomez - Germany - Bayern München +18
45 Eden Hazard - Belgium - Lille +23
44 Gareth Bale - Wales - Tottenham -15
43 Pedro - Spain - Barcelona +15
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 Lisandro Lopez - Argentina - Lyon +6
32 Rafael Van der Vaart - Netherlands - Tottenham +13
31 Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany - Bayern München -14
30 Edinson Cavani - Uruguay - Napoli +48

2010/2011 MID-SEASON RANKING

11th June:

The end of season 2010/11 start of season 2011/12 update is finished.

For anyone interested, there will be a marathon rundown presentation of the list here.

Once that's over with. The update will of course be posted right here.

June 9th:


Naturally I overdid it and ended up putting around 400 players in order, so the cut will be pretty brutal.

I can say that Aritz Aduriz the Valencia striker turned out to be the most unlucky one at the 301 spot dropping all of 77 places from the midseason ranks, and on that note I seriously doubt that he is even the biggest mover (whether it's up or down) but that's one of the few things I have left to do now. Keeping track of the exact change of all the placings and add it to the update.

July 10 I don't think I will have time to do much and probably not Sunday either (except maybe late) BUT let's say Saturday as the best case scenario and Monday as the absolute worst.

Almost there!


June 6th:

End of 2010/11 start of 2011/12 ranking of the 300 best players in the world update should be posted (very likely) later this week.

Also really hope gradually to be adding more text to the various players.

Thanks everyone for still visiting.

27th April:

One month later and even more changes+new entries to be made! The plan is to do an end of the season ranking which will at least stand the test of time until 2011/2012 is underway.

Some more individual writeups/updates or at least some 2010/2011 season resumes would also be nice, but let's see.

20th March 2011: There are already many changes to be made and an update is slowly coming along.



2010/2011 MID-SEASON RANKING:

1. Lionel Messi - Argentina - Barcelona
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal - Real Madrid
3. Xavi - Spain - Barcelona
4. Andrés Iniesta - Spain - Barcelona
5. Cesc Fabregas - Spain - Arsenal
6. Didier Drogba - Ivory Coast - Chelsea
7. Carlos Tevez - Argentina - Manchester City
8. Samuel Eto'o - Cameroun - Inter
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden - Milan
10. Xabi Alonso - Spain - Real Madrid

11. David Villa - Spain - Barcelona
12. Wayne Rooney - England - Manchester United
13. Wesley Sneijder - Netherlands - Inter
14. Sergio Aguero - Argentina - Atletico Madrid
15. Diego Forlan - Uruguay - Atletico Madrid
16. Fernando Torres - Spain - Liverpool
17. Mesut Özil - Germany - Real Madrid
18. Gonzalo Higuain - Argentina - Real Madrid
19. Frank Lampard - England - Chelsea
20. Arjen Robben - Netherlands - Bayern München

21. Angel Di Maria - Argentina - Real Madrid
22. Edin Dzeko - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Wolfsburg
23. Steven Gerrard - England - Liverpool
24. Mikel Essien - Ghana - Chelsea
25. Kaka - Brazil - Real Madrid
26. Marek Hamsik - Slovakia - Napoli
27. Yaya Tore - Ivory Coast - Manchester City
28. Thomas Müller - Germany - Bayern München
29. Gareth Bale - Wales - Tottenham
30. Esteban Cambiasso - Argentina - Inter

31.Sebastian Schweinsteiger - Germany - Bayern München
32. Florent Malouda - France - Chelsea
33. Dani Alves - Brazil - Barcelona
34. Yoann Gourcuff - France - Lyon
35. David Silva - Spain - Manchester City
36. Maicon - Brazil - Inter
37. Luka Modric - Croatia -Tottenham
38. Franck Ribery - France - Bayern München
39. Lisandro Lopez - Argentina - Lyon
40. Samir Nasri - France - Arsenal

41. Lucho Gonzalez - Argentina - Marseille
42. Nicolas Anelka - France - Chelsea
43. Hernanes - Brazil - Lazio
44. Santi Cazorla - Spain - Villarreal
45. Rafael Van der Vaart - Netherlands - Tottenham
46. Alexandre Pato - Brazil - Milan
47. Diego - Brazil - Wolfsburg
48. Nani - Portugal - Manchester United
49. Robin Van Persie - Netherlands - Arsenal
50. Nuri Sahin - Turkey - Dortmund

51. Ever Banega - Argentina - Valencia
52. Luis Suarez - Uruguay - Ajax
53. Sami Khedira - Germany - Real Madrid
54. Seydou Keita - Mali - Barcelona
55. Daniele De Rossi - Italy - Roma
56. Luis Fabiano - Brazil - Sevilla
57. Diego Milito - Argentina - Inter
58. Juan Mata - Spain - Valencia
59. Andrea Pirlo - Italy - Milan
60. Robinho - Brazil - Milan

61. Pedro - Spain - Barcelona
62. Philipp Lahm - Germany - Bayern München
63. Ashley Cole - England - Chelsea
64. Mario Gomez - Germany - Bayern München
65. Jesus Navas - Spain - Sevilla
66. Ramires - Brazil - Chelsea
67. Marouane Chamakh - Marocco - Arsenal
68. Eden Hazard - Belgium - Lille
69. Karim Benzema - France - Real Madrid
70. Lucas Barrios - Paraguay - Dortmund

71. Fernando Llorente - Spain - Athletic Bilbao
72. Paul Scholes - England - Manchester United
73. Dimitar Berbatov - Bulgaria - Manchester United
74. Giuseppe Rossi - Italy - Villarreal
75. Sergio Busquets - Spain - Barcelona
76. Javier Zanetti - Argentina - Inter
77. Patrice Evra - France - Manchester United
78. Edinson Cavani - Uruguay - Napoli
79. Andrei Arshavin - Russia - Arsenal
80. Stevan Jovetic - Montenegro - Fiorentina

81. Darren Fletcher - Scotland - Manchester United
82. Javier Mascherano - Argentina - Barcelona
83. Nemanja Vidic - Serbia - Manchester United
84. Mikel Arteta - Spain - Everton
85. Rio Ferdinand - England - Manchester United
86. Mario Balotelli - Italy - Manchester City
87. Giorgio Chiellini - Italy - Juventus
88. Miralem Pjanic - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Lyon
89. Michel Bastos - Brazil - Lyon
90. Fabio Coentrao - Portugal - Benfica

91. Ricardo Carvalho - Portugal - Real Madrid
92. Marouane Fellaini - Belgium - Everton
93. Antonio Valencia - Ecuador - Manchester United
94. Javier Pastore - Argentina - Palermo
95. Joao Moutinho - Portugal - FC Porto
96. Antonio Di Natale - Italy - Udinese
97. Aaron Lennon - England - Tottenham
98. Mirko Vucinic - Montenegro - Roma
99. Ivica Olic - Croatia - Bayern München
100. David Pizarro - Chile - Roma

101. Carlos Puyol - Spain - Barcelona
102. Sergio Ramos - Spain - Real Madrid
103. John Terry - England - Chelsea
104. Branislav Ivanovic - Serbia - Chelsea
105. Bacary Sagna - France - Arsenal
106. Ganso - Brazil - Santos
107. Alexandre Song - Cameroun - Arsenal
108. Lucio - Brazil - Inter
109. Toni Kroos - Germany - Bayern München
110. Antonio Cassano - Italy - Sampdoria

111. Nilmar - Brazil - Villarreal
112. Dirk Kuyt - Netherlands - Liverpool
113. Michael Carrick - England - Manchester United
114. Milos Krasic - Serbia - Juventus
115. Ashley Young - England - Aston Villa
116. Marko Marin - Germany - Werder Bremen
117. Arturo Vidal - Chile - Bayer Leverkusen
118. Anderson - Brazil - Manchester United
119. Ibrahim Afellay - Netherlands - Barcelona
120. Alberto Aquilani - Italy - Juventus

121. Claudio Marchisio - Italy - Juventus
122. Simao - Portugal - Atletico Madrid
123. Neymar - Brazil - Santos
124. Tim Cahill - Australia - Everton
125. Gerard Pique - Spain - Barcelona
126. Keisuke Honda - Japan - CSKA Moscov
127. Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Netherlands - Schalke 04
128. Andy Carroll - England - Newcastle
129. Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo - Manchester City
130. Ji Sung Park - South Kora - Manchester United

131. Nigel De Jong - Netherlands - Manchester City
132. Michael Ballack - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen
133. Steven Pienaar - South Africa - Everton
134. Frederic Kanoute - Mali - Sevilla
135. Hulk - Brazil - FC Porto
136. Pepe - Portugal - Real Madrid
137. Thiago Silva - Brazil - Milan
138. Konstantin Zyryanov - Russia - Zenit
139. Goran Pandev - Macedonia - Inter
140. Gareth Barry - England - Manchester City

141. Thomas Vermaelen - Belgium - Arsenal
142. Dejan Stankovic - Serbia - Inter
143. Shinji Kagawa - Japan - Dortmund
144. Yohan Cabaye - France - Lille
145. Mark Van Bommel - Netherlands - Bayern München
146. James Milner - England - Manchester City
147. Tom Huddlestone - England - Tottenham
148. Marcelo - Brazil - Real Madrid
149. Gervinho - Ivory Coast - Lille
150. Javier Hernandez - Mexico - Manchester United

151. Loic Remy - France - Marseille
152. Zvjezdan Misimovic - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Galatasaray
153. Jefferson Farfan - Peru - Schalke 04
154. Joaquin - Spain - Valencia
155. Alexis Sanchez - Chile -Udinese
156. Marcos Senna - Spain - Villarreal
157. Lass Diarra - France - Real Madrid
158. Javi Martinez - Spain - Athletic Bilbao
159. Jack Wilshire - England - Arsenal
160. Scott Parker - England - West Ham

161. Jeremy Menez - France - Roma
162. Ryan Giggs - Wales - Manchester United
163. Elano - Brazil - Santos
164. Adam Johnson - England - Manchester City
165. Ze Roberto - Brazil - Hamburger SV
166. Jose Bosingwa - Portugal - Chelsea
167. Andre Ayew - Ghana - Marseille
168. Borja Valero - Spain - Villarreal
169. Pablo Hernandez - Spain - Valencia
170. Ezequiel Lavezzi - Argentina - Napoli

171. Alvaro Negredo - Spain - Sevilla
172. Giampaolo Pazzini - Italy - Sampdoria
173. Alberto Gilardino - Italy - Fiorentina
174. Jerman Defoe - England - Tottenham
175. Jimmy Briand - France - Lyon
176. Charles N'Zogbia - France - Wigan
177. Alou Diarra - France - Bordeaux
178. Vincent Kompany - Belgium - Manchester City
179.Luiz Gustavo - Brazil - Bayern München
180. Simon Rolfes - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen

181. Asamoah Gyan - Ghana - Sunderland
182. Lucas - Brazil - Liverpool
183. Abou Diaby - France - Arsenal
184. Radamel Falcao - Colombia - FC Porto
185. Yuri Zhirkov - Russia - Chelsea
186. Raul Meirelles - Portugal - Liverpool
187. Riccardo Montolivo - Italy - Fiorentina
188. Francesco Totti - Italy - Roma
189. Mamadou Niang - Senegal - Fenerbahce
190. David Luiz - Brazil - Benfica

191. Humberto Suazo - Chile - Monterrey
192. Bojan Krkick - Spain - Barcelona
193. Darijo Srna - Croatia - Shaktar Donetsk
194. Andres Guardado - Mexico - Deportivo La Coruna
195. Jeremy Toulalan - France - Lyon
196. Darren Bent - England - Sunderland
197. Jon Obi Mikel - Nigeria - Chelsea
198. Walter Gargano - Uruguay - Napoli
199. Felipe Melo - Brazil - Juventus
200. Mathieu Valbuena - France - Marseille

201. Danny - Portugal - Zenit
202. Mario Götze - Germany - Dortmund
203. Theo Walcott - England - Arsenal
204. Raul - Spain - Schalke 04
205.Diego Perotti - Argentina - Sevilla
206. Juan Manuel Vargas - Peru - Fiorentina
207. Rafael - Brazil - Manchester United
208. Josip Ilicic - Slovenia - Palermo
209. Jose Manuel Jurado - Spain - Schalke 04
210. Roman Pavluchenko - Russia - Tottenham

211. Alessandro Nesta - Italy - Milan
212. Arda Turan - Turkey - Galatasaray
213. Andre Pierre Gignac - France - Marseille
214. Marco Borriello - Italy - Roma
215. Oskar Cardozo - Paraguay - Benfica
216. Romelu Lukaku - Belgium - Anderlecht
217. Joan Capdevilla - Spain - Villarreal
218.Bruno Alves - Portugal - Zenit
219. Marco Reus - Germany - Mönchengladbach
220. Salomon Kalou - Ivory Coast - Chelsea

221. Juan - Brazil - Roma
222. Alan Dzagoev - Russia - CSKA Moscov
223. Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Ukraine - Bayern München
224. Aritz Aduriz - Spain - Valencia
225. Royston Drenthe - Netherlands - Hercules
226. Jordan Henderson - England -Sunderland
227. Landon Donovan - USA - LA Galaxy
228. Alberto Costa - Argentina - Valencia
229. Eljero Elia - Netherlands - Hamburger SV
230. Diego Godin - Uruguay - Atletico Madrid

231. Manuel Fernandez - Portugal - Besiktas
232. Eren Derdiyok - Switzerland - Bayer Leverkusen
233. Cacau - Germany - VfB Stuttgart
234. Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica - Twente
235. Miroslav Klose - Germany - Bayern München
236. Peter Crouch - England - Tottenham
237. Danko Lazovic - Serbia - Zenit
238. Lee Chung Young - South Korea - Bolton
239. Stefan Kiessling - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen
240. Alejandro "Chori" Dominguez - Argentina - Valencia

241. Moussa Dembele - Belgium - Fullham
242. Moussa Sissoko - France - Toulose
243. Bruno Soriano - Spain -Villarreal
244. Mats Hummels - Germany - Dortmund
245. Nicklas Bendtner - Denmark - Arsenal
246. Juan Sebastian Veron - Argentina - Estudiantes
247. Giovani dos Santos - Mexico - Galatasaray
248. Tomas Rosicky - Czech Republic - Arsenal
249. Deco - Portugal - Fluminese
250. Kevin Prince Boateng - Ghana - Milan

251. Vincenzo Iaquinta - Italy - Juventus
252. Wendel - Brazil - Bordeaux
253. Ronaldinho - Brazil - Milan
254. Riquelme - Argentina - Boca Juniors
255. Yann M'Vila - France - Rennes
256. Jan Vertonghen - Belgium - Ajax
257. Pappiss Cisse - Senegal - Freiburg
258. Kevin Nolan - England - Newcastle
259. Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Netherlands - Hamburger SV
260. Gokhan Inler - Switzerland - Udinese

261. Alexandr Kerzhakov - Russia - Zenit
262. Moussa Sow - Senegal - Lille
263. Gabriel Heinze - Argentina - Marseille
264. Jorge Fucile - Uruguay - FC Porto
265. Nicolas Otamendi - Argentina - FC Porto
266. Andre Schürrle - Germany - Mainz
267. Benoit Tremoulinas - France - Bordeaux
268. Diego Lugano - Uruguay - Fenerbahce
269. Fabio Quagliarella - Italy - Juventus
270. Robert Lewandowski - Poland - Dortmund

271. Tiago - Portugal - Atletico Madrid
272. Joe Cole - England - Liverpool
273. Roberto Soldado - Spain - Valencia
274. Armin Bacinovic - Slovenia - Palermo
275. Tomas Necid - Czech Republic - CSKA Moscow
276. Antonio Reyes - Spain - Atletico Madrid
277. Domenico Criscito - Italy - Genoa
278. Gregory Van der Wiel - Netherlands - Ajax
279. Kim Källström - Sweden - Lyon
280. Bafetimbi Gomis - France - Lyon

281. Park Chu Young - South Korea - Monaco
282. Ivan Ratikic - Croatia - Schalke 04
283. Wilson Palacios - Honduras - Tottenham
284. Aly Cissokho - France - Lyon
285. Alex - Brazil - Chelsea
286. Lewis Holtby - Germany - Mainz
287. Grafite - Brazil - Wolfsburg
288. Fernando Gago - Argentina - Real Madrid
289. Jaroslav Plasil - Czech Republic - Bordeaux
290. Sergio Pellissier - Italy - Chievo

291. Andrea Cossu - Italy - Cagliari
292. Gerrardo Torrado - Mexico - Cruz Azul
293. Gabriel Agbonlahor - England - Aston Villa
294. Sven Bender - Germany - Dortmund
295. Fabrice Muamba - England - Bolton
296. Gonzalo Castro - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen
297. Vladimir Bystrov - Russia - Zenit
298. Hugo Campagnaro - Argentina - Napoli
299. Lukas Podolski - Germany - FC Köln
300. Patrik Helmes - Germany - Bayer Leverkusen

About the list

Original introduction

Other than 100 more players, the change from that will be that the 300 will be an ongoing list with both rankings and player profiles (accordingly) updated.

2011:

The ambition now is to make this list a twice a season event. One version at the end of (or start of if you will) the season and then follow it up with a mid season update.

Raul

Striker

Schalke 04 - Spain





Original 200 writeup:

That at 32 years of age there are several much better strikers than Raul, club and country, doesn't make him a bad player.

The previous seasons when he was relative healthy and unlike now actually started games Raul proved that he is still a really good goalscorer netting 20+ in both of those seasons.

This season however he has only started 8 games in La Liga and there are even rumors he'll be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season. On the one hand if he feels he still has something to offer (and my ranking would suggest so!) I can understand if he wants to go somewhere he can get more playing time, but of course on the other hand anything than having this unique (especially post-Bosman) undisputed legend/champion/symbol finish his career at the club where he since the age of 17 earned that status, just seems wrong.

Raul still has that will to win and technique that for years made him one of the best in the world but the pace that is so needed to go along with that is if not lost then definitely diminished.
He'll still work hard off the ball in the attacking midfield area but with the ball these days he doesn't have the pace to be an effective player there and even though his team work is as great as always he's never been what you would call a great creative player when removed from his striker position, which several coaches did over the years.
No these days once and for all his effectiveness has been reduced to the box area and even there with less pace, individually he just can't create like he used to (for an example his own shot so to speak) and is much more dependent of the work of others compared to back when he was at his best.

Now that's not a disaster or anything, it's the reality for most players, strikers too, it just means that Raul at 32 years of age is far removed from the excellent level the likes of Higuain, Torres or David Villa currently are displaying.

Doesn't make him a bad player.

The 300 update:

David Pizarro

Roma

Midfielder - Chile



Original 200 writeup:

One of the more underrated players in the world for many years now.

With great range of passing and intelligent decision making Pizarro brings effective distribution to whatever midfield he is part of.

His diagonal passes especially are impressive and when under pressure in his own half he has the composure and ball control to win himself time for another good pass.

Usually a deep lying playmaker he is capable of both a slower secure short passing game aiming for control and longer more direct passes aiming for transition.

His team work in both the offensive and defensive departments are exemplary and if this starts to sound like a player who could be even higher, well maybe he could(!) but everyone else now are excellent too or offer something really important, and he does have athletic limitations (that very few players still to come will have) manifesting themselves in perhaps not being fast or strong enough to one; be great in the final third where there is less space, and two; defensively be a very good player, despite his good work rate and positioning meaning he can certainly defend when sitting deep. But he isn't a complete defensive player....

Yes it's all very harsh indeed.
I could just turn it around into something positive instead, cause it's still more strengths (just not to the extent that it could mean say jumping 15 places higher) than weaknesses and all part of the excellent midfield package that makes him the highest ranked midfielder so far.

The 300 update:

What's new (SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST)?

January 4. 2011:

The 300 is now up.

June 2011

About the list has been slightly updated

October 2011:

The full "End of 2010/11 start of 2011/12 ranking" is finally posted (though some errors still) and only a few writeups (300-295) have been added with hopefully for more to come in the coming days.

February 2012

A 2011/12 mid season rankings UPDATE has been posted.

It won't be on the top of the page for long, when I start the work on player profiles.

April 2012

Slowly but surely writeups are being transfered and cleaned up from the twoplustwo thread and on to the blog. Check for links appearing in the latest update entries.

JULY 2012

The 2011/12 Mid-Season ranking has been posted.

The end of 2011/12 the start of 2012/13 ranking has also been posted.

Player profiles consisting of various thoughts, stats and analysis are starting to appear on the list. Just click where there is a link!

It's still very much a work in progress though. Something worked at randomly and it's going to take a lot of time filling out all 300 players.

APRIL 2013

The 2012/13 Mid-season ranking has been posted

The positional ranks are also included in that entry. As well as links to context and content on players on the list. Their characteristics and why they are where they are.

SEPTEMBER 2013

End of 2012/13 - Start of 2013/14 Position by Position rundowns have begun. Check the frontpage for where to follow the updates.

After that is done I'll post the new 300 Best players in the World Ranking.

FEBRUARY 2015

The previous unfinished 12/13/13/14 Best Players in the World Ranking was finally posted

JULY 2015

The 2014/15 position-rankings are still in progress. The goal is to have them complete before 15/16 gets going.

100 best central defenders
200 best attacking midfielders and wingers
100 best left and right-backs
200 best Midfielders
125 best Forwards/Strikers


August 2015

The 2014/15 300 Best Players in the World has been completed.